International Glacier Conference 2025: Launching the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences
The first International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation took place from May 29 to 31, 2025 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This landmark event brought scientists and policymakers together and marked the official launch of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034).
The massive rockslide and glacier collapse that buried almost an entire village in Valais, Switzerland, on May 28, 2025, has once again highlighted the need for cryosphere monitoring and research.
At the conference in Dushanbe, a Swiss delegation consisting of the SDC and experts from leading Swiss institutions in cryospheric sciences actively participated in expert forums and roundtables and contributed to the final declaration. The conference revealed a widespread agreement that the only way to preserve glaciers is to mitigate climate change.
The event in Dushanbe also marked the beginning of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, a global effort to promote research and urgent action to protect glaciers. In the exhibition area, Switzerland presented itself as a glacier country and provided information on Swiss initiatives and research projects being implemented with Swiss support at local, national, regional and global levels. Further details on these initiatives and projects can be found on the posters below.
Posters
Usable Pasts – History of Glacier Science in the Pamir Mountains
This poster introduces a research project investigating the history of Soviet glaciology in the Pamir Mountains.
Landscape Management Approach in Tajikistan
This poster provides an overview of the various management approaches to strengthen resilience and adaptation capacity to climate change in Tajikistan.
Strengthening Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Tajikistan
This poster sheds light on an ongoing initiative by SDC and the UN Office for DRR that aims to improve risk governance and the capacity of Tajik state authorities to develop early warning systems.
PAMIR Flagship Programme
This poster provides information on a collaboration between Swiss and Tajik scientific groups to advance field and satellite measurements of glaciers, snow and permafrost in the Pamir Mountains.
Adaptive and Resilient Communities in their Habitat (ARCH)
This poster introduces surveys and risk assessments that were carried out to identify potential glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in Tajikistan, an infrequent yet devastating natural disaster.
Blue Peace Central Asia
This poster provides information on an SDC initiative that promotes water cooperation in Central Asia by facilitating platforms for policy dialogue and expert advice on transboundary water cooperation.
SAPPHIRE
This poster provides an insight into an SDC-supported project which aims to modernise the operational hydrology and river discharge forecasting services in five Central Asian countries.
Weather-Water-Climate Services in Tajikistan
This poster introduces a project co-financed by SDC that developed a low-cost, citizen-driven weather-water-climate service using 300 locally operated weather stations in Tajikistan.
World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS)
This poster provides an insight into the global network of collaborators who maintain a comprehensive programme for monitoring glaciers at national and global levels.
Adaptation at Altitude
This poster sheds light on a collaborative programme supported by SDC, which aims to enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of mountain communities and ecosystems in the face of climate change.
CROMO-ADAPT
This poster introduces the SDC-supported CROMO-ADAPT project which aims to expand monitoring efforts and develop cryosphere information services that support climate change resilience in Central Asia.
Swiss Glaciers
This poster by Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) highlights the state, projections and significance of Glaciers in Switzerland.
Futher links
High-level International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation 2025
Official website of the first Conference on Glaciers Preservation in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences
Official website of UN’s Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, an initiative co-championed by Tajikistan that was launched at the International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation.