Elsevier

Global Environmental Change

Volume 54, January 2019, Pages 19-30
Global Environmental Change

Adaptation action and research in glaciated mountain systems: Are they enough to meet the challenge of climate change?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.10.012Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Develops typology for the challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems.

  • Characterizes state of adaptation action and research in glaciated mountains systems.

  • Highlights nature and consequences of shortcomings in adaptation action and research.

  • Identifies measures necessary to more fully meet the challenge of climate change.

  • Raises profile of glaciated mountain systems in global environmental change research.

Abstract

The challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems is significant and cannot be met without adaptation actions and research that addresses the interwoven scientific, human, and socio-ecological dimensions of climate change. However, our understanding of the effectiveness of existing efforts in meeting this challenge is lacking, a shortcoming compounded by a lack of consistent and comparable information about adaptation action and research in glaciated mountain systems. This study develops a typology of the challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems and uses formal systematic review methods to critically evaluate existing adaptation actions and research in light of this framework. Our results––based on an evaluation of 170 English-language peer-reviewed and grey literature documents––indicate that socially-relevant climate-related changes are already manifesting in glaciated mountain systems, with the most commonly documented stimuli for adaptation being hydrological changes related to the degradation of the high mountain cryosphere. Some degree of adaptation action has occurred in 78% of countries with glaciated mountain ranges, but most adaptations are reactions to experienced climatic stimuli and carried out without guidance from a formal adaptation plan. The study also identified the emergence of explicitly mountain-focused adaptation research, yet studies framed in this way are still relatively scarce and have only been carried out in about half of the countries with glaciated mountain ranges. Although we document several laudable adaptation action and research efforts, few initiatives are adequately addressing the difficulties outlined in our evaluation framework for the challenge of climate change. The study discusses the consequences of observed shortcomings and identifies recommendations for more fully meeting the challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems.

Introduction

Climate change has arrived for glaciated mountain systems, with major reductions in glacier cover, changes in hydrological dynamics, amplified geohazards, and unusual ecological patterns observed across many high mountain areas (Haeberli et al., 2017, Huss et al., 2017, IPCC, 2013, Milner et al., 2017, Steinbauer et al., 2018). These changes portend significant repercussions for the ∼915 million people living in mountain areas as well as the socio-ecological relationships that sustain livelihoods in fragile mountain environments (FAO, 2015, Korner and Ohsawa, 2005, Palomo, 2017). However, despite widespread observations of climate-related changes, understanding of how climate change is actually affecting mountain people remains limited (Carey et al., 2017, McDowell et al., 2014). Here we contribute to a small but growing literature on adaptation to climate change in mountain regions, using formal systematic review methods and an integrative theoretical framework to critically evaluate adaptation action and research in light of the challenge posed by climate change in glaciated mountain systems.

This paper focuses on human adaptation while remaining attentive to the broader socio-ecological implications of human responses to climate change. We draw on insights from mountain-focused climate science, human dimensions of climate change research, and socio-ecological resilience literature, reflecting growing recognition that interpreting the effectiveness of adaptation action and research requires engagement with the scientific, human, and socio-ecological dimensions of climate change (McDowell and Koppes, 2017). Accordingly, our treatment of adaptation follows definition proposed by Moser and Ekstrom (2010): “Adaptation involves changes in social-ecological systems in response to actual and expected impacts of climate change in the context of interacting non-climatic changes. Adaptation strategies and actions can range from short-term coping to longer-term, deeper transformations, aim to meet more than climate change goals alone, and may or may not succeed in moderating harm or exploiting beneficial opportunities” (p. 22026). This slightly modified version of the traditional IPCC definition is more consistent with our integrative approach to adaptation while still enabling comprehensibility between the paper's analysis and IPCC concepts and reports.

In this study, adaptation ‘action’ and ‘research’ are treated as distinct but related aspects of responding to the challenge of climate change. Adaptation action refers to individual or collective responses to climatic stimuli (Smithers and Smit, 1997). These are the tangible efforts through which climate-related changes are addressed. Adaptation research, in contrast, involves the use of (more or less) formalized methods to evaluate adaptation actions and options. Research generates theoretical and empirically-grounded insights that deepen understanding of both existing adaptation actions and future adaptation possibilities. For these reason, adaptation action and research are both essential elements of meeting the challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems.

