International Conference on Mountain Development in a Context of Global Change with Special Focus on the Himalayas

Mountain regions are a high-energy environment prone to seisms,landslides, floods and snow disasters. The response of mountainous regions inthe context of global change mainly due to climate change, to improvement inaccess, to the extension of human mobilities and social networks, and to policyinitiatives at international level through bilateral and multi-lateral agreements is ongoing, leading to obvious changes invarious types of ecosystems. Climate change not only affects biodiversity andecosystem services, but also greatly impacts people living in mountainousregions, due, for example, to  frequentenvironmental disasters, which directly or indirectly affect community safetyand challenge mountain development. As the “Third Pole” in the world, theHimalayas are known as the water tower of Asia, with a large area covered in snowand glaciers. The impact of climate change on the region has widely drawn theattention of many scientists for many years now, and improved knowledge on it hashelped the region to adapt to climate change to a considerableextent. Likewise, the improvement in accessibility to markets andservices, the development of tourism, and the introduction of policies relatedto conservation and development through bilateral and multilateral treaties andagreements have also generated several consequences in the sustainabledevelopment of mountain areas. Since the impact of global change is anever-increasing trend, we must continue to improve ourability to adapt to the changes. Therefore, this is the motivation andthe purpose for this meeting, to exchange and share the latest research findingsand knowledge of mountain development in the context of globalization andclimate change.