Mountain regions as key biodiversity observatories?

Mountain regions, as biodiversity hotspots, characterized by diverse landscapes, high species richness, and elevated levels of endemism, are essential observatories for detecting and understanding the impacts of global change on ecosystems. This focus session will explore the essential role of mountain landscapes in monitoring biodiversity shifts, addressing the complex challenges posed by climate change, socioeconomic pressures and shifting land-use practices. Despite numerous international agreements underscoring the importance of biodiversity conservation, practical implementation remains limited, with efforts to expand protected areas and restore non-protected areas often falling short. We see strongly protected areas (i.e. National parks) as key players to interpret results of biodiversity monitoring schemes at a broader spatial scale. However, current biodiversity monitoring in mountain regions face key limitations, including fragmented datasets in space, time, and taxonomic coverage, as well as variability in methods and approaches, which impede broader geographic and temporal analyses. This focus session brings together interdisciplinary experts to discuss biodiversity observation strategies in mountain regions and explore ways to enhance the interoperability and scalability of biodiversity data. Topics will include innovative solutions such as high-resolution remote sensing, community-based monitoring, and harmonized methodologies, aimed at strengthening mountain regions’ roles as critical sentinels in global biodiversity monitoring. Join us to collaborate on advancing practical solutions to protect mountain biodiversity in the face of global changes.