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From Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to the highlands of Armenia, the climate crisis is being increasingly felt in vulnerable mountain environments. Amplified warming at higher elevations, changing precipitation patterns and intensified natural hazards are adding substantially to development challenges.   

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability confirms that climate change poses increasing challenges to the goods and services mountains offer, including their ability to store and purify fresh water, support crops and host visitors.

To mark the official launch of the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has published two new booklets, titled Mountains ADAPT. They feature 27 concrete solutions in mountainous areas to adapt to the climate crisis – 18 in East Africa and nine in the South Caucasus. The material was produced under the Adaptation at Altitude programme, which is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by UNEP and partners – the Mountain Research Initiative among them.

According to two recent studies carried out as part of the Vanishing Glaciers Project, the ecosystems of glacier-fed streams are undergoing profound change around the world. That could have major repercussions on the food chain and the natural carbon cycle.

The ecosystems of glacier-fed streams have survived nutrient-poor and harsh environmental conditions over the course of thousands of years, yet they are now being transformed by climate change at unprecedented pace. That’s the conclusion of two studies published by scientists at EPFL’s River Ecosystems Laboratory (RIVER), which is part of EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC).

Taking place on 28 April 2022, the launch event of the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development aimed to raise awareness of the importance of mountains for sustainable development. MRI Executive Director Carolina Adler was among the speakers, presenting the main results of the recent IPCC report on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, and on ways to use this knowledge towards climate resilient development in mountains.

Mountains are home to 15 percent of the world’s population and host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. They provide freshwater for everyday life to half of humanity. Their conservation is a key factor for sustainable development. Unfortunately, mountains are under threat from climate change and overexploitation, while mountain communities face increasing poverty. To address these threats, the UN General Assembly (UNGA), in December 2021, passed a resolution declaring the year 2022 as the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development, 2022. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic proposed the resolution, which was sponsored by 94 governments.

The Joint Body on the Status of Mountain Snow Cover welcomes expressions of interest from individuals with relevant expertise willing to actively contribute to one or several of the Joint Body's Work Package objectives. The deadline has been extended to 24 June 2022.

Climate change is impacting the amount and distribution of mountain snow cover over space and time. Knowledge of these changes is of great importance for research and practice, not least given the important role that snow plays for mountain ecosystems, natural hazards, and tourism, as well as providing a source of water for ecosystems and humans. Despite the high relevance of snow in mountain regions, an inventory for mountain snow cover and the underlying processes comparable on a global scale are still lacking. Even regional inventories are strongly limited to a few well-monitored mountain ranges, such as in the U.S. Rockies and the European Alps.

Help shape climate change adaptations in Valle dei Laghi and the wider Trentino-Alto Adige region by providing your expertise via this IMPETUS survey.

Residents and experts working in the Valle dei Laghi and wider Trentino-Alto Adige region have the opportunity to contribute to a major project that is testing and creating solutions to help the valley adapt to the impacts of climate change.

This MRI-funded synthesis workshop, which became a small research project during the pandemic (fieldwork led by African students), addressed smallholder farmers’ adaptation to climate change in 10 African mountains.

With an emphasis on everyday practices of climate change adaptation among small-scale farmers in African mountains, workshop organizers sought to improve understanding of the challenges and opportunities for Transformative Adaptation to Climate Change; foster inter-regional dialogue; and initiate a network of mountain experts, providing opportunities for follow-on exchange and collaboration.

World could undo social and economic advances and face 1.5 disasters a day by 2030, according to UN’s flagship Global Assessment Report.

Human activity and behaviour is contributing to an increasing number of disasters across the world, putting millions of lives and every social and economic gain in danger, warns a new UN report.

In a new research article from GEO Mountains, Thornton et al. analyse the coverage of in situ climatological observations across the world's mountains. 

In situ climatological data from the world's mountains are crucial for many applications. As such, any limitations associated with such data (e.g., limited spatial density of stations, short record lengths, relative lack of observations at higher elevations, etc.) can impinge upon several important activities, not least tracking changing mountain climates, better understanding the key processes and feedbacks involved, and making reliable projections of change impacts.

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