ID37: Mountain climate change adaptation: data, knowledge, and governance
Details
Full Title
Mountains at the frontline of climate change: data, knowledge, and governance of adaptation strategies to address climate risks
Scheduled
Convener
Co-Conveners
Luis Daniel Llambí C., Alexandra Grace Mackey, James Thornton, Philippus Wester and Matthias Jurek
Assigned to Synthesis Workshop
–
Keywords
Climate change, impacts, adaptation, measures, development, mountains, governance.
Description
Mountains are at the frontline of climate change, with degrading cryosphere and changing precipitation disrupting water flows and ecosystem dynamics, creating and worsening natural hazards that impact communities both in mountains and downstream. For centuries, mountain people have developed coping strategies to adapt. However, the unprecedented magnitude and speed of climate change in recent decades are putting them under pressure. In its sixth assessment, the IPCC underscores a need to substantiate how adaptation can reduce climate risks, thereby minimising negative impacts on people. This session, convened by the “Adaptation at Altitude” programme consortium supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, invites contributions that showcase methods, solutions, and experiences implementing adaptation, including governance, interregional exchange and platforms that support knowledge transfer and strengthen adaptability. We also seek to promote dialogue and critical reflections on the scalability and transferability of adaptations across diverse regions and priorities.
Registered Abstracts
Abstract ID 323 | Date: 2022-09-12 13:30 – 13:40 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |
Aggarwal, Anubha (1); Frey, Holger (2); Mcdowell, Graham (2,3); Drenkhan, Fabian (2,4,5); Nüsser, Marcus (6); Racoviteanu, Adina (7); Hoelzle, Martin (8)
1: Department of Civil Engineering, Delhi Technological University, India
2: Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
3: Canadian Mountain Assessment, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
4: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
5: Departamento de Humanidades, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
6: South Asia Institute, Department of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
7: Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
8: Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Keywords: Mountains, Water Stress, Cryosphere, Adaptation, Limitation
Mountains are a critical source of water. Cryospheric and hydrological changes in combination with socio-economic development are threatening downstream water security triggering the need for effective adaptation responses. In this study, a systematic review at global scale was carried out to understand the adaptations implemented in mountainous regions to cope up with local hydrological changes. A full text analysis of 83 documents revealed that glacier area change, changes in snow fall amount and pattern, less precipitation and unpredictability of precipitation are the most common cryospheric and hydrological changes in the different regions. Globally, agriculture (42%), tourism (12%), hydropower (8%) and health and safety (4%) are among the main sectors affected by hydrological and cryospheric changes. Locals are forced to implement various methods of improved water use and conservation, diversify their means of income, migrate for jobs, modify agricultural practices and promote tourism beyond snow and ice. To cope with these stresses and in order to minimise the damage potential, a number of adaptation measures are being implemented all over the world in mountainous regions. The majority of adaptation practices are implemented in the agriculture sector in South America and Asia, in the tourism sector in Europe and Australia, in the transport and water infrastructure building sectors in North America and in the agriculture and forestry sectors in Africa. In South America, Asia and Europe adaptation measures are also being implemented in water storage infrastructure and disaster risk management sectors. We find that globally the most commonly used adaptation practices correspond to the improvement of water storage infrastructure (13%), green infrastructure (9.5%), agricultural practices (17%), water governance and policies (21%), disaster risk reduction (9.5%) and economic diversification (10%). However, successful implementation of adaptation measures is limited by a diverse set of factors. This includes reduced capacities and resources in infrastructure maintenance, mismanagement, conflicts and mistrust in government together with lack of funding and insufficient collaboration between stakeholders as well as delayed implementation of laws and mountain development programmes.
In sum, this work identified a wide diversity of adaptations in response to climate-related hydrological changes across mountain geographies. These adaptations are driven by a wide variety of climatic and social stimuli and have multifaced effects on the well-being of mountain people. Resilience is often improved, but unintended consequences and maladaptation are also prevalent. Also, social and environment limits to adaptation threaten to deepen the vulnerability of mountain people to hydrological changes.
