A publication launched at the 2014 COP 20 in Lima, Peru, by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and partners, highlights the value and vulnerability of the world’s mountain regions, and makes recommendations for sustainable mountain development in the face of climate change. Mountains and Climate Change – A Global Concern provides a synthesis of current knowledge, together with a number of case studies, and emphasises the role and importance of mountain goods and services for global sustainable development.

Themes discussed in the report include water, glaciers and permafrost, hazards, biodiversity, food security and economy. The case studies included demonstrate that concrete adaptive action has been taken in many mountain areas of the world.

Following up on this, and as part of the contributions to the SDG debates and negotiations, the Mountain Partnership also produced recently a policy brief entitled Mountains as the water towers of the world: A call for action on the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

IRDR is keen to see case studies being developed on hazards and climate change that respond to the recent Belmont Forum on Collaborative Research Action on Mountains as Sentinels of Change. Its host institute in Beijing, RADI, is working with NASA on deploying novel Earth Observation technologies to analyse change in the Himalaya.

Download the full report: Mountains and Climate Change – A Global Concern