Mountains to climb: Reflections on a conference and a special volume

Climate change and biodiversity loss – two of the alarming elements making up the triple planetary crisis – are severely challenging the progress towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by the first half of this century. And mountain ecosystems, like those of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), are perhaps the most vulnerable to these two debilitating factors. That said, while climate change and biodiversity loss are recognised as interconnected, our understanding of this connectedness in the HKH has not been getting the desired traction which is required for effective adaptation and resilience measures. 

Acting upon this lacuna and on the priority areas identified by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in its Strategy: Moving Mountains (2023–2030), an international conference on ‘Mountain Ecosystems: Biodiversity and Adaptations under Climate Change Scenarios’ was jointly conceptualised, planned, and organised at the Graphic Era University, Dehradun, India, from 22–24 March 2023 by the university and ICIMOD. The main objectives of the conference were to strengthen knowledge on the state of biodiversity under the prevailing climate change scenarios; undertake adaptative actions through bioprospecting of mountain-niche products; and develop technology and policy support. The conference was attended by about 40 leading global experts working in the remote mountain ecosystems of the HKH, Antarctica, and Andes who went on to present their research findings.

The conference witnessed a wide range of compelling presentations of which the diversity of microbial communities in the mountains garnered particular attention. More so because the knowledge on microbial communities in the high mountain areas are rather sporadic and limited. The variations in the microbial communities along the Teesta River in the HKH, the microbial diversity of Antarctica, and the influence of geothermal and glaciated ecosystems in the Andes sparked great interest at the conference. The other issues that caught attention were the socio-economic and development challenges posed by climate change in the mountain ecosystems, particularly of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), and the need for citizen-centric innovations. Notably, presentations were also made about the success stories of cultivars’ contribution to livelihood and food security, and of the conservation strategies and sustainable utilisation of Himalayan-niche products for livelihood security.

Following up on the overwhelming responses to these topics, the organisers approached the Govind Ballabh Pant National Institute for Himalayan Environment (NIHE), based in Almora (Uttarakhand, India), to commission a special issue of the Envis Bulletin – a reputed open-access publication on Himalayan ecology supported by the Government of India – on the conference themes.

Thus, the bulletin’s 31st volume, of which I was a guest editor, carried 25 articles culled from the conference. These have been clustered into two broad areas: bioprospecting in mountain ecosystems; and Himalayan environment and ecology. The first cluster of 19 articles begins with an opinion paper that clubs the phenomenon of climate into two distinct categories – ‘natural’ (involving long-term weather patterns) and ‘social’ (involving global meta trends). This is followed by a piece that calls for urgent action – by governments, the private sector, research institutions, civil societies, and communities – to save the global asset that is the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Another important article is on the relevance of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework which describes both its achievements as well as its failures. Then there are essays on the trends, patterns, impacts, and community responses to climate change in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

The second cluster consists of six articles on the Himalayan environment and ecology wherein issues like water quality, air pollution, and the economic viability of soya bean cultivation are addressed in great detail. 

To sum up, both the conference and the special issue featuring the insights of multidisciplinary researchers can be considered timely and relevant in terms of drawing strong attention to the seminal problem of fragile mountain ecosystems. They are also steps in the process of enriching knowledge on environmental conditions, adaptation options, and bioprospecting, and provide crucial learning opportunities to researchers across the globe.