Adaptation At Altitude: Taking Action in the Mountains (2020 -2023)
Background
Mountain regions cover about one-quarter of the Earth’s land surface and are home to more than 1 billion people. Mountains host an impressive array of natural resources – 25% of terrestrial biodiversity and 60% of all biosphere reserves – and they supply freshwater for lowland irrigation and domestic use for half of the global population. Mountains provide essential ecosystem services for livelihoods, and with their rich ethnic and cultural diversity and magical natural beauty, they offer recreation and restoration for residents and visitors alike.
Mountain people have always faced the challenges of living in a rugged environment and have developed coping strategies to adapt to harsh conditions, but the unprecedented magnitude and speed of climate change put them under increasing pressure. Traditional adaptation strategies need to be blended with innovative approaches and this knowledge needs to be shared among the mountain communities and with policymakers so that adaptation can match the scale of the changes.
Adaptation At Altitude: Taking Action in the Mountains Project
Sustainable Caucasus as a regional partner of UNEP started the implementation of a global program–Adaptation At Altitude: Taking Action in the Mountains in the South Caucasus region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia). Adaptation at Altitude is a collaborative programme launched and co-supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The first phase of the programme runs from 2020 to 2023.
Adaptation At Altitude will provide a platform for South Caucasus countries to exchange the knowledge and best practices relevant to climate change adaptation and support the relevant policy and governance processes. It will closely interact with the established the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region (SNC-mt) that has developed the joint Caucasus Regional Research Agenda (C-RRA) and other regional initiatives.
Objectives
The program's overall objective is to increase knowledge on climate change and appropriate adaptation solutions in the mountains and feed it into science-policy platforms for informed decision-making in national, regional, and global policy processes to increase the resilience of mountain communities and ecosystems to climate change.
The project aims to:
- Identify and close existing knowledge gaps and improve the understanding of climate change impacts, including available solutions at both (sub)regional and national levels;
- Strengthen science-policy dialogue and partnerships;
- Adequate integration of mountain-specific adaptation measures in policy-making across all governance levels through the establishment of platforms for strengthened cooperation and policy dialogue;
- Assess and develop feasible mechanisms for inter-regional knowledge sharing and learning across mountain regions.
Project Outcomes
- Improve the availability and use of mountain observation data and information services to support regional and global knowledge products on climate change impacts in the mountains;
- Integrate mountain climate change adaptation into planning and policy processes of regional bodies/frameworks/platforms/initiatives and their national constituencies as the result of strengthened science-policy dialogue platforms;
- Strengthen and capital knowledge on climate change adaptation solutions in the mountains at the regional and global level;
- Engage in major global policy processes for improved consideration of climate change adaptation in the mountains.
Sustainable Caucasus is responsible for the implementation of activities that cover integration of mountain climate change adaptation into planning and policy processes of regional bodies/frameworks/platforms/initiatives and their national constituencies as the result of strengthened science-policy dialogue platforms. The project also gives specific consideration to the women, and the gender-related aspects will be mainstreamed into all relevant activities.
The project activities are as follows:
Provide technical support in gathering regional knowledge and information (policy and practice) and available solutions in the area of mountain adaptation in the countries of the South Caucasus: This component includes the technical support in identifying, gathering, and analyzing relevant existing policies and knowledge (and ongoing policy processes for integrating and further strengthening mountain adaptation), including climate change and sectors relevant for sustainable mountain development.
Provide a comprehensive identification of key stakeholders for regional policy dialogue and cooperation: This component includes collecting target policy experts and practitioners to exchange on mountains and climate change adaptation-related activities in the region. Stakeholders are competent authorities, NGOs, international project partners, and donors working on/supporting relevant activities, representative groups for local communities, intergovernmental bodies, and the general public.
Support establishing regional dialogue and partnerships: This component includes fostering regional collaboration in the designated mountain regions focusing on climate change adaptation supported by sound scientific evidence.
The project will provide a platform, particularly for policy experts and practitioners, to meet and exchange knowledge and best practices relevant to climate change adaptation.
Partners
Adaptation at Altitude is a programme funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Consorcio para el Desarollo Sostenible de la Ecoregión Andina (CONDESAN), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the University of Geneva, and Zoï Environment Network.
