Sustainable mountain development in East Africa in a changing climate

• Develop guidelines for implementation of selected innovations and best practices, at all levels of governance; and • Build capacity and mobilize resources for the implementation of innovations and best practices; and monitor implementation progress. Global and regional coordinated programmes to detect and monitor climate change in mountain ecosystems Mountains are known to be early detectors of climate change. It is, therefore, important to develop and implement well-targeted research to detect climate change and how this relates to mountain ecosystems and development – including trends in climate change and ecosystem responses. Results of ongoing research and monitoring programmes are vital, not only for the East African mountainous region, but also on a global scale. Interventions may seek to develop climate and ecosystem research for East Africa’s mountains as an early indicator of climate change through the following actions: • Develop research ideas and identify key actors, including research institutions at the national, transnational and global levels; and • Identify priority areas for research and develop research protocols. Other intervention areas will involve operationalizing platforms for sharing research results at both regional and global levels through: • Publicizing planned research programmes and raising awareness of the importance of the research and the need to participate; • Mobilizing resources and setting up research teams according to priority areas and available resources;

• Developing mechanisms for research and information sharing between teams and the public at large; and • Continuously monitoring research progress and feeding results into regional and global information networks for the prediction of climate change in mountain regions. Determination, evaluation and management of highland-lowland interactions and continuous monitoring of resource flows in order to avoid mountain resource depletion, and to realize increased financial benefits for mountain communities As a result of population growth and economic pressures, movement of both people and resources has increased. This includes both the movement of people from the lowlands into mountain areas in search of economic opportunities; and the flow of people and resources from the mountain areas to the lowlands to exchange products and services with lowland communities and to take advantage of more developed infrastructure and services. The dynamics of highland-lowland interactions, therefore, have important implications for mountain communities and resources. Understanding and continuously monitoring resource flows to and from mountain areas is crucial, particularly for ensuring that mountain resources are used sustainably. It is also important for a fairer distribution of earnings from natural resource exploitation and more equitable service provision in both mountains and lowlands. There is a need to establish a benefit sharing mechanism. Proposed interventions will seek to assess the nature and magnitude of highland-lowland resource flows

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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