Climate Change Impacts in Major Mountainous Regions of the World

The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) is taking the lead to implement UNESCO’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation through an intersectoral project entitled "Climate Change Impacts in Major Mountainous Regions of the World: Multidisciplinary Network for Adaptation Strategies (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe)".

The overall objective of this project is to contribute to enhanced resilience to global change, particularly climate change, through improved understanding of vulnerabilities, opportunities and potentials for adaptation, and through the development of strategies and policies based on scientific evidence-based knowledge in major mountain regions of Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

For the implementation of this project, regional workshops are being organized to gather inputs from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Research needs have been identified, as well as most vulnerable communities and groups. Moreover, best practices highlighting community adaptation initiatives and strategies have been documented and disseminated in each region.

Regional workshop on Climate Change Impacts in Asian Mountains

A regional workshop on climate change impacts in Asian mountains was organized in Kathmandu, Nepal, 13-15 March, 2013, in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Over 50 participants attended the workshop, from Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, China, Myanmar, Ireland, France, USA, and Denmark. The regional workshop was organized involving glaciologists, hydrologists, water resources experts, mountain biosphere managers, representatives from Natural Heritage sites, policy makers, social scientists, communication experts and advisors, local stakeholders and experts from the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) networks. A joint press release was circulated by UNESCO Kathmandu and ICIMOD. The government officials and experts together with the represented international organizations came up with a draft of recommendations.

Regional Workshop for Latin America

The regional workshop for Latin America will be organized in cooperation with UNEP and FAO in San Jose, Costa Rica, 20-22 August 2013, in coordination with the UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean based in Montevideo, Uruguay. The workshop will bring together glaciologists, hydrologists, water resources experts, mountain biosphere managers, representatives from Natural Heritage sites, policy makers, school teachers, social scientists, local stakeholders and experts from UNESCO’s IHP and MAB networks , to ensure that local stakeholders understand the global context of the project and can bring in their own knowledge, needs and expectations. The workshop will result in recommendations for policy advisers and decision makers of Member States of the region.

Regional Workshop for Africa

UNESCO and UNEP, in partnership with the FAO Mountain Partnership, are organizing the regional workshop on climate change in African mountains “African Mountain ecosystems as impacted by climate change: post Rio+20 actions”, in Nairobi, Kenya from 9-11 September 2013.  The workshop will gather specialists from all related fields, policy makers and local stakeholders.

• For further information, please contact Anil Mishra : a.mishra(at)unesco.org