News

September 2023 update on mountain protected areas

12.09.2023

The 119th Mountain Protected Areas Update published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is now available online. This quarter's newsletter focuses on how the climate crisis is leading to extreme natural disasters in mountains. The note from the editor, Gillian Anderson, calls for climate action and shares how ecosystem restoration efforts can lead to the return of beloved mountain species – such as the reemergence of the long-nosed bandicoot, a small Australian marsupial that had not been seen for decades in the Mount Buffalo National Park.

Stories in the newsletter cover extreme events driven by climate change, including heat records being set in the Andean mountains, a devastating wildfire season in Algeria and Canada, and rockslides in Austria and Switzerland driven by melting ice.

Conservation efforts in Austria aim to address threats degrading the high-altitude habitats facing of the Apollo butterfly. Through the establishment of protected areas, habitat restoration projects, monitoring programmes and public awareness campaigns, stakeholders are working to safeguard the Apollo butterfly and ensure its continued presence in the alpine landscapes of Austria for future generations to admire.

Other newsletter highlights include the announcement of a paper by the IUCN WCPA's Mountains Specialist Group Chair Peter Jacobs being published in the special issue of the journal Land on "Perspectives on Mountain Conservation", as well as a feature on the development of Iraq's first long-distance walking trail.

IUCN is a membership union of government and civil society organizations. They work to advance sustainable development and create a just world that values and conserves nature. WCPA develops and disseminates knowledge, science-based policy, advice and guidance on a full suite of issues surrounding protected areas through regions, themes, specialist groups, and task forces. The Mountains Specialist Group facilitates the enhanced conservation, effective management and adequate protection of mountain protected areas and advocates for further protection of priority areas of one of the Earth's most important biomes. This includes their biodiversity, cultural, social and economic values.

Read more about these and other stories in the newsletter, which can be found here.

Photo: ©Manuel R. Guariguata