For billions of people, mountain meltwater is essential for drinking water and sanitation, food and energy security, and the integrity of the environment. But today, as the world warms, glaciers are melting faster than ever, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme. And because of glacial retreat, floods, droughts, …
Gravity makes water run downhill, so people and communities living in mountainous areas often have more difficulties in accessing sufficient water. As this example from the Philippines shows, simple technologies can be a great help
This publication provides background information and a framework for discussing mountain issues in the context of the current climate change dialogue. It synthesizes the state of current knowledge and provides an overview of the evolution and status of the global Mountain agenda from the time it was agreed upon during …
The unique ecological entity and topographical diversities are the exclusive characteristics of the hill and mountain regions in India. The distinctive socio-economic features, ethnicity, climatic variability and human activities, seprate the hill and mountain ecosystem from the rest.
Agriculture in the north-eastern region of India has considerable potential to grow and contribute to the overall economic growth and livelihood of the rural population. The climate is favourable to grow a wide variety of crops, particularly fruits, vegetables and spices. Lack of system-specific technologies, poor infrastructure and underdeveloped markets, …
THE Himalaya bordering the north and the Western Ghats in the south of India form biodiversity hotspots. Given this evidence one can assume that areas with greater variety in landscape are home to a greater number of species. General observation backs this theory: mountains have more biodiversity than plains just …
Dehra dun: Uttarakhand Government is planning to set up an authority with the aim of conserving Himalayan glaciers in the hill State. The proposed Snow and Glaciers Authority (SGA) is expected to be headed by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and will study the impact of climate change on nearly …
Rahi Gaikwad and Vinaya Deshpande Mumbai: There exists an entire spectrum of resistance, which includes the Maoist movement, asking serious questions about democracy and civilisation, not just of our government, but of our planet, author Arundhati Roy said here on Wednesday. Ms. Roy was giving a talk on the Indian …
This publication presents the results of this process: i.e., an analytical and strategic framework for value chain development in the HKH mountain areas. The first part looks at the need to adapt the generic value chain framework to the mountain context, and examines the mountain specificities (unique/niche production, limited accessibility, …
This study explores the differences between mountain and non-mountain countries in food security and its determinants. Econometric analysis shows that mountain regions are likely to have lower food security. The findings suggest that people in mountain countries are especially affected by external shocks such as surges in global food prices. …
The governments of the Himalayan hill-states and the international donor agencies have consistently advocated disbursal of funds for improvement of road connectivity in keeping with the mandates of a
Hong Kong: Researchers have identified two genes that appear to explain why Tibetans are able to live comfortably in rarefied air at very high altitudes. Dubbed the roof of the world, Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 meters. To find out if Tibetans …
Reports that the geological record of erosion indicates a fourfold increase in global sedimentation rates during the past 5 million years merited a global explanation. Explanations offered include an increased rate of mountain formation and global cooling. Now Jane Willenbring and Friedhelm von Blanckenburg reanalyse original data sets and use …
Increased erosion associated with the rise of the world's great mountain ranges has been held to be the cause of a prolonged episode of past climate cooling. That connection is now brought into doubt.
Mountain poverty is multifaceted and intensified through such factors as remoteness, poor accessibility, the fragility of the ecosystems, and marginalisation. This complex phenomenon cannot be explained using existing definitions of poverty. In general, poverty levels in mountain areas are higher than in other parts of the same country. At the …
Summer fires in the wooded areas and grasslands of Himachal Pradesh are nothing new, but long dry spells often turn the hills into a tinderbox. This year priceless forest wealth has been destroyed in more than 400 fire incidents in April alone. A view of the forest fire adjoining the …
BINAJ GURUBACHARYA KATHMANDU A team of of Sherpas plans to remove bodies of climbers who died in Everest's `death zone', a treacherous stretch that has claimed some 300 lives since 1953 A team of 20 Sherpa mountaineers plans to remove bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest
The Oku-Kom highland morphological and human stronghold of West Cameroon with rich volcanic soils has attracted farmers and breeders thereby rupturing the mountain ecological equilibrium through slope gulling and mass movements. Overwhelmed, the indigenes adapted unsuccessful regreening approaches but without slope gradient considerations. This paper identifies native and exotic plant …
How do climate fluctuations affect DDT and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) distribution in the global scale? In this study, the interactions between climate variations and depositions of DDT and HCH in ice cores from Mt. Everest (the Tibetan Plateau), Mt. Muztagata (the eastern Pamirs) and the Rocky Mountains were investigated. All data …
