The Ev-K2-CNR Committee

The proposal to create a working group dedicated to high elevations within the GEWEX/CEOP Projects was first advanced by the Ev-K2-CNR Committee. In line with Ev-K2-CNR’s institutional mandate, and building upon their past contributions to CEOP, the CEOP-HE initiative is intended to significantly further knowledge in global climate and water cycle studies by providing rare, much needed information from remote, high elevation areas.

Ev-K2-CNR is a non-profit association for the promotion and advancement of science and sustainable development in mountain areas, carrying out research primarily in Nepal, Pakistan and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, but encompassing also stations and research in the mountains of Europe, Africa and South America. Ev-K2-CNR’s overall objective is to improve understanding of high altitude ecosystems, their processes and interactions with the human component and the effects of global changes on a local level, so as to contribute to sustainable development and enhanced management of natural resources. Ev-K2-CNR is probably best known for the Pyramid International Laboratory-Observatory, the high altitude scientific facility located in Nepal’s Sagarmatha National Park at 5,050 m (16,568 ft.) a.s.l., installed and run in collaboration with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). The association is based in Bergamo, Italy, where they host and coordinate the HE Secretariat.

The SHARE Project

One of Ev-K2-CNR’s key multidisciplinary environmental projects is SHARE - Stations at High Altitude for Research on the Environment, an integrated program for global climatic, environmental and geophysical monitoring realized in collaboration with UNEP. SHARE aims to contribute to the study of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, placing special attention on water resources, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation and food security. The main component of SHARE is its monitoring network, currently comprising 12 permanent stations distributed across the mountain regions of Europe (Italian Alps and Apennines), Asia (Nepal Himalaya and Pakistani Karakorum), Africa (Uganda, Ruwenzori) with potential expansion to other areas (Bolivian Andes)

The CEOP-HE initiative takes its inspiration from the SHARE project and is being implemented by Ev-K2-CNR within this framework.  The Coordinated Energy and water cycle Observation Project (CEOP) Reference Sites (CRSs) in Nepal (CAMP/Himalayas) and Pakistan (Pakistan Karakorum Network), managed by Ev-K2-CNR, are already an integral part of SHARE, and together with the CRS in Tibet (CAMP/Tibet), they represent the starting point for establishing a coordinated CEOP-HE network.