The global implications of a rapidly diminishing Cryosphere urge a human-centered framework to address the sustainability and equity concerns arising from impacts of cryospheric change and economic development. This more inclusive paradigm would enable research and policy approaches premised on causalities, historical injustices, and needs for enhancing the resilience of and for indigenous peoples and smallholders. This framework will need to reconsider what human dimensions can be added to current biophysical monitoring, including evaluations of infrastructure, land and marine resources, institutions, and policies. It should facilitate the sharing of data and lived experiences of people affected by and interacting with social-ecological systems with less sea ice, glaciers, and snow cover.