Abstract ID 726 | Date: 2022-09-12 13:40 – 13:50 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |
Allchin, Michael; Murray, Maribeth
Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, Canada
Keywords: Risks, Hazards, Resilience, Capacity, Information
Many environmental processes are amplified and intensified by the elevation-ranges, gradients and complex topography of mountain landscapes. As the troposphere warms and moistens, mountain-influenced terrain is exposed to a range of increasingly extreme meteorological events, driving flooding, drought, wildfire, mass-movement of regolith, and severe disruption of ecosystems. This increases the risks imposed by natural hazards on human settlements in such settings, threatening well-being, food-security, property and life (as demonstrated in British Columbia, Canada, in the latter half of 2021).
Mountain communities must therefore build resilience to the range of extreme events which may affect them. This process spans the identification of potential risks, and the development of approaches to achieve avoidance, mitigation, and/or adaptation and remediation. This in turn relies on the availability of relevant data, information and interpretive capability at appropriate spatial and temporal scales, providing the foundation for timely and appropriate responses to potentially hazardous situations as they develop.
Our presentation describes a project initiated by the Arctic Institute of North America (University of Calgary), funded by the Canadian Mountain Network, to facilitate capacity-building of this nature. Initially, the Kluane Lake Research Station (Yukon) will be developed as a hub for the provision of scientific expertise, sustaining environmental observation / monitoring activities, and associated data-management and dissemination capabilities. We seek to improve understanding of the key concerns of communities within the surrounding region, as they relate to the potential for increasing risks from natural hazards driven by rapid environmental change in mountainous terrain. One immediate example has been provided recently by the diversion due to glacial retreat of the main inflow to Łù'àn Män (Kluane Lake), resulting in major impacts on water-levels and fisheries. Where scientifically-based techniques are suggested for addressing issues of this nature, our goal is to develop and present these as complementary approaches, to be implemented in parallel with existing contributions of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge.
As activities progress, we will develop channels through which to share related information, including online resources, publications, workshops, training-courses and other knowledge-transfer events. We will also encourage bi-directional communication between communities, Indigenous Organizations, government agencies and researchers. This will promote capacity in understanding, predicting and responding to environmental conditions; encourage the sharing and evolution of insights developed through different Indigenous traditions; identify any challenges which rapid environmental change may be presenting to traditional approaches, and help to develop options for addressing these appropriately.
Abstract ID 914 | Date: 2022-09-12 13:50 – 14:00 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |
Seidler, Reinmar (1); Bawa, Kamal (1,2); Rai, Poonam (3); Sherpa, Tenzing (3)
1: University of Massachusetts Boston, United States of America
2: ATREE-Bangalore, India
3: ATREE-East Himalaya, India
Keywords: Darjeeling, Singalila, Senchel, Smallholders, Soils, Climate
The Indian rural mountain economy is currently undergoing a widespread transformation, moving it rapidly away from agriculture as the traditional economic mainstay and toward new livelihood patterns and tighter rural-urban linkages. This process in India has recently been described as a "complex social transformation with multiple dimensions" (Choitani 2021); as a "comprehensive and substantial transformation" process of "deagrarianization" (Majumdar 2020); and as a series of changes both "amazing" and "profound" (Chand et al. 2017). Yet, there have been few data to indicate how this transition plays out at the village and household level, especially in the monsoon-dependent Eastern Himalayan mid-montane. We suggest here that the "surprise factor" in this transition may be due mainly to the fact that many governmental programs and initiatives have had barely perceptible impacts on the rural mountain economy, so that the transition seems even contrary to government intentions. Several "push factors" can be distinguished. Here we place South Asian climate change impacts within an interdisciplinary and regional context, with reference to a detailed dataset from 30 villages in two mountainous areas of Darjeeling district. Human-wildlife conflict (crop raiding), loss of soil fertility, and climate variability intersect to produce a reduction in traditional farming productivity and an increase in dependence on off-farm income sources. These include especially MGNREGA, the national rural employment guarantee program, as well as other government employment and remittances from urban employment. In certain respects, these trends parallel earlier changes in European mountain areas, such as the Alps and Pyrenees — but in Eastern Himalaya it is happening much more rapidly.
