WWF admits 'error' in 2005 report

KATHMANDU, Jan 22: Responding to the now highly controversial issue of the impact of climate change in the Himalayas, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in a statement has admitted that its 2005 report was based on "secondary literature" and was only a "representation of the scientific understanding" as reported in some of the scientific publications.



The statement also added that their own recent studies have highlighted the need for deeper research on the melting glaciers. [break]



The statement reads, "Even in our recent report on glaciers -- Witnessing Change: Glaciers in the Indian Himalayas (WWF 2009) -- we have asserted that while climate change is a cause of concern in terms of its impact on glaciers, we need continuous local hydro-meteorological data to substantiate or draw conclusions regarding climate change impacts on glaciers."



"As a professional body, there could have been further analysis of the 2005 report," the communication director of WWF-Nepal and the Head of Climate for Life Campaign, Prashant Singh, told myrepublica.com on Friday, adding, "In that sense we must admit certain lapses and errors in the time of releasing the report."



In the last couple of weeks, certain news reports have questioned the very basis of the WWF 2005 report -- An Overview of Glaciers, Glacier Retreat, and Subsequent Impacts in Nepal, India and China -- and said that it is not yet scientifically verified that the glaciers, as stated in the report, would completely melt by 2035-40. The report has also been quoted in the IPCC´s Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007 (Working Group II: Impact, Adaptation and Vulnerability).



Singh, however, added that the allegations will "not affect" the entire climate campaign as melting of glaciers is only one of the factors associated with it. "We have said that further studies are required in judging the impact of global warming on glacier melting. But this does not undermine the basis of the entire global campaign," Singh asserted.



Issuing clarification, WWF said that the news was reported "in an incorrect manner". It further said that the report was based on "published reports, articles and peer reviewed-papers," which are "advanced research and work of authoritative voices on glaciers."



"In our report, we referred to the predictions of glaciers retreat by 2035 or 40 years as ´disturbing,´ and have at no point ascribed to this opinion or endorsed it in 2005 report or subsequent WWF reports," the statement said.



The quotes on glacier melting, which appeared in WWF 2005 report, were based on two articles -- "Flooded Out --Retreating glaciers spell disaster for valley communities" (New Scientist, 5 June 1999) and "Beating Retreat" (Down to Earth, Vol 7, No. 23, April 30, 1999).



The WWF statement has come at a time when the government of Nepal has adopted a national campaign on impact of climate change on the Himalayas. The Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation spearheaded a Summitteers´ March in Copenhagen on the sideline of the COP-15 Summit. It is now planning a similar event in New York.



akanshya@myrepublica.com

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