MRI News

This MRI-funded synthesis workshop, held virtually in April, addressed renewable energy transitions in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH), Andes and Alps.

Jointly sponsored by the MRI and ICIMOD Himalayan University Consortium, and coordinated by the University of Arizona’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, the workshop brought together experts and participants, including young professionals, to discuss conceptual and applied case-study topics and prepare a series of video blogs (vlogs). The workshop will lead to future exchanges, publications and policy-brief outputs on the state of energy transitions in mountains globally.

How can education contribute to sustainable development in mountain areas? This new focus issue of Mountain Research and Development (MRD), guest-edited by MRI Chair Jörg Balsiger and former MRD MountainMedia Editor Martin Price, seeks to provide answers to this question.

A multiplicity of educational experiences, programs, and approaches exist or are currently being designed—in, on, or for mountains. A new focus issue of the open access journal Mountain Research and Development (MRD)  offers some answers to the question of how education can contribute to sustainable development in mountain areas. Articles present examples and insights from around the world and cover a wide range of formal and informal education at all levels, including practical training and lifelong learning opportunities.

How does a glacier impact the people whose lives are lived in the landscape it shapes? In this interactive photo essay, members of the Juneau community in Alaska reflect on life shared with the Áakʼw Tʼáak Sítʼ (or Mendenhall) glacier – and how it feels to witness it receding as a result of climate change.

"Arriving recently in Switzerland from Juneau, Alaska, I joined the MRI Coordination Office just in time to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The anniversary theme 20 Years of Our Changing Mountains causes me to reflect on how the glaciers in my hometown have changed in recent decades. Juneau is located in Lingít Aaní, the homeland of the Tlingit people since time immemorial. One of our most beloved glaciers is Áakʼw Tʼáak Sítʼ (Glacier Upland of the Little Lake), also known as Mendenhall Glacier. 

A new article published in the journal One Earth finds that Nature-based Solutions can contribute to transformative change towards sustainable trajectories. The article builds upon an MRI-funded Synthesis Workshop.

The global environmental crisis requires transformative approaches to sustainability. A new publication in One Earth assesses Nature-based Solutions' (NbS) ability to bring about transformative change.

The European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly 2021 took place virtually from 19-30 April, 2021. GEO Mountains Scientific Project Officer James Thornton hosted a splinter meeting focused on mountain observations and presented recent progress toward defining Essential Mountain Climate Variables (EMCVs).

A new brief prepared by GRID-Arendal and the UN Environment Programme, in collaboration with the Mountain Research Initiative and the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment, highlights assessment indicators considered important for safeguarding mountain biodiversity and ecosystem integrity in line with previous policy recommendations to elevate mountains in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Effective indicators of mountain biodiversity and ecosystems status and trends are crucial for supporting the goals and targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Given the uniqueness of biodiversity in mountains, and the relevance of the ecosystem services they deliver for the wellbeing of people worldwide, the need to elevate mountains in the GBF was addressed by previous policy briefs presented at the first and second GBF Open-Ended Working Group meetings.

The European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly 2021 took place virtually April 19-30. MRI Executive Director Carolina Adler, co-PI Christian Huggel, and Scientific Project Officer Gabrielle Vance convened the session 'Risks From a Changing Cryosphere, and Mountains Under Global Change' with Matthew Westoby and Michael Krautblatter. 

Representing GEO Mountains, MRI Scientific Project Officer James Thornton hosted a dedicated splinter meeting, 'Interdisciplinary Environmental and Socio-Economic Observations in the World’s Mountains: Identifying Solutions to Key Challenges,' and presented recent progress 'Towards a definition of Essential Mountain Climate Variables.' Read more about GEO Mountains at EGU 2021 here

Today marked the second event in the MRI Anniversary Lecture Series, celebrating 20 years since the MRI Coordination Office was founded in 2001. This series aims to showcase MRI synthesis workshop research and build capacity in the mountain research community.

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