International Mountain Conference

Abstract ID 726 | Date: 2022-09-12 13:40 – 13:50 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Allchin, Michael; Murray, Maribeth

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)

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)

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

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)

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 of the multi-sectoral adaptation solutions.

¹ https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/285d038f-b543-11e7-837e-01aa75ed71a1
² https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/adaptation-climate-change/eu-adaptation-strategy_en#tab-0-1
³ https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
⁴ https://climate-impetus.eu/

Abstract ID 870 | Date: 2022-09-12 14:30 – 14:40 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Delves, Jess L. (1,2); Schneiderbauer, Stefan (1,2); Mwampamba, Tuyeni Heita (3,4); Adler, Carolina (5); Thornton, James M. (5)

Numerous initiatives and scientific programmes systematically monitor and report on physicochemical and biophysical changes in mountains across the globe, yet almost no similar initiatives exist for understanding human and societal dimensions of mountain social-ecological systems. Datasets produced from the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS), for example, or by networks such as the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Regions (GLORIA), the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) and the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) networks exclusively relate to biophysical variables. These data only tell a partial story of accelerating changes in mountain social-ecological systems, however.

Important processes shaping social-ecological systems in mountain regions require understanding of the socioeconomic, sociocultural and sociopolitical conditions of human populations by way of data on demographics, education access and quality, housing conditions and availability, quality and standards of living, values and traditions, migration, perceptions and much more. Currently such information is either unavailable, disproportionately available and/or unstandardized across time and space. Moreover, there is no consensus on what variables are the most important for understanding the human dimensions of mountains, and hence the types of datasets that would need to be developed to assess different mountain regions on a comparable basis. Once developed, societal data could be applied in unison with existing biophysical data to provide a deeper understanding of global change in mountains. This new monitoring data could then be applied to inform DRR measures that respond to changes at a systems level, which is necessary to address interconnected risks spanning spatial and societal scales.

In light of this information gap, GEO Mountains Task Group 2.3 aims to establish a set of so-called essential societal variables for global mountains. Building upon a 2020 workshop in Zurich, the Task Group (which consists of scientists and practitioners) aims to iteratively identify such a set of variables and their associated characteristics The challenges to overcome in the creation of a harmonised global dataset are many and varied: differences in data definitions, collection and analysis methods, quality, robustness, resolution, frequency of collection, etc. Integration with biophysical data is also complicated by the fact that boundaries for socioeconomic data rarely follow the same delimitations as biophysical datasets follow, but rather are typically aggregated by administrative units. This presentation introduces the project, highlight its broad relevance for mountain research, and present preliminary results from workshops carried out in 2022.

We thank other GEO Mountains Task Group 2.3 members for their contributions.

Abstract ID 467 | Date: 2022-09-12 16:00 – 16:10 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Crouzat, Emilie (1); Dodier, Hermann (1); Loucougaray, Grégory (1); François, Hugues (1); Samacoits, Raphaëlle (2); Lavorel, Sandra (4); Morin, Samuel (2); Ecrins National Park, Consortium (3)

The Sentinel Mountain Pasture program is a long-term program that addresses climate change impacts and adaptation of extensive livestock farming systems over the French Alps. A diversity of stakeholders from academic, technical and territorial organizations work jointly on monitoring changes, co-producing knowledge and developing tools to support adaptation of summer pasture systems. This talk will focus on the analysis of more than 10 years of data acquired over the Ecrins National Park and its nine pilot sites (the ‘sentinel pastures’). We test the links between i) agroclimatic profiles of the pastures and annual characterisation of extreme weather events, ii) forage biomass available for livestock at the start of the pastoral season and ii) changes in management practises. Agroclimatic information consists in re-analysis data from the French national weather service Météo-France – CNRS covering the period 1960-2018 and specifically downscaled to mountain conditions. Data on pasture productivity and pastoral practises comes from field monitoring and describes on a yearly basis the aboveground biomass available, livestock numbers, duration of presence on the pasture and level of vegetation consumption at the end of the pastoral season. Our results highlight the interannual variability of conditions to which summer pasture social-ecological systems are exposed and the related need for flexibility of pastoral systems. We also discuss the variety of resilience and vulnerability factors identified over the sentinel pastures. From this analysis, we reflect both on our specific conclusions over the Ecrins National Park and on our working process and methodology. More generally, this initiative can be of interest to academics and practitioners concerned by the evolution of summer pastures and pastoral systems in the face of climate change as we share insights from a decadal and transdisciplinary experiment.

