The GEO Mountains General Meeting (May 2022) provided an opportunity to bring members of the Initiative together, share recent progress, and discuss plans for the 2023-2025 GEO Work Programme period.
The MRI’s Executive Director Dr. Carolina Adler opened the meeting by providing words of welcome and stating the meeting’s objectives. GEO Mountains Scientific Project Officer Dr. James Thornton then presented a summary of recent key activities and outcomes, including the release of the GEO Mountains General Inventory and the Initiative’s involvement in several conferences and workshops.
We were then delighted to hear two contributions from members of the GEO Mountains community. Dr. Mark Snethledge (Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment) presented A hierarchical inventory of the world’s mountains for global comparative mountain science, a new hierarchical spatial representation of the world’s mountain regions. Dr. Michael Allchin (Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary) presented Building resilience to natural hazards in mountain communities through ‘two-eyed’ observation and monitoring, a strategic initiative of the Canadian Mountain Network that seeks to improve issues related to situational awareness in mountain-influenced communities highlighted by numerous recent and extreme natural events. Both talks were very well received by participants, and stimulated interesting discussion.
Jessica Delves (GLOMOS / Eurac Research) provided an update on the status and future plans of GEO Mountains Task Groups 2.3 and 2.4, of which she is co-lead. Keep your eyes peeled for a meeting of these Task Groups later in the year at the International Mountains Conference in Innsbruck!
Thereafter, James Thornton returned to share an overview of GEO Mountains’ intended priorities for the 2023-2025 GEO Work Programme, and invited all participants to raise any questions or comments – as well as to suggest possible additional activities that could be undertaken by the network. This feedback and any subsequent follow up meetings will help to refine GEO Mountains’ Implementation Plan going forward, and to ensure that we meet the expectations of our users.
We look forward to our community’s continued support and collaboration, not least via the GEO Mountains Task Groups, which aim to co-develop and conduct specific tasks. Joining a Task Group entails making a tangible contribution in one area or another to these efforts that collectively span the full breadth of the GEO Mountains Implementation Plan. The Task Groups, like the Initiative as a whole, are open and inclusive; anyone with relevant interests and skills is welcome. To volunteer for a Task Group, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Finally, we continue to solicit your suggestions of datasets and other resources for inclusion in the GEO Mountains General and In Situ Inventories.
The meeting slides can be downloaded here.
For any questions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Cover image by Ales Krivec.