To date, synthesized knowledge about the status of adaptation action and research in glaciated mountain systems has been limited. The first effort to systematically assess the state of knowledge demonstrated the emergence of limited adaptation action in mountain systems, finding that adaptations were only documented in 40% of countries with alpine glaciation (McDowell et al., 2014). This review focused on evaluating adaptation actions reported in the peer-review literature over a relatively short 10-year period (2003–2013). More recently, Sud et al. (2015) synthesized what is known about adaptation policy and practice in densely populated glacier-fed river basins in the Himalayas while Muccione et al. (2016) evaluated the contribution of scientific knowledge to the development of climate adaptation policies in eight high mountain regions. These reviews have helped to deepen knowledge about adaptation for particular regions and topics, particularly the broader governance and decision-making contexts of adaptation planning. Moreover, recent reviews of mountain-focused climate change vulnerability literature by Carey et al. (2017); Shukla et al. (2017); and Tucker et al. (2015) have helped to reveal the nature of climatic and non-climatic stressors likely to motivate adaptation. Finally, important contributions to understanding adaptation have come from synthesis reports produced outside of academia (e.g. UNEP/GRID Arendal Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series). Notwithstanding these important knowledge synthesis efforts, we still lack the kind of consistent, comparable, and comprehensive information needed to determine if adaptation actions and research are enough to meet the challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems. In response, this paper engages with the following research questions:

  • What do we know about adaptation action and research in glaciated mountain systems, and are observed efforts enough to meet the challenges of climate-related changes?

  • What are the consequences of shortcomings in these efforts, and what changes are needed to more fully meet the challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems?

Section snippets

The challenge of climate change in glaciated mountain systems

In this paper, the ‘challenge of climate change’ in glaciated mountain systems is defined as having three interwoven components: 1. The nature of observed and projected climate-related changes; 2. The inherently social nature of exposure-sensitivity, adaptation, and vulnerability to climate-related changes; and 3. The potentially cascading effects of human adaptation on broader socio-ecological dynamics. These challenges bring together core themes from fields working on climate change in

Research approach

This study used a formal systematic review methodology to characterize adaptation action and research in glaciated mountain systems. The methodology was originally developed in the health sciences to promote standardization and transparency in knowledge synthesis efforts; however, it has also been utilized as a rigorous approach for evaluating climate change adaptation (e.g. Berrang-Ford et al., 2011, Biesbroek et al., 2013, Ford et al., 2014, Lesnikowski et al., 2016, McDowell et al., 2014,

Results

170 documents met the inclusion criteria for this study, including 107 peer-reviewed articles (63%) and 63 grey literature documents (37%). Results in this section summarize insights about adaptation action based on information reported in the full sample. Relevant publication in both the peer-reviewed and grey literature first appeared in 2005; however, only four publications were available before 2008. Thereafter, the peer-reviewed literature shows a modest increasing trend while the grey

Discussion

Our review of the literature reveals a growing focus on adaptation action and research in mountain systems, but also highlights several shortcomings in applied and academic work on responses to climate change. In view of these findings, are existing efforts enough to meet the interwoven scientific, human, and socio-ecological challenges of climate change in glaciated mountain systems?

Conclusion

Life in glaciated mountain systems is strongly affected by climate-related changes such as glacial recession, modifications in the extent and duration of snowcover, and thawing permafrost, all of which intersect with already challenging living conditions in high mountains. Without adaptation, climate-related changes in glaciated mountain systems portend significant, widespread, and far reaching socio-ecological impacts. However, our understanding of adaptation action and research in these

Acknowledgements

This project was aided by the guidance of several research librarians; namely, Julie Jones, Sarah Parker, and Dean Giustini. It was also improved by the up-to-date list of countries with alpine glaciation generated by the World Glacier Monitoring Service. Our analysis benefited from the Global Mountain Explorer platform and the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) Viewer. RShiny, LeafletJS, and Google Maps API projects were used in the development of our interactive mapping platform.

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