Connecting Knowledge and Action in Mountains: Highlights from 2025

Summary

International Mountain Day 2025 paid homage to glaciers, contributing to the awareness raising efforts of the International Year of Glacier Preservation. Glaciers matter not just for those living in mountain regions but for livelihoods around the world. Adapting to their demise — and the resulting impacts on agriculture, food and water security, energy, tourism and more — is of prime importance.

In 2025, the Adaptation at Altitude (A@A) Knowledge Network convened four thematic events on 1) glaciers and the cryosphere; 2) adaptation finance; 3) adaptation enablers, barriers, and opportunities; and 4) nature-based solutions. These events aimed to spark conversations and spur collaborations to accelerate adaptation efforts in mountain regions worldwide.

Enhancing resilience from glaciers to seas

An official side event for the launch of the International Year of Glacier Preservation, this event gathered 46 participants to discuss resilience and glacier-related hazards. Panellists presented on these issues:

• Efforts to manage glacial lake outburst floods, with examples from the Tibetan Plateau
• Efforts to strengthen disaster risk management, with examples from the Indian Himalayans

Financing adaptation for mountain communities

Adaptation finance is central to strengthening the resilience of mountain communities and the ecosystems they depend on. The learning event drew 25 participants. Panellists presented on these issues:

• Examining the adaptation finance landscape and reaching those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
• Understanding the finance needs in mountainous countries
• Making finance accessible at the local level

The Knowledge Network discussed identifying and applying for adaptation finance, market approaches, and closing the adaptation finance gap.

Solutions for adapting to climate change in mountains: an exchange of lessons learned and ways forward

The Knowledge Network’s first in-person meeting welcomed 7 speakers who shared their adaptation ‘solutions’ and gathered 40 participants to exchange good practice and lessons on adaptation in mountains in breakout discussions. The Knowledge Network explored:

• What enables ‘success’?
• What makes adaptation projects effective and transferrable to other mountain regions?
• What are common threats and challenges faced?
• What opportunities can be harnessed to address gaps?

Harnessing nature-based solutions for adaptation in mountains

Nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation approaches provide opportunities to both address the impacts of climate change and enhance the resilience of mountain communities and the ecosystems upon which they depend. This learning event gathered 20 participants to explore how such approaches can be harnessed to strengthen adaptation in mountain regions. Panellists shared insights on:

• The interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change agendas
• The nature-based solutions governance gap
• A nature-based solutions pilot project in Gledić, Serbia

To mark the UN’s designation of 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, members of the Adaptation at Altitude Knowledge Network shared personal reflections and experiences with the world’s glaciers. Use the featured resource on the right hand side to explore the map of stories and solutions!

The Adaptation at Altitude Knowledge Network

The Adaptation at Altitude Knowledge Network is a global community of practice through which stakeholders working on or interested in climate change adaptation in mountains can share experiences and knowledge to help accelerate the uptake and scaling up of innovative adaptation strategies in mountain regions around the world. The Knowledge Network is hosted through the Adaptation at Altitude programme which seeks to increase the resilience and adaptive capacity of mountain communities and ecosystems to climate change. Sign up by joining the mailing list!