Abstract ID 737 | Date: 2022-09-12 16:10 – 16:20 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Llambi C., Luis Daniel; Peralvo, Manuel; Maria, Arguello

One of the most important challenges for informed decision making on climate change adaptation in the Andes is the development of effective and integrated knowledge generation and management strategies on key topics including long-term monitoring of Andean socio-ecological dynamics in the face of rapid climate change and adaptation policies and solutions being implemented. In this contribution, we provide an overview of a series of knowledge generation/ management strategies implemented within the framework of the Adaptation at Altitude Programme in the Andes. The strategy has involved five key interrelated lines of work: 1. Strengthening of continental long-term monitoring networks analyzing the impacts of climate change (GLORIA-Andes and the Andean Forest Network); 2. Promotion of more integrated approaches to monitoring through the promotion/consolidation of learning sites in Nevados (Colombia), Tupicocha (Perú) and the Andean-Chocó (Ecuador); 3. Development of syntheses analyses/publications of climate change adaptation policies across scales and ecosystem based adaptation solutions in the Northern and Central Andes; 4. the development of an integrated research agenda and an Andean platform of socio-ecological indicators; and 5. The generation of a series of spaces for regional dialog among researchers, practitioners and decision makers to discuss advances and challenges for knowledge co-production, management and integration for sustainable ecosystem management and climate change adaptation in the region. Based on this experience we discuss some of the most significant advances in the last decade in the consolidation of long-term monitoring and information on climate change impacts and lessons for the implementation of adaptation policies and solutions. Then we discuss some of the most important open challenges for knowledge generation and management for climate change adaptation in the region in terms of promoting: a) financial and institutional sustainability; b) a more transdisciplinary socio-ecological perspective; c) strengthening links with national (official) / international platforms; d) refine and consolidate agreements and platforms for information access and exchange; e) and strengthening participatory approaches / citizen science.

Abstract ID 589 | Date: 2022-09-12 16:20 – 16:30 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Bruley, Enora (1,2); Palomo, Ignacio (1,3); Lavorel, Sandra (2,4)

Mountains act as sentinels of climate change, both in terms of the impacts they are experiencing and the ways in which mountain people are adapting to them. Science can support these societal transitions towards sustainability by engaging with local actors in the co-construction of plausible solutions. Nature-based solutions (NBS) were portrayed as initiatives that can address these double social and environmental challenges, as part of transformation pathways to meet Sustainable development goals (SDGs). NBS consist of “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges by simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”. However, the implementation of NBS is still limited for climate change adaptation, and they are highly context specific and rarely replicated, moreover they are not always implemented in places where risks are the highest. Here, we seek to better understand the fundamental processes that govern NBS initiatives up-scaling (impacting laws and policy) and out-scaling (impacting greater numbers) and how it contributes to transformation pathways.

After having identified and characterised more than 200 NBS initiatives across the Alpine arc, the PORTAL project aims to identify the elements needed to up and out-scale NBS initiatives and therefore contributes to sustainability and climate change adaptation goals. The case study, the Grenoble Basin located in the French Alps, is characterised by a gradient of urbanisation and human activity between lowland and high mountain areas and between dense urban centres and integral natural reserves.

A transdisciplinary approach will be implemented involving institutional and operational actors as well as NBS initiatives holders. Interviews and focus groups will be carried out, to identify the leverage points to the up and out-scaling of NBS in mountain regions. This will allow exploring how values, power relations, use of knowledge and technology, and the institutional, economic, social and ecological context, could facilitate transformations though the scaling of NBS implementation.

These leverage points will be integrated into a broader normative scenario approach aiming at collectively design pathways of NBS scaling to tackle the main climate risks (droughts, landslides, floods, food security) and reach objectives of sustainable development co-defined for this region in short and medium-term (2050).

