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.
Italian MP member EV-K2 to monitor 7200 glaciers in PakistannewsAbout 7 200 glaciers in Pakistan will be monitored thanks to a project being led by the EV-K2 Association, an Italian member of the Mountain Partnership. The Italian-Pakistani project "Glaciers and Students" will make an inventory of the 7 200 glaciers of the Karakoram – the mountain range representing... Read more » |
Sustainable soil management in mountain regions - policy briefpublicationMountain soils represent a finite, virtually non-renewable resource that provide essential ecosystem services for life on Earth, not only in the mountains but also downstream. This policy brief, published as a contribution to the Interational Year of Sustainable Mountain Development 2022, discuss the drivers of soil degredation in mountain regions... Download » |
Building resilience into watersheds – A sourcebookpublicationThe purpose of this sourcebook is to provide advice on how to incorporate disaster risk reduction and resilience building into the watershed management process. As an increasingly heavier toll is exerted on agriculture and food systems by drought, floods, wildfires, and other extreme events, adopting risk reduction and management practices...
|
"Restoring mountain ecosystems" theme of International Mountain Day 2023peak to peakThe February 2023 issue of Peak to Peak announces the theme of International Mountain Day 2023: "Restoring mountain ecosystems". Top news stories highlight the addition of four new governments as members of the Mountain Partnership, a call for inputs for the 2022 Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report, a recent conference... Download » |
Mountains and Food: Current Trends and Challenges in Europe’s Mountain RegionspublicationThe Journal of Alpine Research has released a new issue dedicated to the relationship between food and mountains. https://doi.org/10.4000/rga.10540 Download the open access journal here Photo: ©Roberto Cilenti Download » |
"Restoring mountain ecosystems" theme of International Mountain Day 2023newsRestoring mountain ecosystems is the theme of this year's International Mountain Day on 11 December. This theme was selected to fully include mountains in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the UN Environment Programme. The Decade is... Read more » |
Mountain Partnership
| Our work
| Focus areas
| Follow Us Subscribe to Peak to Peak Newsletter
|