This major international conference will cover the full range of surface and subsurface resources – energy (oil/gas, geothermal, solar, hydro, wind), minerals, water, soils, vegetation, landscape, engineering (dams, roads etc.) and historic monuments. As is appropriate for the first ever joint conference between the Geological Society and the Royal Geographical Society, there will be a focus on the interactions between the surface and the sub-surface, and the linkages between deep geology, physical geography and human geography. The wider implications of resource use will be examined, including environmental challenges resulting from climatic changes and the fast growth of the Himalaya as a favourite tourist destination for mountain trekking and heritage tourism.

Session themes will include:

• New Advances in the Geologic and Tectonic Evolution of Colliding Continents - The Himalayan Story:
• Renewable Energy Resources: Geothermal, Wind, Solar and others:
• Hydrocarbon and Mineral Resources of the Himalayan Basins:
• Climatic Changes and Global Warming:
• Development and Environmental Challenges:
• Tourism Opportunities and Challenges (Mountains and Culture):

The conference will be preceded by a 1–day workshop for c. 200 local school children on ‘Climate Change and sustainable resource development in the Himalaya’ and will also include a number of field trips to a range of classic geological, geographical and heritage sites including Puga Valley Shyok Valley Trans-border Pangong Lake and proposed World Heritage Sites in Ladakh.

For further information about this event please contact Steve Whalley at the Geological Society Conference Office on +44 (0)20 7432 0980 or email at steve.whalley@geolsoc.org.uk

In Association With:

MPRG University College London, Geological Society of India, Geographical Society of India, Geological Survey of India, Geological Survey of Nepal, Geological Survey of Bangladesh, University of Kashmir (India), University of Peshawar (Pakistan), Bhutan University, University of Durham, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (India), Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany (India), National Geophysical Research Institute (India), Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), National Meteorological Department (India), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), UNESCO, the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund and the Indian Army