Abstract ID 636 | Date: 2022-09-12 16:30 – 16:40 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Barrott, Julia (1); Allen, Simon (2); Hocquet, Robin (1); Aguilera Rodriguez, Julia (2); Scolobig, Anna (2); Simonett, Otto (3); Saalismaa, Nina (3); Taylor, Richard (1); Mackey, Alex (3)

Communities living in and around mountainous regions are experiencing an array of climate-related impacts that are impinging on their ways of life, livelihoods and safety. Numerous interventions have been and are being implemented that support these communities to adapt to new realities under climate change. Sharing knowledge on what interventions are working and how is key to expediting climate change adaptation and enhancing the resilience of mountain communities globally.

In response to this need, the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal (https://adaptationataltitude.org/solutions-portal), developed through the Adaptation at Altitude programme and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), has been designed to support the sharing and transfer of detailed knowledge on interventions that are helping to reduce vulnerability and climate risk in the mountains. The portal: provides easy access to information on tried, tested, and replicable solutions; makes these solutions easier to find, explore, and appraise for everyone working in this area; and, increasingly, connects this knowledge to existing online resources.

‘Solutions’ in the portal include technologies, approaches, and/or processes to adjust natural or human systems to actual or expected climate impacts, in order to reduce expected losses or harness benefits. These range from community-based initiatives to early warning systems to education programmes to land restoration and many more besides. The solutions incorporate disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and ecosystem restoration approaches.

Solution entries in the portal contain key information to support the replication of the solution in – and its tailoring to – other contexts, including: who the solution benefits; its target and reported outcomes; which SDGs and Sendai Framework goals it addresses; how it was planned, implemented, and funded; what is innovative about it; how its performance has been evaluated and what the results of this are; its long-term sustainability including actions taken to ensure its sustainability; the capacities required for its successful implementation, including knowledge, technology, political, institutional and socio-cultural capacities; its outlook and potential for scaling and transformation; what barriers and adverse effects have been observed and actions taken to mitigate these; and links to supporting and relevant resources and documentation.

The portal is driven by and features contributions from actors working in mountains and is specifically designed to give visibility and recognition to solution contributors. The portal team continues to support contributions from all actors interested in sharing their implemented solutions.

Abstract ID 288 | Date: 2022-09-12 16:40 – 16:50 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Muñoz, Randy; Santos, Maria J.; Christian, Huggel

Mountains are widely recognized as a source of freshwater for adjacent lowlands. In particular, the glacierized catchments in the tropical Andes provide water resources that buffer the high precipitation seasonality in the region. However, both climate and socioeconomic changes bring important challenges for water supply. For example, local communities in Peru have reported a decline in water resources. Nevertheless, model outputs do not show changes in total precipitation. Instead factors like low access to infrastructure, socioeconomic context, and geographical location have been identified as possible drivers for the perceived scarcity. Moving towards interdisciplinary approaches can help clarify such types of mismatches and better understand water management within the coupled social-ecological system.

Herein, we aim to understand the relationships between the livelihoods of water users and water resources. More specifically we examine the role of water in the livelihoods of communities along a gradient in elevation at the header of the Vilcanota-Urubamba basin, Peru (3019 km²) the second largest tropical glacierized mountain range (170 km²) worldwide. Water resources supply water for domestic use, agriculture, livestock, and hydropower production. Water availability was assessed through a hydrological simulation at a monthly time step from 1981 to 2016. Livelihoods were assessed using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach by collecting data from 154 surveys about the natural, social, physical, financial, and human capitals related to water security, and by grouping participants as farmers, livestock farmers, or domestic water users.

Results suggest that only the social capital differs along the altitudinal gradient. This could be explained by the fact that in the lower catchment the major investments on water infrastructure occur along-side a strengthening of water organizations and therefore the social capital. We also find that capital assets varied by user type, with domestic and farm users often having significantly higher capitals than livestock farmers (except for financial capital). These differences suggest that livelihoods of water users depend mainly on the role instead of the altitudinal gradient. When examining specifically high natural capital users (i.e. those with high water availability) we find that they are strongly associated with both higher physical (i.e. infrastructure) and social (i.e. group instead of individual) capitals. On the contrary, the access to high water resources does no provide a particular benefit for non-natural livelihoods. These results suggest that user type matters substantially to manage water resources. Further, improving water access may pass through improving access to infrastructure and implementing water associations.

