Promoting innovation and tradition: Solutions for climate change adaptation in mountains

Introduction

The implications of climate change for the more than 1.1 billion people who live in mountains, and for many who do not, cannot be overstated.

Given their often harsh and fragile environments, mountain regions stand to suffer irreparable damage from the climate shifts that are forecast, and indeed whose effects are already being felt in many upland areas. First and foremost are the declines in snow and ice, with all that this entails in terms of compromised water availability, food production and revenues that depend on snow-based tourism. Increased and more extreme hazards, such as floods, landslides and lake outbursts, threaten mountain communities’ lives and livelihoods.

The 26 case studies presented in this publication, all drawn from the experiences of Mountain Partnership Members, explore actions being implemented in mountain regions around the world in a range of sectors and settings to adapt to climate challenges. They include sustainable crop, livestock and water management practices, use of protected areas, adaptation strategies for forests and cities, and the promotion of social business entrepreneurship and sustainable investments in mountain value chains. Also featured are examples of initiatives to build resilience to disaster and climate risk, integrate knowledge and education at local level, and develop data and monitoring to ensure effective adaptation in mountain environments. A number of the methods described here are practical and replicable solutions, which could be rolled out in other mountain settings facing similar challenges.

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Case studies – action to adapt to climate change in mountain regions

Successful adaptation practices in mountain agrifood systems need to address the interlinkages between climate, food, nutrition, water, land, biodiversity and energy, and ensure a ‘just transition’ and social inclusion of climate action. Gender-sensitive action, coupled with the integration of local perspectives and
the bridging of local knowledge and science, are essential in order to prevent and minimize maladaptation and reduce inequalities and inequities based on gender.

Underlying factors for successful adaptation include good governance and tackling drivers of vulnerability, ensuring land tenure security and rights for local people and addressing conflicts over mountain resources (caused by mining, industrial activities, land grabbing and/or conflicting land uses).

The following is a selection of case studies, all drawn from the experiences of Mountain Partnership Members, which explore actions to address climate change being implemented in mountain regions around the world. The case studies are organized under seven themes:

• Sustainable crop and livestock practices;
• Water management for adaptation;
• Protected areas, forests, green cities;
• Social business entrepreneurship and sustainable investments in mountain value chains;
• Building resilience to manage disaster and climate risk for mountain people;
• Integrating knowledge and education at local level for just adaptation and development; and
• Data and monitoring

Sustainable crop and livestock practices

Approaches to building resilience include crop cultivation and livestock production methods that promote locally adapted crops and breeds and drought-tolerant varieties, and prioritize products with high nutritional content and resilience to climate stress, as well as specialty products. Technologies include agroecology for the enhancement of moisture retention, improvement of soil fertility, terracing against water and wind erosion, and the protection of soil and biodiversity.

Refer to p.16-26 to explore the following case studies:

• Building local capacity and leadership in high mountain communities of Colombia
• Alpine farmers face up to climate change
• Valuing camelids in the Andes
• Stingless beekeeping and conservation in Lambayeque, Peru

Water management for adaptation

Water management and regulation are central to climate change adaptation. A large share of adaptation options is directly related to water and to water-related impacts of climate change – changing rainfall patterns, global warming and the increase in the occurrence of extreme events, including droughts and
floods.

Water management for adaptation includes technologies, infrastructure and practices that sustain good soil moisture conditions for plant growth. They range from enhancing the capture and retention of rainfall, so as to ensure sufficient availability of water over time, to providing adequate drainage, so
as to avoid and mitigate flooding. Pastoral adaptation options include seasonal migration of livestock herds to more fertile pastures and livestock insurance schemes. Alongside efficient water use, the restoration and protection of particularly vulnerable areas, such as wetlands, is likely to be a way to implement water conservation measures.

Refer to p.29-39 to explore the following case studies:

• Rewetting Andean wetlands to enhance water availability
• Reviving traditional water management systems in the Himalayas: the Zing and Kul systems
• Local solutions for a greener, more resilient Anti-Atlas, Morocco
• Artificial glaciers: innovations for water in Kyrgyzstan’s mountains

Protected areas, forests, green cities

Mountain forests cover 39 percent of global mountain area and grasslands. Forestry practices to support adaptation and resilience in mountains include approaches that promote and maintain the provision of goods and services from forests and trees, such as carbon sequestration, income, nutrient-rich foods, habitats for pollinators and wild species, microclimate control, water and nutrient cycling, soil erosion control and nitrogen fixation, while considering the complex and context-dependent interactions in the ecosystems, particularly forest-water interactions.

