Strategic initiative for climate change impacts, adaptation and development in mountain regions
There is still very limited awareness, let alone concern, at the global-level of the impacts caused by climate change in mountain ecosystems. The information available generally focuses on retreating glaciers. while the perception may be one of regions with low population density in a harsh environment, the reality is magnitudes of people are affected directly and indirectly by changes in mountain environments.
Within the framework of the“Strategic Initiative for Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Development in Mountain Regions”, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat has organized three regional meetings in Chile, Tajikistan and Uganda with support of the World Bank Development Grant Facility.
Objectives
The overall objective of the initiative is to enhance the advocacy of climate change impacts in mountain regions and strengthen cross-regional and cross-thematic cooperation in order to mobilize international support and resources for promoting climate change adaptation in mountain ecosystems.
Each regional meeting will bring together government delegates, policy makers, scientists and climate change experts, to strengthen knowledge about the climate change impacts in mountain areas, to discuss adaptation options in mountain ecosystems and to promote better alliances and cooperation amongst countries with mountain territories so to reinforce their understanding of key issues.
Each regional meeting will be complemented with a field visit to amountain area in which the impacts of climate change are visible. The aim of these field visits is the exposure of participants to local-level adaptation practices in their respective mountainous districts.
Three regional meetings
• The first of the three regional workshops is being organized in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO) andwill be held in Santiago, Chile from 26 to 28 October 2011.
• The second regional workshop is being organized in collaboration with the University of Central Asia (UCA). The meeting will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from 9 to 11 November 2011.
• The third regional workshop will take place in Mbale, Uganda from 17 to 19 november 2011 and is being jointly planned with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).