Abstract ID 651 | Date: 2022-09-12 16:50 – 17:00 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Rodriguez, Julia Aguilera (1); Hocquet, Robin (2); Allen, Simon (1); Barrot, Julia (2); Mackey, Alex (3); Saalismaa, Nina (3); Scolobig, Anna (1); Simonett, Otto (3); Stoffel, Markus (1)

Mountains regions are among the most sensitive to the effects of climate change, with rising temperatures, melting snow and ice, and changing precipitation patterns affecting ecosystems, exacerbating natural hazards, and threatening lives and livelihoods. Adapting to the challenge of climate change requires new support mechanisms and innovative solutions to enhance local adaptive capacities. To help facilitate this process, the Adaptation at Altitude (A@A) programme, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), has established a unique global database of tried, tested, and replicable climate change adaptation solutions for mountainous regions. This database aims to make these solutions easier to find, explore, and to give visibility and recognition to those contributing towards sustainable mountain development under a changing climate.

Here we provide a brief synopsis of the approximately 60 solutions uploaded thus far to the database, and report on common barriers to implementation that have hindered long-term transformative outcomes across different geographic regions. While all mountain regions of the world are represented, a large proportion of reported solutions (45%) initially uploaded were from South America, with around 30% of the solutions reported from South Asia. A concerted effort in 2022 is therefore focusing on increasing the contributions from Africa, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. There is a balance of solutions addressing issues of heat and drought on one hand, and issues relating to an excess of water on the other (floods and landslides). We also see that the focus of most solutions has been at the source (high alpine and upland environments), with less attention to the downstream urban environments where impacts can be most acutely felt.

One of the key barriers to adaptation is the reported lack of technological-capacities, particularly at sub-national levels. As a consequence, the implementation of solutions is often outsourced to external experts, who may lack the necessary connection to the ground-level. While solution providers have invested heavily in technical capacity building with key stakeholders, high staff-turnover means that skills are not institutionalised. In addition, key stakeholders, especially at the political level, often lack the necessary commitment to support the long-term maintenance of adaptation solutions, especially in terms of finance. This is despite the fact that local populations and community groups support further action. Hence, if coupled with training and empowering of local populations to take ownership of adaptation solutions, long-term financial strategies could significantly enhance the potential for sustainable outcomes.

Abstract ID 454 | Date: 2022-09-12 17:00 – 17:10 | Type: Oral Presentation | Place: SOWI – Aula |

Maharjan, Amina (1); Pasakhala, Binaya (1); Tuladhar, Sabarnee (1); Wang, Xiaoming (2); Basnett, Smriti (3); Stanzen, Lobzang (4); Ali, Amjad (5); Steiner, Jakob Friedrich (1); Jackson, Miriam (1)

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is the expanse covered in ice and perennial snow after the polar regions; therefore, also known as the Third Pole. The cryosphere changes in the region directly and indirectly impact more than 2 billion people dependent on rivers originating in the region. A number of studies have documented physical changes in the cryosphere system; however, much less is known how these changes affect high mountain communities. Beyond impacts of a changing glacier and snow cover, the mountain communities also experience non-climatic changes viz. social, economic, and political. Using the socio-cryospheric system framework, this multi-site study analyses how cryosphere changes and non-climatic socio-economic changes in the HKH region impact life and livelihoods of mountain communities. Further, the study explores the responses of communities and institutions to these changes and identifies adaptation needs. The study was conducted in six sites across the HKH region, comprising of Pakistan, China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Crop and livestock production, tourism, small business, salaried jobs, and labour migration were the major livelihood options. All the options, except salaried jobs and labour migration, were dependent on cryosphere services and influenced by cryosphere changes. Changes in snowfall pattern and glacier and permafrost degradation were of biggest concern among the respondents. Similarly, increase in physical and virtual connectivity, improving access to education and markets, changes in governance system and decline in social capital were prominent socio-economic changes. The socio-cryosphere changes had mainly resulted in shifting of traditional crop-livestock based livelihoods to other options. Emergence of new opportunities, particularly nature-based tourism and youth migration, have diversified local livelihoods in the study sites, except Nepal, where local livelihoods are already heavily skewed towards tourism. The support of governmental and non-governmental agencies was vital for livelihood diversification. Despite livelihood diversification, precarity remains high in the high mountains, because the existing livelihood options, except youth migration, are still nature-based and climate sensitive. Therefore, there is a need for climate proofing of local livelihoods or diversifying to non-nature based livelihoods in order to build local resilience.

