Water
Each day, one of every two people on the planet quenches his thirst with water that originates in mountains. And as the world population swells to an estimated 9.6 billion by 2050, the worldwide demand for freshwater will continue to soar.
More than half of humanity relies on mountain freshwater for everyday life. The ten largest rivers originating in the Hindu Kush Himalayas alone supply water to over 1.35 billion people. Some of the world’s largest cities, including New York, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Tokyo and Melbourne, are dependent on freshwater from mountains.
Climate change is already causing more than 600 glaciers to disappear, resulting in springs and rivers drying up. Greater frequency of extreme weather events, droughts and floods, including flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), are also expected to increase in mountains, causing imbalance between current water supply and demand.
Given the importance of mountain water resources worldwide, the careful management of mountain water resources is a global priority. Water management practices need to be adapted to different climatic zones, using locally adapted soil and water management techniques. Most importantly, watershed management must take into account the needs of all those who depend on mountain water, including those who have the greatest stake in preserving healthy mountain ecosystems – people who live in mountain areas themselves, who are often marginalized from the decision-making processes.
Mountain Partnership members meet in KyrgyzstannewsThe Mountain Societies Research Institute of the University of Central Asia (MSRI\UCA) hosted a meeting of Mountain Partnership members in Central Asia on 22 June 2018. Representatives of MSRI, Aigine Cultural Research Center, PF EKOIS, Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy Public Fund...
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High-level International Conference on the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028eventLack of access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and sound hygiene, along with water scarcity and water pollution constitute some of today’s biggest challenges for the international community, in particular for developing countries. Increasingly frequent water-related disasters, climate change, urbanization, population growth, desertification and drought combined with a lack...
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IPROMO 2018: Bioeconomy in mountain areasnewsThe bioeconomy of the world’s mountains will be under discussion at the 2018 International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) in Ormea and Pieve Tesino, Italy, from 18 June to 2 July. Some 37 technical officers and researchers from more than 20 countries will...
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Mountain Futures in ChinanewsResearchers and representatives from governments, mountain communities and private sector companies from across the globe meet at the four-day Mountain Futures 2018 conference to discuss inspiration and innovation from the world highlands.
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Call for Mountain Postcards from the AlpsnewsThe Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) aims to beat the Guinness World Record of the largest composed postcard with the help of children and youth. Mountain postcards from all over the world will be presented on the largest glacier of the Alps on 30 October 2018. The Paris Agreement...
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Sustainable water management at ForumAlpinumnewsFrom 4-8 June 2018, 2018, water experts from around the Alps gathered in Breitenwang, Austria, where the 7th Water Conference of the Alpine Convention, took place in the scope of the ForumAlpinum, a biannual event by the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR),...
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