Mountain Day: Sunday, Dec. 4, Breakers Resort, Durban
Scientists from the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and eight Asian countries that make up the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region will present the most comprehensive assessment to date on climate change and the first authoritative accounting of snow cover and glacier extent in Asia's mountainous HKH region on Sunday, 4 December at Mountain Day on the sidelines of COP17 in Durban.
Home to Mount Everest and referred to by many scientists as the 'Third Pole', the HKH region is home to 30 percent of the world's glaciers. Land and water resources from these high peaks are critical to the livelihoods of over a billion people living in the mountains and in downstream areas across Asia's major river basins. Until now, there have been scant data on the status of snow and glacier extent in the region.
Findings from the report Climate Change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas and other new research from Asian, European, Andean and other mountain regions will be presented at Mountain Day, which will bring together mountain experts, policy makers, and climate change negotiators.
WHAT: Mountain Day @COP-17
Click here for more: http://www.icimod.org/?q=4037
A press briefing with Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Environment Ministers from Chile, Italy, Nepal, Slovenia, and Tajikistan, and high-level experts from ICIMOD is scheduled for 13:00-14:00.
WHO: Speakers include:
Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India
Hem Raj Tater, Hon. Minister of Environment, Government of Nepal
David Molden, Director General, ICIMOD
Andre' Jol, Head, Vulnerability and Adaptation, European Environmental Agency
Cesar Portocarrero, Glaciological and Hydrological Resources Unit, Peru
Yao Tandong, Director; Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (TBC)
Mario Boccucci, Head, UNEP Delegation
WHERE: Breakers Resort, 88 Lagoon Drive, Umhlanga Rocks
WHEN: 4 December 2011, 9:00-18:00. Press briefing at 13:00
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International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Based in Kathmandu, Nepal, ICIMOD, is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues. We support regional transboundary programmes through partnership with regional partner institutions, facilitate the exchange of experience, and serve as a regional knowledge hub. We strengthen networking among regional and global centres of excellence. Overall, we are working to develop an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem to improve the living standards of mountain populations and to sustain vital ecosystem services for the billions of people living downstream – now, and for the future. http://www.icimod.org