Abstract ID 875 | Date: 2022-09-12 15:15 – 15:17 | Type: Poster Presentation | Place: SOWI – Garden |

Gabeiras Penas, Jacobo

This project studies adaptation to climate change focusing on heat waves during the 21st century, from 2030 to 2070. Adaptation measures relate to urban development, such as revegetation of the city and increasing its albedo, and are developed with the Urban Planning Agency of the Grenobloise Region. Particular attention is paid to the impact on air quality, as the increase in roof albedo, for example, could increase ozone production. The objective is to determine the measures on urban planning and pollutant emissions, in order to combat the increase of temperatures due to climate change, while preserving air quality in the metropolis.

Abstract ID 365 | Date: 2022-09-12 15:17 – 15:19 | Type: Poster Presentation | Place: SOWI – Garden |

Mourey, Jacques (1); Lambiel, Christophe (2); Ravanel, Ludovic (3)

Climate change leads to deep modifications of high Alpine environments, especially because of shrinking glaciers and permafrost warming. Associated geomorphological and glaciological processes have significant consequences on recreational mountain activities.

Although a growing number of studies have recently documented the effects of climate change on mountaineering itineraries, they only list the processes affecting them and do not document their characteristics or location. Therefore, the acquired data lacks relevance particularly to disseminate knowledge to mountaineers and to promote adaptive behaviors. In addition, these studies use different methodologies making the comparison and compilation of results difficult. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to develop a specific legend to map the processes related to climate change that affect high mountain areas and modify climbing parameters. Such a legend should (i) ease data collection, (ii) make the data analysis simpler and (iii) favor the knowledge transfer to the mountaineer’s community. More generally, this legend would provide a common methodological basis, destined to be completed and to be relevant out of the European Alps. It would also enable the comparability and compilation of results from different research.

On the basis of the processes identified in previous studies in the Mont Blanc massif and following the UNIL geomorphological legend, 21 symbols were defined to map 23 processes. The later were classified according to the terrain in which they take place: (i) glacier margins, (ii) glaciers, (iii) unglaciated and/or permafrost affected rock slopes, and (iv) ice aprons, hanging glaciers and snow ridges.

In order to evaluate the applicability and interest of the legend proposed, we present a first application on 36 itineraries in the Valais Alps (Switzerland). It is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with local Alpine guides and hut keepers during which they were asked to draw on the most recent topographic map available the long-term modifications of the itineraries they are able to identify. The changes mapped during the interviews were then remapped in QGIS and completed by a diachronic analysis of aerial images, topographic maps and DTMs.

The map then allowed to list the processes affecting each of the itineraries studied and to produce documents that promote the transfer of information to mountaineers and their adaptation. In this sense the map can be used on many occasions and in particular during the training of Alpine guides and conferences as well as being displayed in high-mountain huts.

