Impact of global changes on mountains : responses and adaptation

527 Pages·2014·41.84 MB·English

Impact of Global Changes
on Mountains
Responses and Adaptation
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Impact of Global Changes
on Mountains
Responses and Adaptation
Editors
Velma I. Grover
Faculty of Environmental Sciences
York University
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Axel Borsdorf
Institute for Mountain Research: Man & Environment
Innsbruck, Tyrol
Austria
Jürgen Heinz Breuste
University Salzburg, Dept. Geography/Geology
Salzburg
Austria
Prakash Chandra Tiwari
Kumaun University
Nainital, Uttarakhand
India
Flavia Witkowski Frangetto
Brazilian Institute for Environmental Law
São Paulo/SP - CEP
Brazil
p,
A SCIENCE PUBLISHERS BOOK
GL--Prelims with new title page.indd ii 4/25/2012 9:52:40 AM
Cover Illustrations reproduced by kind courtesy of Dr. Velma I. Grover and Dr. Axel Borsdorf.
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Preface
In every person’s mind, the word ‘mountains’ evoke a different image.
Mountains always bring forth images of height, waterfalls, tall green
trees, sometimes glaciers and evoke the feelings and the sense of spiritual
awakening and romanticism associated with nature. For most of us
mountains have been sensationalized by the journalists who cover the
climbers conquering the highest peaks in different continents or romanticized
by movies! However, this book will go deep (without indulging in doing
either of these two) into exploring the impact of global changes on high
mountains. Avalanches in the Everest region have been in the news recently,
with the new disaster depicted as the worst in history so far—prediction of
such disasters is becoming more diffi cult with changing climate. The attempt
of the authors in this book is to focus on what these global changes are and
how these changes are impacting higher mountains in different regions:
Africa, Americas (both North and South), Asia, and Europe.
Mountain regions encompass nearly 24% of the total land surface of
the Earth. Mountains are highly critical from the view point of ecosystem
services that sustain human society both in highlands and lowlands in large
parts of the planet. Mountains also constitute the hot spots of biodiversity,
and supports inhabitants of lowlands or high mountains—providing them
with goods and services such as water, energy, lumber. Mountains are also
known as the water towers of the world (since the headwaters for most of the
major rivers are in one of the mountain ranges) that take care of freshwater
needs of humanity. Mountains are an important part of human civilization
in providing important resources needed for the survival of human kind. All
the six continents have mountains in all the latitude zones and encompass
some of the most spectacular landscapes. They also provide opportunities
for recreation and spiritual renewal.
Currently, there are more than seven billion people on planet Earth.
The planet has never been inhabited with so many people before and never
with such extra-ordinary prosperity which is due to globalization. With
an average per capita income of $12,000—meaning an economy of ninety
trillion dollars—we live in a complex global society. Such a complex society
has great impact on our lives whether in lowlands or up in the mountains
vi Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation
and puts a pressure on natural resources. To fulfi l the needs of the ever
growing economy, various anthropogenic activities such as deforestation,
expansion of urban areas and infrastructure, intensified agriculture,
and climate change have changed the fragile and vulnerable mountain
ecosystems. As a result, mountain regions of the world are passing through
a process of rapid environmental changes, and exploitation and depletion
of natural resources leading to ecological imbalances and economic
unsustainability both in upland and lowland areas. Moreover, the changing
climatic conditions have already stressed mountain ecosystems through
higher mean annual temperatures and melting of glaciers and snow, altered
precipitation patterns and hydrological disruptions, and more frequent and
extreme weather events rendering the mountain communities and their
economies more vulnerable to the long term impacts of climate change. It
is not just the ecology of mountains which is changing, but the economic
relations of mountain communities have also undergone transformations.
Not too long ago, economies of most mountain communities depended on
the use of resources at different altitudinal zones. Nowadays the effects of
climate change and globalization are threatening the fragile ecosystems and
livelihoods of people dependent on them. The aim of the book is to address
some of these issues with case studies from different continents and to see
how we can decelerate or even stop some of these changes by mitigation,
new technologies or global, regional, and local policies.
Velma I. Grover
Axel Borsdorf
Jürgen Heinz Breuste
Prakash Chandra Tiwari
Flavia Witkowski Frangetto
Contents
Preface v
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Prelude: Mountains in an Uncertain World 3
Jack D. Ives
2. Introduction and Road Map for Impact of Global Changes 15
on High-Mountains
Velma I. Grover
SECTION 2: DRIVERS FOR CHANGE AND IMPACT OF
GLOBAL CHANGES ON MOUNTAINS
3. Impacts and Risks of Global Change 33
Axel Borsdorf, Johann Stötter, Georg Grabherr, Oliver Bender,
Carla Marchant and Rafael Sánchez
SECTION 3: ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION:
STRATEGIES AND MODELS
4. Global Change and Mountains: Consequences, 79
Responses and Opportunities
Prakash C. Tiwari and Bhagwati Joshi
5. Adaptation to Climate Change in Mountain Regions: 137
Global Signifi cance of Marginal Places
Matthias Monreal and Johann Stötter
6. Adaptation Frameworks for Climate Change—Eloquent to 153
Himalayan Ecosystems
P.K. Joshi, Kamna Sachdeva and A.K. Joshi
SECTION 4: GOVERNANCE AND LEGAL ISSUES IN MOUNTAINS
7. Governance and Laws of Mountains 167
Flavia Witkowski Frangetto
viii Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation
SECTION 5: CASE STUDIES
8. Global Change and Sustainable Mountain Tourism: 187
The Case of Mount Kenya
Irandu Evaristus M.
9. Managing Ecosystem Services for Enhancing Climate 208
Change Adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayas
Nakul Chettri, Golam Rasul and Eklabya Sharma
10. Future Sustainability Challenges in Hindu Kush-Himalaya: 227
Adaptation Challenges to Global Changes in Hindu
Kush-Himalaya
Janak Pathak
11. Climate Change and its Impacts on Community Food and 266
Livelihood in Kumaun Himalaya: A Case Study of Dabka
Catchment
Pradeep K. Rawat and Prakash C. Tiwari
12. Land-Use/Cover Changes in the Kewer Gadhera 298
Sub-Watershed, Central Himalaya
Vishwambhar Prasad Sati
13. Hindu Kush, Karakorum, Himalaya and Tibetan 312
Plateau Glaciers: Tipping Point
Iqbal Syed Hasnain
14. Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)—Mapping the 324
Hazard of a Threat to High Asia and Beyond
Manfred F. Buchroithner and Tobias Bolch
15. Impact of Socioeconomic Factors and Environmental 346
Changes on Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands
Jürgen Breuste and Lalitha Dissanayake
16. High Tatra—The Challenges of Natural Disaster 366
Recovery and Complex Changes
Maros Finka and Tatiana Kluvankova
17. Local Responses to Global Change: Community 381
Alternatives for ‘Good Living’ in Latin America
David Barkin
18. Projected Climate Change and Variability and Their 399
Impact on the Canadian Rocky Mountains
Kaz Higuchi and Fiona Joncas
Contents ix
19. Environmental and Socio-Economic Changes in the 419
Rural Andes: Human Resilience and Adaptation Strategies
Christoph Stadel
20. Climate Change and the Rocky Mountains 432
James M. Byrne, Daniel Fagre, Ryan MacDonald and
Clint C. Muhlfeld
21. Climate Change Impacts On The Northwestern 464
Andean (NOA) and Western (Cuyo) Andean Regions
of Argentina
H.D. Ginzo and A. Faggi
22. Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Case Study 482
of Brazil
Sérgio Murari Ludemann
Index 493
Color Plate Section 497