Threatened Lifelines integrates expertise across human and physical geography and hydrological modelling to analyse the impacts of climate change on mountain communities and promote just and sustainable adaptation pathways. It focuses on communities in the semiarid Himalayan region of Ladakh that are highly dependent on seasonal meltwater flows, which are prone to decrease.

The physical geography and modelling component uses climate scenarios, regional climate modelling and glacio-hydrological modelling, calibrated with new in situ measurements, to quantify how climate-induced cryospheric changes affect seasonal meltwater flows. The project’s human geography component analyses the impacts of changing water flows and adaptation strategies to date and links them to processes of societal change. 

Taking transdisciplinary approaches, the project explores potential future adaptation strategies and their implications for equity and community agency, with the goal of supporting sustainable, community-centred water governance and development pathways in the region.