“A race against time”: near Mont-Blanc, a group of scientists work tirelessly on behalf of the glaciers, but also the pristine areas created by their melting, determined to protect them from future greed.
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On this scorching October day, the spectacle at Tré-la-Tête is bleak: Nestled in a narrow valley on the western slope of the White Giant, France’s fourth-largest glacier pours violently into a gray, blue lake that has formed at its foot, then into one Torrent rushing into the Contamines-Montjoie valley (Haute-Savoie).
The lake, located about 2,000 meters above sea level, and the rocks surrounding it have been marked in recent years with long strips left by the abrasions of the glacier, or the “gouilles”, small ponds surrounded by wild rushes Glacier mass is retreating.
These spaces are gradually “colonized by living things,” explains glaciologist Jean-Baptiste Bosson, coordinator of the Ice&Life project.
Based in Annecy, this group of dedicated scientists conducts both field studies and research on the evolution of all glaciers in the world and advocates for their protection and the protection of the primary ecosystems that have arisen from their retreat.
Glacial and post-glacial spaces that have so far been barely protected are “completely unthinkable,” although they play a “major role” in mitigating and adapting to climate change, they emphasize: For example, they can filter and store water, as well as bind carbon and promote biodiversity.
“Sanctuary of the Living”
“We melted the glaciers, we failed to preserve them. Maybe we have a second chance (by protecting nature) that comes from the retreat of the glaciers,” underlines Mr Bosson, who speaks of a “sanctuary of the living”.
While there are landscapes around Mont Blanc that have been reshaped by humans over millennia, these glacial zones are untouched by any human influence.
This is how a young piece of “primary forest” was created down in the former wake of the glacier. Further up, small colorful flowers gradually populate the shores of the lake.
For geographer Kenzo Héas, these are “pioneer” species that can ultimately provide “fertile soil for other types of ecosystems such as lawns, heaths and, why not, forests.”
“Here it is nature that decides and makes the best decisions,” summarizes Mr. Bosson.
In the French Alps alone, since the end of the “Little Ice Age”, a very cold period that began in Europe and North America from the 14th to 1850, explains the scientist.
On Earth, where there are about 210,000 glaciers, vast “unfrozen” areas will emerge by the year 2100, which, depending on the climate scenario, could be as large as Nepal or even Finland.
Wonder
The melting also creates countless new lakes and wetlands. However, if not all glaciers can be saved, “a large lake or a wetland is the best we can have instead” for the proper functioning of the water cycle, emphasizes Mr. Bosson.
But these spaces and the water or minerals they contain could very quickly attract “huge demand” from companies or ski resorts, he fears.
They therefore need to be protected as quickly as possible, for example by granting them special status, which could be the subject of an international treaty. Since most of the affected areas are publicly owned and therefore do not need to be repurchased, “there is real risk here, low economic and political cost for huge benefit,” he argues.
Ice&Life is already planning to “put solutions on the table” at the One Planet Polar Summit, which will focus on the situation of the poles and glaciers in November. The topic will also be in focus in 2025, which the UN has declared the “International Year of Glacier Protection”.
Glaciers are “extraordinary allies in raising awareness and triggering a collective response,” notes Mr. Bosson, because they “astonish society.”