Editing IPCC:AR6/SROCC/Chapter-2 (section)

===== 2.3.2.2.3 Impacts on livelihoods =====

Empirical evidence from past events shows that cryosphere related landslides and floods can have severe impacts on lives and livelihoods, often extending far beyond the directly affected region, and persisting for several years. Glacier lake outburst floods alone have over the past two centuries directly caused at least 400 deaths in Europe, 5,745 deaths in South America, and 6,300 deaths in Asia (Carrivick and Tweed, 2016 <sup>[[#fn:r619|619]]</sup> ), although these numbers are heavily skewed by individual large events occurring in Huaraz and Yungay, Peru (Carey, 2005 <sup>[[#fn:r620|620]]</sup> ) and Kedarnath, India (Allen et al., 2016b <sup>[[#fn:r621|621]]</sup> ).

Economic losses associated with these events are incurred through two pathways. The first consists of direct losses due to the disasters, and the second includes indirect costs from the additional risk and loss of potential opportunities, or from additional investment that would be necessary to manage or adapt to the challenges brought about by the cryosphere changes. Nationwide economic impacts from glacier floods have been greatest in Nepal and Bhutan (Carrivick and Tweed, 2016 <sup>[[#fn:r622|622]]</sup> ). The disruption of vital transportation corridors that can impact trading of goods and services (Gupta and Sah, 2008 <sup>[[#fn:r623|623]]</sup> ; Khanal et al., 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r624|624]]</sup> ), and the loss of earnings from tourism can represent significant far-reaching and long-lasting impacts (Nothiger and Elsasser, 2004 <sup>[[#fn:r625|625]]</sup> ; IHCAP, 2017 <sup>[[#fn:r626|626]]</sup> ). The Dig Tsho flood in the Khumbu Himal of Nepal in 1985 damaged a hydropower plant and other properties, with estimated economic losses of 500 million USD (Shrestha et al., 2010 <sup>[[#fn:r627|627]]</sup> ). Less tangible, but equally important impacts concern the cultural and social disruption resulting from temporary or permanent evacuation (Oliver-Smith, 1979 <sup>[[#fn:r628|628]]</sup> ). According to the International Disaster – Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), over the period 1985–2014, absolute economic losses in mountain regions from all flood and mass movements (including non-cryosphere origins) were highest in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya region (45 billion USD), followed by the European Alps (7 billion USD), and the Andes (3 billion USD) (Stäubli et al., 2018 <sup>[[#fn:r629|629]]</sup> ). For example, a project to dig a channel in Tsho Rolpa glacier in Nepal that lowered a glacial lake cost 3 million USD in 2000 (Bajracharya, 2010 <sup>[[#fn:r630|630]]</sup> ), and similar measures have been taken at Imja Tsho Lake in Nepal in 2016 (Cuellar and McKinney, 2017 <sup>[[#fn:r631|631]]</sup> ). Other impacts are related to drinking and irrigation water and livelihoods (Section 2.3.1). In summary, there is ''high confidence'' that in the context of mountain flood and landslide hazards, exposure, and vulnerability growing in the coming century, significant risk reduction and adaptation strategies will be required to avoid increased impacts.

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