The 2nd Third Pole Environment (TPE) Workshop concluded on October 28, 2010 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop, called upon by TPE co-chairmen Profs YAO Tandong, Volker Mosbrugger, and Lonnie Thompson, attracted over 90 scientists, researchers, and government officials, from 16 countries from the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region and beyond. 

Held from October 26 to 28, 2010, the workshop was a continuation of the 1st TPE Workshop last August in Beijing and Lhasa, China. The major tasks for the 2nd TPE Workshop were to overview scientific activities in the Third Pole region within the past year, to summarize major scientific achievements of TPE, to explore scientific challenges and new frontiers, and to propose new plans for its implementation. The 2nd TPE Workshop provided an ideal setting for sharing and updating these tasks.

The topics discussed during the workshop followed the road-map laid out during the 1st TPE Workshop, which address six key science questions defined by scientists and program coordinators, including: 1) paleoclimate reconstructions 2) water and atmosphere, 3) cryosphere, 4) ecosystems, 5) human impacts and 6) adaptations. Participants of the 2nd TPE Workshop agreed to continue international collaboration and efforts in establishing flagship monitoring stations, an accessible platform for sharing data, and in launching transboundary scientific expeditions.

 

The workshop also heard the future agenda in promoting the TPE worldwide, and witnessed the proposition of Icelandic scientists to host the 3rd TPE Workshop in Iceland. As scheduled, a full workshop report will be distributed to participants and made available on the TPE website in mid-November. TPE will also host a session at the 2010 AGU Fall meeting and at the 2011 EGU conference, in addition to hosting summer schools next year for young scientists in the Third Pole region.

The workshop was organized by the Third Pole Environment (TPE) program and supported jointly by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP)/ Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (CDHM), Tribhuvan University, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Himalayan Cryosphere, Climate and Disaster Research Centre (HiCCDRC), Kathmandu University, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), and the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Government of Nepal.