About

This session invites an interdisciplinary dialogue on the necessary transformations of mountain regions using the concept of Living well (Bien vivre, Gutes Leben, Buen vivir, Sumak kawsay, etc.) as a common value that is widely shared by many people.

“Living well” is a multi-faceted concept that is most meaningful to explore in specific contexts. For example, taking mountain regions as concrete exemplars of social-ecological systems, the concept of living well can encompass multiple and interconnected facets, like: ensuring universal access to basic services to mountain populations; nourishing cohesive communities based on care and the notion of one health; safeguarding the traditions of mountain communities while accommodating innovation; developing shared visions of the future; acquiring a collective consciousness of the challenges affecting mountains; proactively adapting to climate and other global changes; preserving and restoring the biodiversity upon which so many ecosystem services depend; implementing participatory governance approaches that create local economic opportunities; etc.

Advancing transformations towards living well in mountains requires the contributions from varied domains of knowledge: natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, health sciences, engineering, and local and indigenous knowledge. We thus invite papers that describe experiences in bringing and combining these diverse knowledge domains to inform transformative options, interventions, pathways, and scenarios towards living well in mountain regions worldwide, at different scales. We are particularly interested in research results that elaborate on options to sustainably adapt to a changing cryosphere, large-scale deployment of nature-based solutions, visioning processes to craft collective futures and transformative scenarios, interventions to reinvent traditions in the face of change, reflection on what is a good lifestyle in mountains, and pathways towards regenerative economic models, among others.

We invite contributions from across the geosciences, and beyond, so that we may explore avenues for research and collaborative exchanges that take this interdisciplinary dialogue further.

Conveners

• Carolina Adler, Pauline Robert (Mountain Research Initiative)
• Iago Otero, Emmanuel Reynard, Jeanne Fournier (Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research, University of Lausanne)
• Lea Reusser, Elisa Frank (Forum Landscape, Alps, Parks, Swiss Academy of Sciences)

Abstract Submission

The deadline for abstract submission is 30 August 2024.
All abstracts must be submitted electronically until the deadline following the instructions on the SGM2024 website.

The list of symposia is available here.

Registration

Registration will open beginning of September 2024 and the deadline for registration is 30 October 2024.
Registration and payments must be made electronically following the instructions on the SGM2024 website.

Awards and Prizes

Apply for awards recognizing outstanding Master’s or PhD theses. You can still submit applications for most of these prizes for 2024. Find more information about the awards here.

Cover image provided by Emmanuel Reynard.