Abstract ID 379 | Date: 2022-09-12 15:19 – 15:21 | Type: Poster Presentation | Place: SOWI – Garden |

Uniyal, Bhagwati

The majestic Himalaya is a treasurer of floral, faunal and bioresource diversity. Among all the Himalayan states of India, Uttarakhand is well known for its floral and faunal diversity including traditional knowledge of medicinal plants due to its distinct geography and ecological marginal conditions. Communities of the region have familiar with the healing properties of available plant species as a natural resource. They have a small scale traditional agriculture system and have other strong traditions of protecting the biodiversity of the region. Medicinal and aromatic plants are integral parts of rural communities. Rural people have indigenous knowledge for curing diseases by utilizing these various natural resources from generations. Medicinal plants tolerance to harvest varies with climatic conditions as the temperate herbs become highly vulnerable to the harvest of individuals. The residents of the area have a vital role in environmental management and propagation of medicinal plants due to traditional knowledge and their use as medicine. It is a valuable and sustainable knowledge system developed over generations by local communities of the area. The local healers have their traditional system for curing various diseases with undocumented knowledge. It has been observed as one of the best options of sustainable livelihoods for the residents of the area. Studies on the use of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in different areas of Garhwal have been conducted and observed the continuous exploitation of several medicinal plant species from the wild and substantial loss of their habitats and decline of many high-value medicinal plant species over the years. The use of harvesting technology of medicinal plants would be valuable to recover the traditional knowledge and generate sustainable livelihoods for the community. Inhabitants including local healers and rural women have well developed indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants with strong healing capacities.

Abstract ID 561 | Date: 2022-09-12 15:21 – 15:23 | Type: Poster Presentation | Place: SOWI – Garden |

Saidaliyeva, Zarina (1); Muccione, Veruska (2); Shahgedanova, Maria (1); Bigler, Sophie (3); Adler, Carolina (3); Yapiyev, Vadim (1,4)

The mountains of Central Asia are playing a vital role to supply water to the arid plains of the region by transboundary rivers. Strong climate change adaptation (CCA) and mitigation actions are required to increase resilience of the vulnerable, downstream communities to climate change. Our knowledge of the CCA actions in the mountains of Central Asia is limited in comparison with other mountainous regions. The aim of this study is to assess the existing adaptation projects and publications and to identify gaps in adaptation efforts by conducting a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature published in English and Russian languages published between 2013 and May 2021. Following the initial screening and subsequent reading of the publications, complying with the specified criteria, 52 peer-reviewed articles have been included for final analysis. This relatively low number shows that the extent of, and reported knowledge about CCA, are relatively limited compared to other mountainous regions. Most of the reviewed papers (55%) focus on water resources and future water availability. Other focus on land degradation (15%), changes in vertical zonation of plant species (10%), loss of plant species (7%), impacts of hazardous events (3%) and multiple interlinked impacts of climate change (10%). Although multiple publications provide ample evidence of increasing hazardous events, changes in biodiversity, and vulnerability of local communities to climate change, the number of papers focusing specifically on adaptation and mitigation actions is considerably lower. This suggests that the awareness of the importance of CCA and its implementation should be enhanced in the region in collaboration between researchers, practitioners and local communities. Researchers are encouraged to produce follow-up publications showing how their work has been used to develop and implement CCA.

Abstract ID 906 | Date: 2022-09-13 15:19 – 15:21 | Type: Poster Presentation | Place: SOWI – Garden |

Esteban-Parra, María Jesús (1,2); Matilde García-Valdecasas Ojeda, Matilde (1,2); Merino-Ceballos, Manuel (2,3); Guerrero-Alonso, Pablo David (2,3); Moreno-Llorca, Ricardo (2,3); Ros-Candeira, Andrea (2,3); Zamora, Regino (2,3)

A good regional climate characterization is a key aspect for monitoring the environmental and socioeconomic effects of global change, especially in mountain regions. However, climate data for many mountain areas comes from a variety of sources that are both heterogeneous and dispersed, making accessing and downloading these data a difficult and time-consuming operation. In this work, we present ClimaNevada, a robust database on climatic information in Sierra Nevada (Spain), which harmonizes, documents, and integrates climatic data from meteorological stations and sensors of different institutions and sources. In this way, we have developed a platform that compiles all the climatic information and allows the downloading of data in a simple way and following the Open Access philosophy. Additionally, a case study is presented in this work in which homogeneous data series are generated from ClimaNevada, for the evaluation of temporal trends of precipitation in Sierra Nevada.

This work is part of Smart EcoMountains, the Thematic Center on Mountain Ecosystems of LifeWatch-ERIC.