UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres calls on mountain countries to take bold action on climate change mitigation and adaption

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.

Retreating Ice Leaves Glacial Species On The Rocks

Retreating Ice Leaves Glacial Species On The Rocks

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The rapid retreat of glaciers is one of the most visible signs of Earth’s changing climate, but the disappearance of the ice is altering far more than physical landscape. An analysis suggests that species that live in the streams and rivers that flow from melting glaciers could begin to vanish...

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The gender dimensions of climate change

The gender dimensions of climate change

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By empowering women, practical and sustainable climate change solutions can be found while contributing to the transformation of gender inequalities. BRIDGE has recently finished a two year Gender and Climate Change Programme, in collaboration with partners based in Paraguay, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Colombia and Germany – and a global community...

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City of Aspen (US) moved into warmer climate zone

City of Aspen (US) moved into warmer climate zone

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New national climate designations released this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirm that winter is getting warmer around the city of Aspen. The mountain city of Aspen, member of the Mountain Partnership since 2010 is, for the first time, in the same climate zone of warmer and...

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UNEP to implement EUR 2.3 million project rehabilitating the water towers of Kenya

UNEP to implement EUR 2.3 million project rehabilitating the water towers of Kenya

peak to peak

Issue 49 - Month 02 - Year 2012

 

A new three-year intervention to rehabilitate the Northern Mau Forest at the cost of EUR 2.3 million is set to deliver multiple benefits for Kenya and the region

The Mau Forest isn’t just the largest mountain forest in Kenya. It...

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Climate change may push Andean species skyward

Climate change may push Andean species skyward

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A new study led by researchers at Duke University has identified and mapped hundreds of endemic plant and animal species across 17,000 miles of east-facing Andean uplift, a section ranging through Bolivia and Peru. It found that only 20 percent of areas with the highest levels of biodiversity are protected...

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Conference: Planet Under Pressure 2012 - 26-29 March 2012, London, UK

Conference: Planet Under Pressure 2012 - 26-29 March 2012, London, UK

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The 2012 international Planet Under Pressure conference will take place from 26 to 29 March 2012 in London, UK. The conference aims to provide a comprehensive and scientific update on the pressure that planet Earth is now under. Global sustainability scientists, decision-makers in policy, development, business and the wider non-government...

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