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IPROMO 2020 call for applications: Mountains in a changing climate

23.06.2020

The Mountain Partnership Secretariat is pleased to announce the call for applications for the thirteenth International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) course. The annual training programme on sustainable mountain development is jointly organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS), the University of Turin, Italy, and the University of Tuscia, Italy, with the high patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This year’s theme is “Mountains in a changing climate: Threats, challenges and opportunities“.

Mountains are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures are rising faster at high elevations, with some areas experiencing global warming at a rate twice as fast as the global average. Glaciers are melting, more people and infrastructures are exposed to natural hazards, water resources and agriculture are being negatively impacted, and biodiversity is being lost. An integrated climate change approach in mountains allows for more effective sustainable management policies, adaptation and mitigation measures, which can prevent and alleviate the negative effects of climate change on mountain environments and communities. Sustainable management of mountains is essential for sustaining ecosystem services such as freshwater supply and food crop diversity, but also for combating the threats posed to local communities that are vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty.

The 2020 IPROMO course will focus on several aspects, tools and skills that contribute to an integrated management of mountain areas through the many lenses of climate change. Topics include environmental conservation, watershed management, mountain forests, soils and biodiversity, and also mountain policy and sustainable tourism.

The interrelations between climate change, watershed management, poverty reduction and food insecurity will be discussed during the course. Virtual working groups will be formed, allowing participants to share their knowledge and build a network of experts.

Course instructors will bring their perspectives from around the globe, including the University of British Colombia in Canada, Yamagata University in Japan and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, among others.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 IPROMO course will be held online from 28 September to 9 October. There will be four 45 minute modules per day, followed by 15 minutes for questions and answers: a total of four hours of lessons each day. The e-learning platforms used will be MOODLE and CISCO WEBEX; all lessons will be available both live and recorded. At the end of each day, a questionnaire will be distributed to participants to be filled before the following day’s lesson.

The course will accept approximately 35 participants, who will be selected among officers, development experts and technicians from all over the world. A small selection of the most committed students will be granted an automatic selection to next year’s IPROMO course in 2021 – which will be hopefully held in a classroom modality in Italy.

Excellent knowledge of English, an university degree (preferably in a technical area such as agriculture, forestry, biology, geology or geography), relevant work experience and a reliable digital connection are prerequisites for enrolling in the course.

Those who are interested in participating can register online and upload their curriculum vitae as a Word or PDF file here.

The deadline for the applications is 30 June 2020, and applicants can expect to receive a reply by end of July 2020.

For further queries, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]

Photo from Yuka Makino