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SUMMARY:From the margins of the Third Pole: the geopolitics of cryosphere 
 in Tajikistan - Professor Christine Bichsel\, Department of Geosciences\, 
 University of Fribourg
DTSTART:20240220T163000Z
DTEND:20240220T174500Z
UID:TALK212350@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Professor Michael Bravo
DESCRIPTION:This paper examines the Third Pole from its margins by focussi
 ng on the case of Tajikistan. It argues that the framing of the Pamir Moun
 tains and the related Amu Darya watershed as marginal is not primarily def
 ined by orographic and hydrographic features\, but rather results from pas
 t and present linguistic\, geopolitical and ideological configurations. As
  a post-Soviet state\, Tajikistan has a long imperial history of marginali
 ty on the mountainous fringes of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. 
 The extensive ice coverage of the Pamir Mountains\, with the Fedchenko Gla
 cier being one of the longest glaciers outside the Arctic and Antarctic po
 lar regions\, is often located far away from human settlements and difficu
 lt to access\, thereby reinforcing ideas of marginality. Yet this perceive
 d marginality of the Pamir’s cryosphere has long been coveted by Imperia
 l Russian and Soviet scientists who produced some of the longest glaciolog
 ical measurement series across the entire Third Pole region. At this point
 \, the government of Tajikistan seems determined to move from the margins 
 to centre stage by leveraging its cryosphere: it successfully lobbied with
 in UN bodies to declare 2025 the International Year of Glacier Preservatio
 n and to hold the related UN Conference in its capital Dushanbe. Moreover\
 , it achieved to proclaim March 21st as the new World Day of Glaciers\, a 
 highly symbolic date that marks Navruz - New Year’s Day in Central Asian
  cultural tradition. By tracing the geopolitics of cryosphere in Tajikista
 n from the 19th century to the present\, this paper gives insight into the
  past and ongoing reframing of marginality in view of contemporary climate
  politics and the Third Pole.
LOCATION:Scott Polar Research Institute\, Lecture Theatre
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