Forward

Global change is a reality. A wealth of scientific information, from paleo studies of past variability of the Earth’s environment, from observations of current changes, and from model-based projections of the future evolution of the Earth System, shows that the changes are more rapid and profound than in the past millenia and will continue for at least the next century. The effects of global environmental change, however, will be felt much differently at the regional level.

The Global Change and Mountains Region Research Initiative is based on a geographical feature - mountain regions - that may experience the impacts of the rapidly changing global environment more strongly than others. Mountains are a source of inspiration and recreation for a crowded world but they also serve as the ‘Water Towers of the World’, and with a growing emphasis globally on water resource issues, this function is crucial for human well-being. Also, mountains, with their sharp altitudinal gradients, often intensify and transmit environmental impacts to lowlands. These same altitudinal gradients result in distributions of species that may change markedly during global change and may be sensitive indicators of subsequent impacts to lowlands. Water yield is affected by the biological community covering the watershed.,

This Initiative spans a range of activities - monitoring, detection of change, fundamental process research and modelling, and policy and management applications - which are essential components of studying global environmental change. It is thus appropriate that three international global environmental change organisations - the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), and the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) - endorse this Initiative.

IGBP has been involved from the beginning of the Initiative’s development, through support of the initial scoping workshop and the participation of many IGBP-associated scientists in the evolution of this prospectus. The Initiative, especially Activities 2 and 3, have drawn on, and will contribute to, the scientific agendas of three IGBP core projects, BAHC, GCTE and PAGES, and one core project, LUCC, which is jointly sponsored by IGBP and IHDP. The detailed tasks within the prospectus are linked explicitly to science and implementation plans of the core projects, and provide a strong framework within which to build interaction and collaboration.

Activity 4, with its focus on changes in forest resources, agricultural systems and water resources, is of particular interest to the IHDP. The links to the LUCC project are strong, but in addition because of the institutional dimensions of resource use in mountain areas the Initiative could contribute to the scientific agenda of the IDGEC project and studies of changes of resources and the vulnerabilities of humans living in mountain areas to such changes can be linked to the work of the GECHS project.

The Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) is charged with developing the data and information needed to understand global change and their potential impacts on sustainable development. However, before this can be accomplished, there is a need (i) to strengthen the ability of existing observations and related research, (ii) scientists to share and exchange information, and (iii) to collaborate on global change studies. Activity 1 (Long-term monitoring and analysis of indicators of environmental change in mountain regions) of the Global Change and Mountains Region Research Initiative provides an excellent opportunity to improve collaboration in mountain regions.

A strong feature of the Global Change and Mountain Regions Initiative is the integration of work across its major components. This provides a bridge between the research taking place in the scientific community and the observations and synthesis being undertaken in the international organisations. This will facilitate the linking of mountain issues with more immediate resource management problems and policy issues.

We thank the many scientists who have contributed to the design and development of this prospectus, in particular, Alfred Becker and Harald Bugmann, who have seen this effort through to the publication of this document. The mountain research community has important challenges to meet in implementing this Initiative and we look forward to some exciting results and enhanced understanding in this area of global change science in the coming years.