Japan and the Third Pole｜Dr. Santosh Kumar Rauniyar, Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Research Institute, SPF

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Santosh Kumar Rauniyar, research fellow for the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He's been spearheading the projects at the foundation focusing on the Third Pole – a vast region also known as the Hindu Kush Himalaya, which contains the highest mountains in the world and the largest quantity of ice outside of the polar regions.

While melting ice caused by climate change is a shared issue among all polar regions, nearly 2 billion people depend on the water supplied from the Third Pole. In other words, the catastrophic melting of ice and the consequences for water sources in the Third Pole directly impact about one fifth of the global population.

In this episode, Santosh san outlines the unique challenges facing the Third Pole region. We also talk about how the Ocean Policy Research Institute is working to bring together stakeholders at international gatherings, like the Inter-Polar Conference and COP30, to share findings and work toward collaborative solutions.

You can read the full transcript of this episode on the SPF website.