Mountains and Climate Change A Global Concern

About this book

Language: English

Mountains are among the regions most affected by climate change. The implications of climate change will reach far beyond mountain areas, as the contributions in the present publication prepared for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20) in Lima 2014 show. Themes discussed are water, glaciers and permafrost, hazards, biodiversity, food security and economy. The case studies included show that concrete adaptive action has been taken in many mountain areas of the world. Mountains and Climate Change concludes with a series of recommendations for sustainable mountain development in the face of climate change.

Contents

Foreword 5

1 Climate and Mountains
      Climate Change and Mountains 8
      Climate Change in the European Alps 14
      Observed and Future Changes in the Tropical Andes 16
      Climate Change and Black Carbon in the Himalayas 18
      Climate Change in the Carpathian Region 20

2 Mountain Waters
      Mountain Waters and Climate Change From a Socio-Economic Perspective 26
      Andean Water for Peru’s Coastal Deserts 32
      Assessing Water Balance in the Upper Indus Basin 35
      Impacts of Global Warming on Mountain Runoff: Key Messages From the IPCC Report 38
      Water Management Options Under Climate Change in the Swiss Alps 40
      Moving a Whole Village as a Last Resort 44
      Peak Water: An Unsustainable Increase in Water Availability From Melting Glaciers 47

3 Mountain Glaciers
      Mountain Glaciers: On Thinning Ice 52
      Resuming Glacier Monitoring in Kyrgyzstan 57
      Strengthening Glacier Monitoring in the Tropical Andes 58

4 Mountain Hazards
      Mountain Hazards and Climate Change 62
      Erosion Control and Climate Change in Japan 68
      Abnormal Monsoon Floods in the Indian Trans-Himalayas 70
      Reducing Vulnerability to Climatic Risks in the Indian Himalayan Region 72
      Pokhara’s Elusive Past 74

5 Mountain Biodiversity
      Biodiversity in Mountains: Natural Heritage Under Threat 78
      Iran: Home to Unique Flora Threatened by Global Warming 82
      Climate-Resilient Pasture Management in the Ethiopian Highlands 85
      Mountain Forests for Biodiversity Conservation and Protection Against Natural Hazards 88

6 Food Security in Mountains
      Mountains, Climate Change and Food Security 92
      Preserving Agroforestry on Mount Kilimanjaro 98
      Adapting to Climate Change in the Peruvian Andes 100
      Promoting Water Use Efficiency in Central Asia 102
      Food Security in the Hindu Kush Himalayas and the Added Burden of Climate Change 104

7 Mountain Economy
      Mountain Economies, Sustainable Development and Climate Change 110
      Alpacas or Llamas? Management of Uncertainty Among Livestock Keepers in the High Andes 118

Mountains and Climate Change: A Global Concern
      Mountains and Climate Change: A Global Concern 124
      Policy messages 127

References and Further Reading 128
Authors 135

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