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In 2019, alpinism was recognised by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity and “shared culture made up of knowledge of the high-mountain environment, the history of the practice and associated values, and specific skills”. However, alpinism is inextricably linked to mountains – places of extraordinary interest that need to be defended even more. The Alpine landscape protection initiatives address issues of territorial planning, sustainable development, tourism, agriculture, and energy, but it is also essential to consider these topics through the lens of mountains’ historical and cultural values.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that total Arctic summer sea ice loss is now inevitable, likely before 2050.

In this issue, four studies from Italy, France, and Cyprus examine how the production of Mediterranean mountain food specialties—cheese, beef, and wine—can support sustainable development in the producing regions.

A new paper rethinks mountain water security, calling for a better understanding of the complex interaction between glacial meltwater and coupled human-natural systems. 

New UNESCO data highlight the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites, with glaciers in a third of sites set to disappear by 2050. But it is still possible to save the other two-thirds, if the rise in global temperatures does not exceed 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period. This will be a major challenge for COP27.

Volume 19, issue 10 of the Journal of Mountain Science explores topics ranging from the effect of elevation on floristic diversity, life forms, and chorotypes in the Al-Hada mountain escarpment in Saudi Arabia to the state of mountain research in Canada.

This MRI-funded synthesis workshop on very-high-resolution remote sensing of treeline ecotones and alpine vegetation took place from 18 - 22 July 2022 in Kochel am See at the northern edge of the Alps in Germany.  The workshop was organised by the Philipps University, Marburg, Germany, and the University of Turku, Finland with the support of the Mountain Research Initiative. It included a partially hybrid format to enable online access to the presentations and some of the discussions.

The 27th edition of the UN Climate Change Conference will take place from November 6-18, 2022. Carolina Adler, Executive Director of the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), CDE scientist, and one of the lead authors of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report will be present in Sharm el-Sheikh. She points out the importance of the conference for mountain regions and says: “I hope that the momentum isn’t lost!”

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