Spring is in the air, and with it a fresh burst of energy and activity for us here at the MRI coordination office!

Earlier this month, the MRI’s Principle Investigators met with me in Bern to continue to develop and realign the MRI’s strategy for 2018/19 and beyond. We are now in the process of finalizing this and hope to be able to share it with you soon. There will be important announcements there on what we hope will be new ways to facilitate greater collaboration and participation within the mountain research community across the globe, and we look forward to your active engagement.

Towards the end of March, I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, meeting with colleagues at ICIMOD to discuss various ongoing collaborations such as our work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for monitoring and reporting on sustainable mountain development, which we are undertaking in the context of the Swiss Development Cooperation's 'Promoting Sustainable Mountain Development for Global Change (SMD4GC)' program. While in Kathmandu, I also attended the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) Management Committee Meeting, where I had the opportunity to present on the work of the UIAA's own Mountain Protection Commission and discuss with UIAA board members the strategic potential of linking to the mountain research community via MRI for their future projects and research needs. Finally, I was invited to give a talk at the Global Adventure and Mountaineering Conference and Expo (GAMCE) 2018, organised by the Nepal Tourism Board among others, where I had the opportunity to share ideas and link to new prospects for mountain research in the context of tourism and recreation. These prospects and ideas will be shared with the mountain research community by MRI at the upcoming Sustainable Summits Conference (SSC) 2018 in Chamonix, France, in June, and at the next SSC conference envisaged to take place in 2020 in Nepal.

We also continue to be actively involved in the high mountains chapter of the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC), where significant progress is being made. We would like to take this opportunity to encourage your participation in the development of this key publication by sharing your relevant, peer-reviewed mountain literature with us. You can also play an important role in this process by providing an expert review of the report’s First Order Draft. Further details, including information on important deadlines and how to submit your literature, can be found in the article below.

Plus, read on to discover the latest stories, publications, and opportunities from across the global mountain research community.

Kind regards,

Carolina Adler,
Executive Director MRI

• Swiss Polar Day, 4 April, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
• Mountain Partnership Steering Committee Meeting, 23-24 April, FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy.
• UIAA and IFMGA Environmental Commissions Meeting, 26-27 April, Samnaun, Switzerland.

• Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) 3rd Data Providers Workshop, 2 May, ESA-Frascati, Italy.
• International Mountains Conference 2019 Scientific Steering Committee Meeting, 3-4 May, Innsbruck, Austria.
• UIAA Mountain Protection Commission Meeting, 18-19 May, Lake District, UK.
• MRI / GEO-Global Network for Observations and Information in Mountain Environments Workshop, 23-25 May, Bern, Switzerland.