A pioneering mission in the Pamirs

The Pamir Mountains are home to some of the highest and most ancient glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere. Like vast frozen archives, these glaciers preserve atmospheric records in the form of snow layers compressed over hundreds, even thousands, of years. Trapped within the ice are tiny air bubbles, particles of dust, isotopes and even microorganisms, each one carrying information about past climates, precipitation, and environmental conditions.

Despite their importance, the Pamirs remain one of the least studied cryospheric regions on Earth. No deep ice cores have ever been extracted here, largely due to the logistical challenges posed by the harsh terrain and extreme altitude. The current expedition, funded by the Swiss Polar Institute through the PAMIR Project, has managed to overcome these obstacles in collaboration with the Tajik Academy of Sciences.

The team of 13 scientists, drawn from institutions in Switzerland, Tajikistan, Japan and the United States, is attempting to drill two ice cores reaching down to the bedrock, some 105 metres below the surface. Working at 5,800 metres above sea level in the Murghab region, they must spend weeks acclimatising to the altitude before establishing base and high camps from which to conduct their delicate drilling operations.

Why the Pamirs matter

For now, many glaciers in the Pamirs may appear stable compared to those in other parts of the world. But scientists warn that this resilience could be short-lived. Rising global temperatures and shifting weather patterns threaten even these high-altitude ice fields. If the glaciers disappear, the precious climatic information they hold will vanish with them.

Collecting an ice core from Kon Chukurbashi, therefore, represents a unique opportunity to secure Asia’s first deep, high-elevation archive of this kind. It is, quite literally, a race against time.

Dr Evan Miles of the University of Fribourg and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research explains: “This ice holds hundreds and possibly even thousands of years of physical records of snowfall, temperature, dust, and atmospheric chemistry. We are racing against time to retrieve it before climate change induced melt damages these natural archives forever.”

A dual legacy: science today, preservation for tomorrow

Once recovered, one of the two cores will be analysed by the PAMIR Project’s international research team. Their work will provide crucial insights into how glaciers in the region have evolved, how they respond to climate fluctuations, and what this means for water resources and hazards in Central Asia.

The second core, however, is destined for a different journey. It will join the Ice Memory heritage collection in Antarctica, a unique sanctuary created to safeguard ice samples from around the world. At the French Italian Concordia Station, one of the coldest places on Earth, cores are preserved for future generations of scientists, long after the original glaciers may have disappeared.

This initiative is part of the Ice Memory Foundation, led by institutions including CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the University of Bern. For Professor Thomas F. Stocker, Chair of the Foundation, the symbolism is powerful: “Today more than ever, we must protect the data that enable us to make science based decisions to better guide our societies, adapt to the global changes threatening our planet, and ensure that future generations are able to anticipate the profound transformations underway.”

A contribution to the United Nations Cryospheric Decade

The timing of the expedition is equally significant. It coincides with the launch of the United Nations Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, which begins in 2025. By securing and preserving ice cores from the Pamirs, scientists are contributing not only to global climate research but also to a landmark international initiative.

As Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, French Ambassador for the Poles and Maritime Issues, remarked: “We can all be proud, France and Tajikistan together, that at the launch of this UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, such an emblematic cooperation is taking shape. This operation marks a true flagship initiative and a milestone at the launch of the Decade.”

Beyond borders: a model of international cooperation

The expedition highlights the importance of international collaboration in climate science. The PAMIR Project alone brings together the University of Fribourg, the University of Zurich, the Tajik Academy of Sciences, Nagoya and Hokkaido universities in Japan, Ohio State University in the United States, and the University of Bern. It is supported by CHF 1.5 million in funding from the Swiss Polar Institute, under its Flagship Initiatives programme.

The Pamir research also builds on other collaborations in the region, including projects on the Fedchenko Glacier, once the largest glacier in the former Soviet Union, carried out with French and German partners. Together, these efforts are beginning to piece together the climatic puzzle of Central Asia’s “Third Pole,” a region that feeds water into major river systems supporting millions of people downstream.

Preserving a fragile legacy

For the scientists involved, the stakes are high. The expedition is not only about gathering data for today’s research but also about ensuring that the ice’s fragile memory survives for tomorrow.

If successful, the operation will create an enduring legacy: two cylinders of ancient ice, one destined for immediate analysis, the other for eternal preservation beneath the Antarctic snow. They will serve as both scientific resources and symbols of our shared responsibility to safeguard the knowledge embedded in Earth’s natural archives.

As climate change accelerates, the Pamir glaciers may not remain resilient forever. But thanks to this extraordinary mission, their story, written layer by layer in frozen time, will not be lost.

