Mountains provide water, timber, biodiversity, and carbon storage, benefiting billions of people in nearby areas and the lowlands. With increased investment, technical support, and policies targeting the most vulnerable, mountain communities can bring about the changes needed to adapt to the new realities of life in mountains
by International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
December 13, 2024
As climate change intensifies, the world’s mountains face escalating threats. Glacier melting, declines in water availability, and increasingly frequent extreme hazards, such as floods and landslides, are affecting mountains, with devastating consequences also for populations downstream.
Protecting these landscapes isn’t just an environmental issue – it’s a matter of survival. Mountains provide water, timber, biodiversity, and carbon storage, benefiting billions of people in nearby areas and the lowlands.
The implications of climate change for those who live in mountains, and for many who do not, cannot be overstated.
Put quite simply, even the rate of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels will be too much for mountain ecosystems to withstand in their present form.
And because of this, while the world must commit to reducing emissions, mountain communities must also be supported to adapt if we are to achieve the SDGs such as SDG 15 (life on land), SDG 2 (zero hunger), and SDG 1 (no poverty).
On December 11, we celebrated International Mountain Day under the theme of “Mountain Solutions for a Sustainable Future – Innovation, Adaptation and Youth.”
For the day, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership have released a new publication which recognizes the importance of blending innovation and tradition when designing adaptation strategies for mountain regions worldwide.
Crucially, it also highlights the key role that mountain communities themselves can play in addressing the climate crisis.
As a baseline, the report explains, we need to ensure that we know what is happening in our mountains, which includes innovative ways of monitoring glacier melt.
In the Andes, for example, a new project has brought together ten Andean research institutes to homogenize the raw glaciological mass balance datasets of ten glaciers, which in turn can support informed decision making for water management and climate change adaptation.
At the same time, local traditional knowledge can provide powerful solutions.
In the Himalayas, communities in the cold desert of Ladakh have traditionally dug ponds, called zings, near their villages to store water from melted snow and glacial streams which they use to irrigate crops during the short growing season. More effective use of this simple, time-tested approach has helped increase crop yields by 30-40% and reduced the vulnerability of Ladakh farmers to climate-induced water scarcity.
Mountain communities have another highly valuable asset in the energy, passion, and creativity of their young people. Today’s world youth – 1.8 billion strong – are the largest in history, and they have the potential to be the most influential advocates for climate action, including in mountains.
Through ingenuity, conservation efforts, and youth-led enterprises, these communities are not just surviving – they are finding solutions that will impact their lives for the better.
In Kenya, students have implemented gabions, wire mesh barriers filled with rocks, to combat soil erosion. In Peru, young people are learning how to protect the stingless bee, a critical pollinator in their region, through conservation workshops.
At global level, the Mountain Partnership, a voluntary alliance working to preserve mountains and support mountain communities, is taking steps to mobilize young people through the Mountain Youth Hub, which enables young people to share ideas and coordinate actions worldwide.
The Mountain Partnership also supports communities to develop social businesses through its Business Incubator and Accelerator programme. In Mongolia, it has supported the Mongolian Wool and Cashmere Association in boosting social business entrepreneurship in eco-friendly cashmere production, safeguarding herders’ livelihoods through sustainable practices and adaptation.
These examples show that with increased investment, technical support, and policies targeting the most vulnerable, mountain communities can bring about the changes needed to adapt to the new realities of life in mountains.
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This article was originally published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and is republished here as part of an editorial collaboration with the IISD. It was authored by Zhimin Wu, Director of the Forestry Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).