Urban forests, public parks, street trees and green areas also have an important cooling role and can play a significant part in buffering cities, settlements and infrastructure from climate hazards, as well as from the long-term changes due to climate change at multiple scales. Sustainable practices for urban planning and development include investing in nature-based solutions to increase the resilience of urban mountain people.

Refer to p.42-49 to explore the following case studies:

• Safeguarding the future of Alpine ash forests in southern New South Wales, Australia
• Sustainable management of Togo-Ghana Highlands based on Missahoé mountain forest ecosystem resilience development
• Setting the adaptation agenda for Patagonia’s World Heritage Site, Argentina
• Climate-resilient social urbanism in Colombia: ‘Medellin’s Miracle’

Social business entrepreneurship and sustainable investments in mountain value chains

In mountain regions, entrepreneurial efforts often focus on preserving biodiversity, protecting fragile ecosystems and promoting sustainable tourism. However, social and environmental responsibility approaches can also offer an opportunity to address the specific challenges that mountain communities face, while also generating economic benefits.

Social businesses worldwide are based on addressing social or environmental problems while achieving financial sustainability, reinvesting the profit in expanding and improving the business or creating new social businesses. Strengthening local producers’ marketing knowledge and value chains can add value to mountain products by highlighting their benefits in terms of biodiversity preservation, gastronomic richness and their environmental role. Additionally, the ecotourism, community-based tourism and agritourism sectors are intrinsically linked to local food systems and offer valid opportunities for sustainable mountain development strategies.

Refer to p.51-59 to explore the following case studies:

• Co-creating a sustainable future in the mountain destination of St. Corona am Wechsel, Austria
• Emerging risks – mountain guides adapting
• Social business entrepreneurship in Mongolia
• New career paths – from forest work to ecotourism in China

Building resilience to manage disaster and climate risk for mountain people

Disaster risk reduction and management and adaptation in mountains are closely linked. Several measures can be implemented at farm and landscape level to reduce disaster and climate risks and the underlying vulnerabilities of mountain people, especially rural communities, and the agrifood systems on
which they depend.

Ecosystem-based approaches have been proved to reduce multiple risks, while at the same time increasing agricultural production and generating socioeconomic and environmental benefits. In mountain areas, these practices help to enhance ecosystem resilience to hazards such as landslides, floods and avalanches by stabilizing soils, managing water flows and protecting biodiversity. Anticipatory actions are fundamental, including those that build on local knowledge of disaster risk and communities’ risk perception and existing risk preparedness measures. Gender-responsive, community-based multi-hazard early warning and early action systems are the foundation for anticipatory actions.

Refer to p.62-72 to explore the following case studies:

• Disaster risk reduction and green development in mountain areas of China
• Climate resilience in rural landscapes of Colombia
• A grassroots response to wildfires in Lebanon
• Climate insurance boosts resilience in Kyrgyzstan
• Satellite-based climate risk insurance for farmers in Nepal

Integrating knowledge and education at local level for just adaptation and development

Investing in knowledge and education efforts is an essential foundation for transformational adaptation. In most mountain contexts, increasing people’s adaptive capacity and resilience is seriously constrained by remoteness, insufficient access to basic social services, marginalization and exclusion. At local level, supporting women, youth and other vulnerable members of rural and mountain communities through people-centred learning and empowerment projects is crucial, acknowledging the multiple and intersecting layers of discrimination and mobilizing and building collective local power.

Refer to p.73-80 to explore the following case studies:

• Farmer Field Schools
• Youth education for local climate change solutions in Kenya
• Community Learning Centre for climate-resilient agriculture in Nepal
• Integration of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge for climate adaptation in mountain regions

Data and monitoring

Long-term, high-resolution, accurate and accessible data on the multiple interacting components of complex mountain systems around the world can support the design and implementation of strategies to adapt to and mitigate climate change, and to build resilience.

Refer to p.81-83 to explore the following case studies:

• Observations and data for effective adaptation in mountains

Required citation

FAO. 2024. Promoting innovation and tradition – Solutions for climate change adaptation in mountains. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd3668en.