Relevant Initiatives

The Summit partners are actively engaged in a range of relevant initiatives promoting quality observations, broad access to data, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, and improving user-centric services (e.g. early warning systems, climate services, etc.).

• Implementation of the Global Cryosphere Watch, within the framework of WMO, providing authoritative information on the state of the cryosphere
• The implementation of the Climate Service Information Systems, including the Third Pole Regional Climate Centres (TP RCC), modeled after the concept of the Arctic Regional Climate Centre
• Experience gained during the development of WMO´s World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) over the past 2 decades, with the aim of extending its coverage to high mountain areas not already included in WHYCOS
• The development of Impact Based Forecasting and Multi-Hazard Impact-based Forecast and Warning Services
• The international projects on High-Impact Weather and the Sub-seasonal to Seasonal Prediction
• The Polar Prediction Project and the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP), as models for a Mountain Prediction Project for improving the environmental prediction capabilities, for mountain regions, with an “multi-hazard” approach
• Research activities coordinated through the Global Energy and Water Cycle Exchanges (GEWEX) and Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) projects, of the World Climate Research Programme
• Implementation of the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS)
• Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS)
• Relevant Group on Earth Observation (GEO) Flagships, Initiatives and Community Activities, such as GEO-GNOME (Global Network on Observations and Information on Mountain Environments, co-led by MRI)
• Mountain Research Initiative (MRI)’s “Mountain Observations Working Group”, which includes scientific monitoring capacity and development in high mountains (Unified High Elevation Observation Platforms) and inputs and activities related to GEO-GNOME
• Snow, Glacier and Water Resources of the International Hydrological PROGRAMME of UNESCO, and the publication of the Andean Glacier and Water Atlas
• Global Water Futures activities on risk management solutions to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where global warming is changing landscapes, ecosystems, and the water environment
• The International Network for Alpine Research Catchment Hydrology (INARCH), a global collaborative research initiative in mountain hydrology
• Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP)
• Hydrometeorological data from mountain and alpine research catchments (publication) with 20 data papers from Austria, China, Russia, Lebanon, USA, Canada, France, and Spain
• The UN International Mountain Day, celebrated every year on 11 December
• WMO catalogue on assessed maturity data sets
• Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS) - a new UNU research programme supporting all aspects of sustainable development in mountain areas worldwide. GLOMOS is a joint endeavor of UNU-EHS in Bonn / Germany and Eurac Research in Bolzano / Italy. (More information)