International cryospheric science capacity building and its role in policy and management

The USAID-funded Contribution to High Asia Runoff from Ice and Snow (CHARIS) project has operated since 2012 with dual goals of research and capacity building. The scientific goal is to quantify snowmelt and ice melt and is tackled in tandem with capacity building activities for partner institutions in eight countries across High Asia. We held project workshops covering topics such as snow and glacier melt modeling, remote sensing of snow and ice, hydrochemistry-based hydrograph separation, and data management. CHARIS also facilitated the start of the first glacier mass balance program in Afghanistan, the first water chemistry laboratory in Bhutan, and supported eight students from four countries in earning Masters of Science by Research in Glaciology degrees from Kathmandu University. Capacity building outcomes are tracked through surveys and interviews with project partners. This feedback, both quantitative and qualitative, improves our understanding of how skills fostered by CHARIS are translated into different workplace contexts and in different political settings. Through this feedback, we document how CHARIS collaborations promote analytical skill development and provide the benefit of improved communication among colleagues across borders in a region where resource management requires a trans-boundary approach. Additionally, we are gathering feedback from partners on ways their hydrology and glaciology research is translated to the policy and management realms. Partners anecdotally report a range of policy relationships, especially with respect to management strategies for water intensive developments such as hydropower and mining. Here we present findings from these surveys, which will guide future development-oriented, science-driven resource management projects. Such endeavors must be tailored to large regional differences in expertise, capacities, policy settings, and research infrastructures, and CHARIS demonstrates ways this can be done effectively.