UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres calls on mountain countries to take bold action on climate change mitigation and adaption
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Mountains and climate change
Human activities are profoundly affecting the world’s climate, and mountains are a sensitive indicator of that effect. Because of their altitude, slope and orientation to the sun, mountain ecosystems are easily disrupted by variations in climate. Many scientists believe that the changes occurring in mountain ecosystems may provide an early glimpse of what could come to pass in lowland environments.
As the world heats up, mountain glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates, while rare plants and animals struggle to survive over ever diminishing areas, and mountain peoples, already among the world’s poorest citizens, face even greater hardships.
Changes in the volume of mountain glaciers and in their seasonal melting patterns have an impact on water resources in many parts of the world. Changes in water availability due to climate change are taking place at a time when pressure on water resources for irrigation and food production, industrialization and urbanization is increasing.
Understanding how climate change affects mountains is vital as governments and international organizations develop strategies to reverse current global warming trends, elaborating treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition, local community empowerment can be an essential step towards building climate change resilience in mountains.
Mountains at the World Conservation CongressnewsThis year the World Conservation Congress, hosted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will feature a number of events that address mountains on 1-10 September in Hawaii, USA. The discussions will revolve around the theme of “Planet at the crossroads”, signifying that “the ecosystems...
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Agro-ecology training in mountains of MorocconewsMigrations & Développement started a project to train a network of farmers in southern Morocco in the ways of agro-ecology. To resolve two of the challenges that farmers in rural areas of the Moroccan Mountains are facing, namely poverty and the harsh living conditions, and environmental degradation due to...
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Call for input for Snow Leopard DaynewsThe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of Kyrgyzstan and the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Secretariat are planning a high-level panel event and the launch of a publication for International Snow Leopard Day 2016 in close collaboration with the Global Environment Facility...
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Adaptation to climate change in Gandaki basinnewsHI-AWARE – a research programme on adaptation, water and resilience in glacier and snowpack dependent river basins of the region – brought together policy makers and practitioners from Nepal for a two-day workshop to share initial results of research in the Gandaki river basin. “Engaging with policy makers and practitioners...
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International Glacier and Mountain Ecosystems ForumeventThe International Glacier and Mountain Ecosystems Forum is an event that seeks to exchange experiences and knowledge about glaciers and mountain ecosystems, promoting opportunities for cooperation between public institutions, civil society organizations, business and academia, for the implementation of research on sustainable development of mountain populations. During the forum, there will...
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Environmental calendar drawn up in ArgentinanewsAn environmental calendar was created in the first half of 2016, with the support of CONICET, in Santa Catalina, a town situated in the high elevations of the Argentinian province of Jujuy. The result of intercultural efforts, the calendar was requested by various communities who wanted to record their local...
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