Abstract ID 216 | Date: 2022-09-12 14:00 – 14:10 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |
Mcdowell, Graham (1); Stevens, Madison (2)
1: University of Calgary, Canada
2: University of British Columbia, Canada
Keywords: Mountains, Climate Change, Adaptation, Gaps, Limits
Climate-related changes are exacerbating socioeconomic difficulties faced by many mountain communities and are intensifying vulnerabilities across mountain areas globally. The situation is indicative of pervasive and consequential deficits in adaptation, and calls attention to the need for a better understanding of existing adaptation efforts, as well as the prospects for increasing the quantity and quality of adaptation action in mountain regions. In response, presentation introduces a conceptual framework for adaptation gaps. It then discusses data from 2 major global-scale adaptation review efforts that help to characterize the nature and true magnitude of adaptation gaps in mountains. The talk reveals shortcomings in available adaptation options, deficits in the uptake of existing adaptation support, and a general lack of coherence between existing adaptations and keystone global agreements relevant to climate change adaptation. These shortcomings are largely related to soft limits to adaptation that constrain responses across mountain areas. We provide recommendations for closing adaptation gaps in mountains and suggest that this will require deeply collaborative efforts that are rooted in local needs, aspirations, and ways of knowing, but that are also supported by external capacity building and implementation resources. In many instances, this will resemble a transformative approach to adaptation.
Abstract ID 878 | Date: 2022-09-12 14:10 – 14:20 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |
Chaudhary, Sunita; Shrestha, Finu; Dhungel, Yathartha
ICIMOD, Nepal
Keywords: Cryosphere, Biosphere, Society, Cyclic Interactions, Langtang National Park
The paper uses hydro-social cycle to analyse the links and interlinks between cryosphere, ecosystems and society in the highlands of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. While exploring, we identify the process, changes, associated impacts and response of each of the systems of the highland (cryosphere, biosphere and societies), and map out the cyclic interactions between them. In doing so, we discuss the existing and possible adaptation strategies for enhancing the socio-ecological resilience in the highlands.
Abstract ID 860 | Date: 2022-09-12 14:20 – 14:30 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |
D'Alonzo, Valentina (1); Rizzari, Matteo (1); Cocuccioni, Silvia (1); Vettorato, Daniele (1); Hoffmann, Christian (1); Schmidt, Ricarda (1); Pittore, Massimiliano (1); Carnelli, Fabio (1); Herrera, Daniel (1); Troi, Alexandra (1); Laiti, Lavinia (2)
1: Eurac Research, Italy
2: Province of Trento, Italy
Keywords: Climate Change Adaptation, Mountainous Valley, Land And Water Use Conflicts, Innovative Solutions, Co-Created Solutions
The urgent need for adaptation measures to improve the resilience of European territories and communities has become increasingly clear with the irreversible acceleration of climate change1. For this reason, some key strategies such as the EU Adaptation Strategy2 and the EU Green Deal3 have been developed.
The main objective of the IMPETUS H2020 project4, launched in October 2021, is to turn climate commitments into tangible actions. It develops and validate multiscale, multi-level, and cross-sectoral set of solutions for climate change adaptation to speed up the transition towards a climate-neutral economy and society. The project aims to build communities of local actors able to assess future development scenarios based on objective data and to support strategic decision-making processes. Local communities are engaged in co-design, assessment, implementation, and monitoring of the innovative solutions to tackle climate change. IMPETUS Demo Sites cover 7 biogeographical regions of EU (continental, coastal, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Arctic, boreal, mountainous), demonstrating a full variety of present and future climate threats.
Valle dei Laghi (NE Italy) represents the mountainous region, where the impacts of climate change are leading to an increase in current land and water use conflicts. The local partnership follows the quadruple helix engaging academy, industry, public bodies and civil society. The Agency for Environmental Protection of the Province of Trento is privileged observer. The involvement of local stakeholders is ensured by the partners and observers, bringing together farmers, municipalities, citizens, economic and tourism operators, to facilitate the design and adoption of the adaptation solutions by the local community. A strong synergy is foreseen with the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of the Province government (Trento) as an opportunity to identify and test effective innovative solutions to address sustainability and climate resilience within the local context. The Bio-District model (a well-established association bringing together several local stakeholders) is taken as a reference for the connection between civil society and environmental/climatic issues. Networks of climate practitioners included among the project observers will ensure the replication of IMPETUS solutions in other mountain territories.
This contribution details the approach of IMPETUS to achieve a suitable adaptation pathway for the Valle dei Laghi. From knowledge and data to analyse and model present and future climate change impacts on different sectors (viticulture, hydro-power production, ecosystems, tourism, built environment, risk management) to the governance processes that will shape the participatory development and the testing