According to the World Mountain Forum, if current global warming trends continue, many glaciers in mountain regions may vanish by the end of the century.
The Forum warned that mountain systems support over half of the world's population, providing ecosystem goods and services such as water, agro-biodiversity and energy.
11 December 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), together with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Fondation pour le Développement Durable des Régions de Montagne (FDDM), the BOTZA Association, the private sector and the Commune de Bagnes, have hosted the World Mountain Forum in Verbier, Switzerland.
The event, which convened from 9-11 December, called for new forms of collaboration between governments, the private sector and local communities, to address climate change. According to the World Mountain Forum, if current global warming trends continue, many glaciers in mountain regions may vanish by the end of the century. The Forum warned that mountain systems support over half of the world’s population, providing ecosystem goods and services such as water, agro-biodiversity and energy.
The Forum concluded that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are an essential component in meeting this challenge of conserving mountain resources, by assisting in unleashing market forces, and drawing on the capacity of the private sector for innovation and resource mobilization. [UNEP Press Release][VerbierGPS2011 Website] [World Mountain Forum Press Release]