"I have noticed a reduction in the flow of the Rongbuk River every year and each year is hotter than the last. I am worried about the harsh future our children will suffer"
-Chief lama of the Rongbuk Temple (Wang, 2007)
Due to the current anthropogenic degradation of the Himalayan ice caps, the future looks dim if practices do not change. Research shows that around 60 percent of the ice volume in the mountains will be lost by 2100 (Taylor, 2013). The Himalayan ice caps and rivers currently supply a freshwater lifeline for 20 percent of the world's population, the loss of ice volume and glaciers will result in lack of freshwater for billions of people. To conserve water and supply energy for the growing population, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan plan to install more than 400 hydro dams which, if built, could together provide more than 160,000MW of electricity (Grumbine, 2013). However, the building of these dams can often have severe environmental impacts such as forest clearing and damaging natural river flow.
"The Environment and Human Rights"
In the discussion of the future, it is important to emphasize the status of both India and China as developing nations. According to the Kuznets curve, environmental degradation is generally insignificant when a country is considered underdeveloped. As the nation begins developing, environmental impact does as well, generally as a result of infrastructure building, population growth and increased consumption. Furthermore, developing nations often do not have strict environmental laws. Yet there seems to be a turning point when the GDI is high enough for environmental impact to turn around. This trend provides hope for the Himalayas; both China and India are in phases of development and show prospects for positive change in the coming decades. Hopefully by reaching the status of developed nations, India and China will have the resources to reverse some of the changes currently being imposed on the environment (Andreoni, 2001).
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