The source of the error is this document from the WWF - this now contains a correction - undated! Having read the data as best I can I fail to spot the mathematical error that is said to underlie the incorrect estimate.

http://assets.panda.org/downloads/hi...report2005.pdf

"In 1999, a report by the Working Group on Himalayan Glaciology (WGHG) of the International Commission for Snow and Ice (ICSI) stated: `glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, if the present rate continues, the livelihood[sic] of them disappearing by the year 2035 is very high.'"
This statement was used in good faith but it is now clear that this was erroneous and should be disregarded