18 December 2018
UNEP Report Decries Low Policy Attention to Adaptation in Mountain Ecosystems
Photo by Ivetta Gerasimchuk | IISD
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The Synthesis Report notes that while mountain regions occupy about one-quarter of the Earth’s land surface and are home to 15% of the world’s population, their influence extends far beyond their ranges.

The publication emphasizes that despite experiencing a disproportionately high number of disasters compared to other environments, too little attention is currently paid to climate change adaptation in mountainous regions.

The publication is derived from the 2018 Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series, co-published by UN Environment and GRID-Arendal.

11 December 2018: Coinciding with World Mountain Day 2018, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP, or UN Environment) and GRID-Arendal launched the ‘Mountain Adaptation Synthesis Report’ on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland. The publication emphasizes that despite experiencing a disproportionately high number of disasters compared to other environments, too little attention is currently paid to climate change adaptation in mountainous regions.

The Synthesis Report provides an in-depth review of trends, key risks and common policy gaps within and across different mountain regions, with a view to developing more targeted strategies to deal with the effects of climate change on mountain ecosystems. It is derived from the 2018 Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series, which examines existing adaptation policies in some of the world’s largest mountain ranges, including the Carpathian Mountains, the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Southern Caucasus, Tropical Andes and mountain ranges in Central Asia, Eastern Africa and the Western Balkans.

Successful adaptation to climate change is crucial for the people living in the mountains and those living downstream.

The Synthesis Report notes that while mountain regions occupy about one-quarter of the Earth’s land surface and are home to 15% of the world’s population, their influence extends far beyond their ranges. Some mountain-specific climate risks highlighted in the report include avalanches, landslides, reduced snow cover, wildfires, melting glaciers, degradation of forests and ecosystems, floods, vector-borne diseases and droughts. The publication discusses how these risks expose already vulnerable and often marginalized mountain communities and destabilize some of their wealth-generating sectors, including agriculture, tourism and biodiversity. Successful adaptation to climate change is therefore crucial, not only for the people living in the mountains, but also for those living downstream, the report concludes.

The Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series and Synthesis Report were produced in the context of the inter-regional project, ‘Climate Change Action in Developing Countries with Fragile Mountainous Ecosystems from a Sub-regional Perspective,’ that is financially co-supported by the Government of Austria and co-implemented by UNEP and GRID-Arendal. [Publication: Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series: Synthesis Report] [Publication Landing Page] [UNEP News Release]


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