Denali's Hidden Creek Glacier has noticeably retreated from top to bottom due to climate change. Top: S. Capps, USGS. Bottom: NPS Photo. Mountains Matter for Water as mountains are the world's "water towers," providing between 60 and 80 percent of all freshwater resources for our planet. However, all available records indicate that glaciers in mountain ranges around the world are retreating and disappearing due to climate change. At least glaciers have disappeared completely over the past decades, affecting water supplies relied on by billions living downstream.
Mountains Matters for Disaster Risk Reduction as climatic variations are triggering disasters. Avalanches, mudflows and landslides are tumbling downstream, stripping bare forests, flooding communities and populations.
Mountains Matter for Tourism as mountain destinations attract around percent of global tourism and are areas of important cultural diversity, knowledge and heritage. Although mountain tourism has the potential to foster economic development in remote and isolated regions, many mountain communities are still not benefiting and live in poverty. Mountains Matter for Food as they are important centers of agricultural biodiversity and are home to many of the foods that come to our table, such as rice, potatoes, quinoa, tomatoes and barley.
Yet they are home to some of the hungriest peoples in the world with a high vulnerability to food shortages and malnutrition, and climate change is affecting mountain agriculture.
Mountains Matter for Youth as despite the beautiful landscapes, life in the mountains can be tough, particularly for rural youth. Abandoning their villages in search of employment elsewhere has led to an absence of young people and an increasing labor shortage. Migration from mountains leads to an increase in abandoned agricultural land, degradation and often forest fires. This is a very beautiful hill station. Even during the hot summer season, one can have pleasant weather here, and in the winter season, visitors enjoy natural snowfall.
Sadly, this hill station remained overlooked in terms of development. The road which leads to Gorakh hill station is in poor condition. No parks or plantation can be seen in this hill station. Although a huge budget has been released for the development of Gorakh hill station, the development remained only in papers.
Residents of Gorakh hill station live a miserable life. Even, there is no single school in this hilly area. Food security is getting worse in mountains—even as it improves globally.
Migration Many mountain communities are emptying out. Limited economic and educational opportunities are driving the younger generation—especially men—to migrate away from their mountain homes, often to foreign countries.
When young men leave mountain villages, women, children and the elderly are left behind to manage as best they can. This out-migration trend has increased worldwide in recent years.
It is now stressing the livability and sustainability of rapidly growing mountain cities. In some parts of the world, climate refugees are an added pressure as they move up in elevation to escape scorching lowlands.
Cultural Erosion Preserving ancient cultures in mountainous regions is just as important as conserving their natural environment and improving mountain economies. Mountain communities, frequently made up of ethnic minorities, harbor thousand year old cultural traditions shaped by natural environments. Mountains are home to numerous indigenous cultures speaking over 1, different languages.
Mountain people are the stewards of sites that have invaluable historical and cultural importance—from temples and sacred monuments to ancient forts. The traditional knowledge of these ancient cultures can be lost as mountain communities empty out. But traditional knowledge is now more valuable than ever as climate change forces us to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Natural Disasters Mountain glaciers are receding at a faster pace than previously predicted.
At least glaciers have disappeared completely in recent times, affecting water storage and increasing risks of glacial lake outburst floods. This trend is accelerating. Precipitation amounts and seasonality are changing, and extreme weather events are increasing in intensity. The risks of landslides, floods and drought have increased, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the highlands and downstream. In the last decade, conflicts over water have increased four-fold.
Risks are high both internationally and within countries. Climate Change. Water Scarcity. Environmental Degradation. Food Insecurity.
Cultural Erosion. Natural Disasters.
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