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.
Mountains, one year after the Paris Agreementpeak to peakIssue 104 – Month 5 – Year 2017 The May issue of Peak to Peak reveals that 36 countries mentioned mountains in the first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) they submitted after signing and ratifying the Paris Agreement. The newsletter continues with stories about the Third World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)... Download » |
Crop diversity in the Pamir HighlandsnewsThe Public Organization “Environmental Consultancy”, jointly with the Pamir Eco-Cultural Tourism Association, will conduct a course on biocultural diversity, focused on the centennial of geneticist Nikolay Ivanovich Vavilov’s expedition to the Pamir Highlands to explore the links between genetic diversity of crops and human cultures, on 2-10 August 2017 in... Read more » |
Mountains, one year after the Paris AgreementnewsOne year ago, on 22 April (Earth Day) 2016, 175 of the 197 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York to sign the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to address climate change. As of today, one year after... Read more » |
Village for the Planet 2017eventMountain Partnership member Earth Day Italia Onlus, in collaboration with the Focolare Movement of Rome, is organizing the Villaggio per la Terra 2017, “Village for the Planet”, in celebration of Earth Day on 22 April. The event will take place in two locations in Rome, Italy: at the Terrazza... Read more » |
Mountains and Sacred LandscapeseventThe India China Institute (ICI) at The New School, the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (ISSRNC), American University’s Center for Latin America and Latino Studies (CLALS) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) announce an international conference on the theme of mountains... Read more » |
Mountain inventory published in Alpine BotanynewsAn article by the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) team has been published in the journal Alpine Botany. “A global inventory of mountains for bio-geographical applications” describes the process the GMBA team followed to develop an inventory of the world’s mountains in order to assess the biological diversity... Read more » |
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