Advancing Mountains and Climate Change; SBSTA 64, COP31 and Beyond

Excellent session this morning with a series of short presentations setting the scene and outlining the main areas of dialogue ahead of the key side events on Friday.

Key take-aways for me were;

Caterina Guidi, Adaption Expert, Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change, Italian Delegation, highlighted actions of action including quality of life which resonates with ZWDP model of planetary health and human health, as well as issues of social capital and social cohesion (see social and environmental determinants of health). Caterina noted that Italy has the Presidency of the Alpine Convention from 2025 – 2026 a focus on with 3 main areas of action;

• Biodiversity: Developing an Alpine Biodiversity Action Plan and supporting projects to monitor ecosystem 
• Climate Change: Studying the effects of the deterioration of Alpine glaciers and permafrost.
• Population and Culture: Updating social and economic data on demographic changes and promoting Alpine cultural heritage

Sonam Tashi, Director, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Bhutan, reinforced the message of translating mountain science into decision-making action that creates opportunities in a broader policy context and framing / communicating in the language of implementation.   

Maheshwar Dhakal, Senior Joint Secretary and Chief of Climate Change Management Division, Ministry of Forest and Environment, Nepal, spoke about how climate change is driving displacement from mountain regions and the need to connect mountain issues with broader climate issue and discourse. He also picked up on the need for meaningful engagement and participation of Youth and Indigenous peoples, stressing the call for capacity building. 

Mr Dhakal pointed out that mountains are often spoken about as ecosystems and examples of climate impact, which he noted needs to be balanced with the recognition that mountain are home to many peoples and communities. He suggested a narrative of impact of climate change and mountains are opportunities for global action >Saving Humanity and the Mountain> which aligns well with ZADP Saving the Worlds Water campaign, so we will be following up with Mr Dhakal. 

Anil Mishra, Chief of the Hydrological Section, Climate and Adaption Section, UNESCO presented the UN Decade of Cryospheric Sciences and walked through the Report ‘Synthesis of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences 2025 – 2034. ZWDP will be posting more about its involvement over the next few weeks. 

Saskia Sanders, Co-facilitator, SD 64 Dialogue for Mountain and Climate Change, Switzerland highlighted knowledge to implementation, integrated action and practice based knowledge which are common elements of the Ice 2 Ice project.