Restoring mountain ecosystems is the theme of this year’s International Mountain Day on 11 December. This theme was selected to fully include mountains in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the UN Environment Programme. The Decade is an opportunity to draw together political support, scientific research and financial resources to significantly scale-up restoration and prevent further degradation of mountain ecosystems.

Mountains represent unique areas for detecting climate change and assessing climate change impacts. There is an increasing awareness on climate change impacts the mountains, mountain ecosystems, species and mountain people. The extreme colder environments of mountains possess several climatic factors that generate stress for life, such as low temperature, high exposure to radiation, low nutrient and water availability, desiccation, etc. These biotic and abiotic factors influence both structural and functional characteristics in the biological communities (animals, plants and microbes).

The mountain ecosystems and the mountain communities have received attention during international debates such as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015, the Paris Agreement 2015 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Targets 2030. Importance of resilience and adaptations acquired by the mountain biodiversity to cope up in harsh climatic conditions has been realized in these forums.

In this International Conference, the efforts will be on bringing together the distinguished groups of researchers who have been working on various aspects of mountain biodiversity across disciplinary and geographical boundaries. The conference will focus on the presentations on biodiversity (animals, plants and microbes) with particular reference to their coping mechanisms in low temperature environment of mountain ecosystems in general, with a focus on the Himalaya and Antarctica in particular.

The conference will feature a variety of mountain actors, including mountaineers, scientists, sustainable development experts, tourism operators, volunteers, and sports enthusiasts. It will offer a moment of shared reflection to highlight the invisible thread that spurs everyone to admire the panorama of a summit, which can be reached along the many possible paths that have the principles of sharing, dialogue, solidarity and care.

The Sustainable Mountain Development Conference will held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 1-3 December 2022. The conference will be held in-person on the first two days and online on the third day.

The ODT Forum 2022 will revolve around the theme: “What are the strategies for the sustainability of localised agri-food systems in the face of the climate crisis?”. It aims to open up arenas for debate on the issue of global ecosystem health, policy solutions for sustainable transition at different territorial scales and the future roles of food systems.

The ODT Forum community will underline in 2022 the importance of mountain territories by focusing its attention mainly, but not exclusively, on mountain territories and their agri-food chains, also due to the involvement of its partners (academics, politicians, researchers and local actors) in the European project MOVING H2020.

The “International Mountain Conference” will open this year’s ODT Forum, with ten field visits in the morning and debates in the afternoon with local stakeholders, scientists, the Tête de Moine PDO sector and the Swiss and Jura authorities. The objective of this international mountain conference is to give the floor to personalities from all continents to bring a global perspective to the functioning of localised agri-food systems and the innovative approaches developed by mountain communities in the face of the climate crisis.

The following two days of the ODT Forum will address the theme in 5 workshops with complementary angles:

1. Identify impacts of differentiation strategies on the sustainability and resilience of territories to climate change.
2. Research on mountain territories, particularly affected by climate change.
3. Bring together researchers, experts and practitioners on the theme of “OneHealth” global health of ecosystems, animals and human populations and strategies to restore or improve it.
4. Take stock of the resilience strategies of territories focused on the search for food sovereignty, sometimes to achieve food autonomy.
5. Reflect on the role of public policies in the agro-ecological transition of territories in the global context, focusing on soil in climate policy and the need to better connect agricultural policy, including quality signs with rural development policy.

Registration and call for contributions, here.

See flyer of the Forum, here.

It is a unique opportunity to get in touch with academics, experts, researchers, international organisations, local actors, and promoters of innovative initiatives. Participants will discover the landscapes and sounds of the Swiss and French Jura mountains, and meet and dialogue with members of rural communities on site.

The Government of Ireland will host the 13^th OECD Rural Development Conference 2022 on the theme of Building Sustainable, Resilient and Thriving Rural Places. 

The programme will contain sessions with Ministers and Senior Officials from OECD countries on a range of issues including rural economy and services, connectivity, climate action, innovation, and social cohesion. There will also be a special focus on the youth and women. The event will include cultural and rural development activities on Friday 30 September, departing from the Conference venue. Details of this programme will be made available shortly.

Every four years, the Mountain Partnership — a United Nations voluntary alliance of partners dedicated to mountain peoples and environments — holds a Global Meeting of its members, who come from diverse mountain countries across the world. 

The upcoming sixth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership will be held in Aspen, Colorado, United States of America on 26-29 September 2022, co-hosted by the Mountain Partnership together with the State of Colorado, the City of Aspen, and the Aspen International Mountain Foundation.

The Alpine and Carpathian Conventions and the Mountain Partnership are launching the event “Mountain Biodiversity 2002-2022: achievements and next challenges at global and regional level”, to be organised within the frame of the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development 2022. It will take place online on 16 September 2022.

The purpose of this event is to contribute in implementing the UN resolution “International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development, 2022” (document A/76/L.28) raising awareness of the importance of the protection of mountain ecosystem, providing an overview of the main achievements of the past years at global and regional level, and to discuss the way forward and the main challenges related to the protection of mountain biodiversity.

Information regarding an agenda and a registration for the event will follow in due course.

Climate change, energy transition, urbanisation, and industrialisation have and will have tremendous effects on the Alpine landscape. Located at the crossroads of Europe, the transformations of this fragile environment need to be questioned. The symposium brings young researchers together with experts from practice, research, and the arts in a broad discussion about the past, present, and future of this unique landscape.

The event consists of two main parts: several workshops focussing on research, and an afternoon of round-table discussions. 

The webinar aims to provide information about the latest IPCC Reports directly from the lead authors.

On 13 April, TERI SAS, SDC India, Helvetas, Mountain Research Institute (MRI), ICIMOD and the University of Zurich, organise an interactive workshop to share expert insights on the findings of the recent IPCC 6th Assessment Reports, learn about the IPCC process, and engage in dynamic conversations on adaptation actions with the lead authors. 

Registration is open until 7 April 2022.