Glaciers in the Himalayas are the sources of major rivers, including China's
                      　　　　　　　　　　　Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, India's Ganges and Indus Rivers, and Southeast
              　　　　　　　　　　　Asia's Mekong River.  Their combined drainage basin is home to some 3 billion
      　　　　　　　　　　　        people (almost half of Earth's population).According to many scientists, because of global warming, the
              　　　　　　　　　　　glaciers have been significantly melting. Some says the Ganges might be dried up within 100 years.
              　　　　　　　　　　　The critical case might apply to not only the Ganges but also other rivers.  If the
              　　　　　　　　　　　rivers would be dried up, we’ll have many so-called “ecological refugees” for sure,
             　　　　　　　　　　　 which will be one of major international issues.  It is very obvious that the
                                                     problem will also deeply affect the Japanese society, rather Japan, one of the
economic giants and one of the worst CO2 emitting nations in the world, has to take initiative and act to solve the
problem.  More commonly and urgently, there exists a deeper connection between Japan and the Himalayas: As
                                                     the Fukushima nuclear accident has shown, we too need to learn to strike a
                                                     balance between economic development, consumption, leisure and environ-
                                                     mental protection. As well, we need to continue to raise awareness about the
                                                     importance of respecting cultural and ethnic diversities within our society.  
                                                     Therefore, it’s quite natural for the Himalaya Archive Japan to take the initiative to
                                                     do projects to think about our lives and earth through the Himalaya.