Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series - Synthesis Report

Foreword

Mountain ecosystems are critical to the lives of over half of the world’s population. They are a source of water, energy, agriculture and other essential goods and services. But they are vanishing in front of our eyes. For example, Venezuela’s last glacier, the Humboldt glacier in the Andes is about to disappear. On the other side of the world, the world’s highest glaciers in the Himalayas are also shrinking, threatening the livelihoods and water security of almost one billion people. As climate change threatens to wipe out this vital ecosystem, many communities often living in remote locations in poverty, remain on the fringes of climate action. It is for these reasons that the United Nations Environment Programme and partners have developed a series of outlook reports about the need for urgent action to protect mountain ecosystems and to mitigate human risk from extreme events.

The series examines the effectiveness of existing adaptation policies in a number of areas including the Carpathian Mountains, Central Asia, Eastern Africa, Western Balkans, Hindu Kush Himalaya Southern Caucasus and the Tropical Andes. The reports identify critical gaps that must be addressed to meet current and future risks from climate change. The assessment process included widespread consultations with national governments and regional and international experts, with the aim of offering comprehensive recommendations to help people and ecosystems adapt to climate change. Importantly, the Report synthesizes and highlights common challenges to increase global cooperation around mountain adaptation. Across all regions rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns affect a range of mountain ecosystems, including forests, grasslands and lakes. Furthermore, other anthropogenic threats such as pollution from

mining and unsustainable agriculture, erode people’s ability to cope with climate change. The combined impact has increased the vulnerability of local populations that depend on mountain ecosystems. Their vulnerability is compounded by isolation from markets, services and governance institutions that impact their ability to deal with climate risk Adaptation to climate change is presenting policymakers with a range of complex challenges and sharing evidence of practical solutions and polices is important for all mountainous countries and communities, which are facing similar climate hazards. We hope that this report will serve as a practical companion for local, regional and national policymakers and will foster cooperation globally between mountain regions to protect fragile mountain ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

Joyce Msuya Acting Executive Director UN Environment

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