Impacts of glacier retreat on ecosystem services and mountain communities: A case study in eastern Himalayas

Glaciers provide essential ecosystem services, including water storage, temperature regulation, recreational opportunities, and spiritual values. However, global warming is disrupting the provision of these services in many glaciered environments, presenting significant adaptation challenges for local communities. Using Diqing in northwestern Yunnan Province (China) as a case study, this paper aims to enhance our understanding of the ecosystem services provided by glaciers in the eastern Himalayas, their trends in the context of accelerated climate change, and their perceived impacts on mountain communities. The research incorporates biophysical modelling (InVEST model and SCS-CN model), sociodemographic data, statistical analysis, and a survey (N = 98) conducted among residents and tourists. Results from our modeling indicate that freshwater provision decrease from 375.01 mm to 268.04 mm, and habitat quality show a significant downward trend from 0.051 to 0.046. Although the trend in flood control was not significant, it remained at a low level during the latter part of the study period. Survey data moreover indicate a widespread perception among respondents of severe impacts of glacier retreat across ecosystem service categories (scoring more than 4.01 on average), while the perception of impacts on different types of human well-being is not as strong. We discuss the short- and long-term social impacts of glacier retreat in the context rapid environmental change an economic development in China and stress the importance of designing policy measures specifically tailored to the protection of glaciers and their services.