Water
Each day, one of every two people on the planet quenches his thirst with water that originates in mountains. And as the world population swells to an estimated 9.6 billion by 2050, the worldwide demand for freshwater will continue to soar.
More than half of humanity relies on mountain freshwater for everyday life. The ten largest rivers originating in the Hindu Kush Himalayas alone supply water to over 1.35 billion people. Some of the world’s largest cities, including New York, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Tokyo and Melbourne, are dependent on freshwater from mountains.
Climate change is already causing more than 600 glaciers to disappear, resulting in springs and rivers drying up. Greater frequency of extreme weather events, droughts and floods, including flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), are also expected to increase in mountains, causing imbalance between current water supply and demand.
Given the importance of mountain water resources worldwide, the careful management of mountain water resources is a global priority. Water management practices need to be adapted to different climatic zones, using locally adapted soil and water management techniques. Most importantly, watershed management must take into account the needs of all those who depend on mountain water, including those who have the greatest stake in preserving healthy mountain ecosystems – people who live in mountain areas themselves, who are often marginalized from the decision-making processes.
National climate change plans cite mountainspeak to peakIssue 96 – Month 9 – Year 2016 The September issue of Peak to Peak reveals that 48 countries mentioned mountains in their national climate change plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The newsletter continues with stories about an agro-ecology training in the... Download » |
Mountains at the World Conservation CongressnewsThis year the World Conservation Congress, hosted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will feature a number of events that address mountains on 1-10 September in Hawaii, USA. The discussions will revolve around the theme of “Planet at the crossroads”, signifying that “the ecosystems...
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A Kyrgyz mountain water legendnewsThough the province of Batken in Kyrgyzstan is located south of the Fergana Valley, a very fertile part of Central Asia, it can hardly be called a ‘place of heaven’. The landscape is flat with a lack of vegetation, surrounded by rocky mountains. Arid climate and scarcity of water resources...
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Yachay Wasi re-visits Andean lakes projectsnewsVice President and Co-Founder of Yachay Wasi and main representative to the United Nations (UN) Marie-Danielle Samuel re-visited Acopia, Peru, in June 2016, returning to the site of several Yachay Wasi projects. She said: “I returned to Cuzco, Peru and, with the President of Yachay Wasi, I re-visited the Circuit...
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July issue of eco.mont journal now availablenewsThe July 2016 issue of “eco.mont – The Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management” is now available online. The journal was founded as a joint initiative of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR), the |
Call for mountain photographs for IMDnewsSend us your mountain photos. We are seeking pictures that show local mountain culture. You could submit portraits of mountain peoples or spontaneous shots of individuals engaging in traditional activities, festivals or everyday mountain life. The photographs will be used to promote International Mountain Day (IMD), which is 11 December. The...
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