L’article New international expedition seeks to preserve ice memory from Tajikistan’s Pamir glaciers est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The Tajik delegation was led by the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Economic Development and Trade; and Finance, alongside the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Investments and the Committee on Tourism Development as well as the Deputy Chairperson of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Completing the delegation were representatives from companies in Tajikistan’s leading and emerging sectors such as mining, light industry, food processing, textiles and artificial intelligence. They were joined at the Forum by high-level EU officials, including EU Special Representative for Central Asia Ambassador Terhi Hakala, and representatives from leading European businesses across various sectors, some already with a foothold on the Tajik market such as GEG Mining Switzerland and VAST Resources PLC. 

At the Forum, the investment potential of Tajikistan and its attractiveness as a tourism destination were presented to the European business community interested in integrating into the dynamically developing market of Tajikistan, which offers many preferences for partners and is actively working to simplify the procedures for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into its economy as well as creating and doing business in the country. 

The Forum was not only a useful platform for information sharing about the investment environment in Tajikistan, and to establish valuable business contacts, but it also witnessed the signature of concrete agreements and cooperation documents. Mr. Najibullo Rajabzoda, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tajik Aluminum Company OJSC TALCO and Mr. Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at VAST RESOURCES PLC, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a total investment of USD 20 million. Tajikistan’s Avesto Group and Belgian PICANOL NV also signed a MoU on cooperation in the field of textiles and clothing. The day following the Forum, during a field visit to INTRACO, specialised in the manufacturing and marketing of animal feed concentrates, a MoU was signed between Amina LLC and Intraco Ltd on cooperation in expanding the production of animal feed additives in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan has experienced tremendous growth during the three decades of its Independence. However, it has not necessarily been inclusive enough to generate the jobs needed by its youthful population. A vibrant private sector can be the engine of inclusive growth, generating jobs and incomes and providing goods, services and solutions for women and men, and thereby have the potential to increase choices and opportunities. Therefore, developing the private sector – with the help of the EU – is critical for sustainable development in the region for the next years and beyond.

Tajikistan is ready for a qualitative step-change in relations with Europe. Since joining WTO in 2013, Tajik-EU trade and investment flows have been steadily flourishing. Despite the pandemic conditions, the foreign trade turnover in 2021 stood at USD 436.5 million – USD 150.4 million more than the previous year.

On its part, the EU has signalled it is ready to increase co-operation with the strategically located country. This can be understood as part of the increased attention the EU has paid to Central Asia (through the new Central Asia Strategy in place since 2019; as well as the recent Global Gateway Strategy which aims to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport).

Indeed, the European Union can play an important role in helping Tajikistan overcome geographic (being a landlocked country facing higher trading costs) and political constraints that have held back the country’s development potential. EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Ambassador Terhi Hakala emphasised the EU’s willingness to increase its engagement with Tajikistan, including by negotiating a next-generation Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) to replace the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Tajikistan is also a candidate country to obtain GSP+ status, which would entail a full removal of customs duties on two-thirds of tariff lines upon the implementation of 27 international conventions related to human rights, labour rights, protection of the environment and good governance.

As to the reasons to invest in Tajikistan, the various presentations highlighted the following: significant investment opportunities across all industries; protection of investor rights; availability of young and highly educated workforces; a new tax code (which has reduced the number of taxes from 10 to 7); relatively low expenses (labour, electricity); availability of Free Economic Zones with a simplified tax regime to help kick-start industrialisation; a secular state & stable government with a long-term vision; and close access to markets with a population of over 1.5 billion (including the People’s Republic of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and others).

Tajikistan has also been making strides in numerous world rankings. It is in the list of top 10 reformers in the 2020 World Bank’s Doing Business ranking.  It also makes the top 10 safest countries according to the American Institute of Public Opinion Gallup; it occupies 6^th place in the world for use of green energy (over 95 per cent of its electricity comes from renewable resources, mostly hydropower) according to the World Bank. As a country unique for its crystal clear lakes and majestic mountains, Tajikistan makes it to the list of top 10 most attractive tourist destinations according to “Globe Spots” magazine.

There is no doubt that the natural beauty of Tajikistan can be a big attraction for tourists. Indeed, mountains cover 93 per cent of its territory, and the country is often referred to as the “roof of the world”. However, reaching the country is still challenging since there are only a few international flights, but the government has now extended visa-free travel for all EU Member States passport holders, and European travel operators are reporting an increased interest in Tajikistan by travellers seeking exotic and untapped destinations.

To conclude, what is clear from the conclusions of the Forum is that both Tajikistan and the European Union are ready for a qualitative and quantitative upgrading in their relationship across all areas, and that the conditions are ripe for this to happen.

L’article Tajikistan tourism potential presented in Brussels est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.