News

Bridging the gap on mountain resilience

31.10.2018

The Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS) conference took place in Bolzano, Italy from 17 - 19 October 2018. GLOMOS is a joint initiative between EURAC Research and the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), which aims to enhance disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and emergency response preparedness in mountain regions worldwide.  In collaboration with the Governor of South Tyrol, the theme of this year’s conference was “Emerging Risks and Future Challenges for Mountain Regions worldwide”. Eurac Research and UNU-EHS have been working together since 2008 to advocate for vulnerability and risk research in mountain regions and bridge the gap between the international academic community and the United Nations system.

Present and future challenges in mountain areas worldwide were discussed in order to bring scientific knowledge into action through an open dialogue between scientists, government representatives, UN agencies, public and private institutions and international organizations specialized in mountain related topics. Over 150 participants from all over the world attended the three-day conference.

During the first day of the Global Mountain Safeguard Research conference, Yuka Makino, Coordinator of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat presented on “Mountain Governance and Mountain Livelihoods: Leaving no one behind”. She discussed the importance of mountain advocacy and the importance of creating a unified message for change.

“We need an alliance and a unified voice out there that talks about mountains. We want to bring the focus to the people who live in the mountains,” she said. Makino also highlighted how mountain peoples suffer from high rates of food insecurity and lack of access to infrastructure, education and public services.

“To increase food security for the people living in the mountains, we need to help strengthen their skills and value chains,” said Makino. “We also must take risk-based approaches and focus on national policies that target sustainable mountain development," said Yuka Makino.  

“Results from this conference will provide the common ground for joint scientific projects and activities in the near future,” concluded Dirk Messner, director of the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn.  

The GLOMOS initiative hopes to turn science into action by creating a bridge between science and the global conventions and frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.  In the future, The United Nations University and Eurac hope to continue demonstrating the competency of South Tyrolian institutions by contributing through collaborative global mountain research.

Read more

Photo by EURAC