Frozen, Fragmented and Forgotten: Cryosphere Governance and the Mitigation Paradigm in International and Indian Environmental Law

Abstract

From towering ice sheets to fragile snow cover, the cryosphere forms the backbone on which the Earth’s ecological system rests as it postulates a profound control over the global climate dynamics. Although the cryosphere has profound ecological importance, its governance is still disjointed due to the absence of a global legal instrument. This paper analyses the current legal framework which regulates the cryosphere only incidentally and in a sectoral manner which leads to regulatory lacunae. Even though India is a direct stakeholder because of its reliance on Himalayan glaciers, its legal involvement is largely based on policy and not legislation. The intent is reflected in instruments like the Indian Arctic Policy, 2022 however the same lacks binding environmental obligations. The domestic environmental statutes are mainly concerned with post damage control, as opposed to the proactive protection of the cryospheric resources. This paper argues that this is a reactive approach that compromises long term climate resilience and that there is a need to shift towards resource centric protection. Despite the fact that the cryospheric crisis reflects irreversible damage, stakeholders at both international and national level have taken a mitigating approach to this crisis whereas the need is for a coordinated global action and concrete legislative intent at both these levels.