New Mountain Adaptation Outlooks launched at COP 21:
UN and partners call for immediate measures to strengthen climate
adaptation efforts in mountain regions
Paris, 11 December 2015 (International Mountain Day)– By promoting policies in
favour of ecosystem-based adaptation in mountain regions, countries could build resilience
and reduce the vulnerability of communities living in these high-altitude areas as well as
that of millions of others living downstream, concludes a series of Mountain Adaptation
Outlooks launched today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
A call to speed-up and strengthen these efforts came at a roundtable hosted by the Government
of Peru and co-organised by UNEP and GRID-Arendal as well as other partners at COP 21 in
Paris, where the new reports were launched.
There, the leaders committed to try and ensure mountains and climate change adaptation
become a priority issue at the inter-regional, regional and national level. They also
committed to make better use of existing technical assistance mechanisms such as the
Climate Technology Centre & Network and financial ones such as the Green Climate Fund
and support greater knowledge-sharing.
“Mountain ecosystems enrich the lives of over half of the world’s population as a source of
water, energy, agriculture and other essential goods and services. Unfortunately, while the
impact of climate change is accentuated at high altitude, such regions are often on the edge
of decision-making, partly due to their isolation, inaccessibility and relative poverty” said
UNEP’s Executive Director Achim Steiner.
The studies provide concrete examples of the threats posed by climate change to mountains
and recommend policy solutions. Key findings include:

Ecosystems of the Pamir-Alai and the Tien Shan mountains in Central Asia play an
extremely important role in the accumulation and supply of water in all of the
region’s countries during the vegetation season, when the resource is scarce. Melting
glaciers, permafrost and reduced snow cover are among the many ways in which
climate change threatens the essential water supply provided by mountains.

Many of the impacts caused by climate change in mountains regions will not only be
a future issue but are already a present-day concern. Farmers in the high mountains
are already forced to adapt by for example moving their crops to higher altitudes to
escape the heat. In the tropical Andes, farmers have had to move their potatoes up
by about 150 metres in the last 30 years.

The majority of natural disasters occur in mountainous regions. These include
landslides, glacial lake outburst floods and earthquakes, which threaten not only
mountain inhabitants and critical infrastructure but also people living in the
lowlands. The catastrophic flooding in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014 is
a recent example of this.

Fragile mountain environments - such as mountain grasslands, forests and wetlands
- are particularly vulnerable to climate change. These ecosystems currently provide
essential services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity and water supply.
Tropical mountain forests such as the cloud forests of Peru are among the most
biodiverse places on earth. This value could be lost unless prompt adaptation
measures are implemented.

Mountainous countries share many challenges caused by climate change, which
create the potential for mutual benefit. Both natural and social scientific research
and measurements, as well as lessons learned from implemented adaptation policies,
should be shared at regional and global level to reduce costs and improve the
adaptive capacity of all.

The analysis concludes that a stronger policy focus on adaptation in mountains is
necessary to address key climate risks. Sustainable development in a changing
climate requires policy makers to take a long-term perspective and protect the
essential services provided by mountains and their inhabitants.
Ministers and other high level leaders from various mountain countries around the globe
including Austria, Bhutan, Czech Republic, East Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Peru, Serbia,
Switzerland and Uganda attended today’s event, titled ‘International Mountain Day –
celebrating international cooperation on climate change adaptation in mountain
environments’.
“The International Mountain Day is an apt occasion to strengthen our commitment to
international cooperation for sustainable mountain development. Regional cooperation,
such as through the Andean Initiative, lets us mutually enhance our adaptive capacity by
sharing experiences and coordinating policy”, said Manuel Gerardo Pedro Pulgar-Vidal
Otálora, Minister of Environment of Peru.
“Austria’ s unique alpine landscape is a product of centuries of sustainable cultivation by the
people who live in it. We must ensure that people remain able to make a living in all remote
mountain areas. Therefore we need regional collaborations and networks to share
experiences and exchange know-how. I congratulate UNEP for leading on these efforts,”
said Andrä Rupprechter, Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
Management of Austria, which co-supported the production of the outlooks.
NOTES TO EDITORS
UNEP’s Mountain Adaptation Outlook series
Links to the Outlook series can be found below:
Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Western Balkan mountains:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqnzbo9pwsg4k0v/BalkanMountains_screen.pdf?dl=0
Outlook on climate change adaptation in the South Caucasus mountains:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7l81x22ufqe64ho/Caucasus_screen.pdf?dl=0
Leaflet summary - Outlook on climate change and adaptation in the Tropical Andes
mountains
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ldmhrt4plorszxr/AndesFlyer_screen.pdf?dl=0
Leaflet summary - Outlook on climate change and adaptation in the Central Asian
mountains
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yr0nd9c95bdlcwy/AsiaFlyer_screen.pdf?dl=0
Leaflet summary - Sustainable mountain development in East Africa in a changing climate
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vp5y3yo4e3l0uns/AfricaFlyer_screen.pdf?dl=0
Within the context of UNEP’s inter-regional project titled ‘Climate change action in
developing countries with fragile mountainous ecosystems,’ UNEP - in collaboration with
GRID-Arendal and mountain centres of excellence - has prepared a series of regional
outlooks focusing on climate change adaptation responses in mountain regions from a
policy angle. Covering the Western Balkans, Southern Caucasus, Central Asia, (Tropical)
Andes and Eastern Africa, the first series assesses the effectiveness of existing adaptation
policy measures and the extent to which they apply to mountain landscapes, before going
on to identify critical gaps that must be addressed to meet current and future risks from
climate change. Responding to the Rio+20 outcome, the reports call for more strengthened
efforts towards regional dialogue and cooperative action in mountains regions to face the
uncertainties caused by climate change.
This UNEP project, co-funded by the Government of Austria, aims to support mountainous
developing countries in integrating climate change adaptation into their development
policies through a sub-regional approach. Data on existing climate impacts, risks and
vulnerabilities has been collected, existing policies evaluated and further ones identified.
UNEP’s Ecosystem-based adaptation Programme
Sponsored by the German Environment Ministry, this project examines the impact of
climate change in Nepal, Peru and Uganda and is a collaboration between UNEP, UNDP and
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. As the programme develops, other
countries and ecosystems will be added.
Himalayan Water and Climate Atlas
The Hindu Kush Himalayas is one of the most populous, disaster-prone and vulnerable regions
in the world, yet knowledge about the changing climate in the mountains and its possible
impacts is still limited and scattered. To help address this problem, three organisations came
together to produce the region’s first climate and water atlas, a guidebook for policy makers
who are tackling crucial adaptation issues. The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas: Impact of
Climate Change on Water Resources in Five of Asia’s Major River Basins was released today by
the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, GRID-Arendal and the Centre
for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo.
The atlas is the first of its kind and offers a comprehensive, regional understanding of the
changing climate and its impact on water resources in five of the major river basins in the
region – the Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Salween and Mekong. It uses maps and infographics to
show how the region’s climate is changing now and into the future, with severe consequences
for populations, both local and downstream.
The Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme is a pioneering collaboration among
three organisations – CICERO, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development and GRID-Arendal – aimed at contributing to enhanced resilience of mountain
communities, particularly women, through improved understanding of their vulnerabilities
as well as opportunities and potentials for adaptation. It is funded by the governments of
Norway and Sweden.
For more information, please contact:
Isabelle Valentiny, Head of Communications, UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe, +41
79 251 82 36, isabelle.valentiny@unep.org