Mountain Social-Ecological Futures

In an era characterized by climate change, economic shifts, and transformative societal dynamics, mountainous regions face unprecedented challenges and opportunities. This Working Group emphasises the need for positive narratives and seeks to connect with other MRI research strands. Its primary goal is to exchange innovative ideas to imagine and shape new responses to the ongoing unprecedented climate-driven social-ecological changes in mountain areas. Additionally, it aims to create an urgently needed community of practice for proactively managing these new resources in a sustainable manner.

Key Details

  • Creation Date: 2023
  • Current Phase: First Phase

Objectives

  • Collect and synthesize experiences on adaptive and transformative capacities of mountain social-ecological systems (to be defined based on risks, nature’s contribution to people (NCP), existing infrastructures, and other variables).
  • Co-define a global research agenda with local knowledge that could be applicable to these emerging spaces and their downstream areas.
  • Shape monitoring systems of deglaciating areas (e.g.: soil, water, vegetation).
  • Identify innovative projects in these regions and their characteristics to be promoted by the MRI.

Research Questions

  • What are the main adaptive and transformative capacities of social-ecological systems in mountain social-ecological systems?  
  • How can these emerging spaces and their downstream areas best contribute to climate change mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity conservation and human-wellbeing in the future? 
  • What are the emerging research areas to support transformation of these new  social-ecological systems towards sustainability? 

Working Group Co-Leads and Members

Working Group Co-Leads

Members

Click here to see the most updated list of members.


Scope / Topic

List of the primary topics and themes the working group focuses on. 

  • Adaptive and transformative capacities of mountain social-ecological systems 
  • Emerging research spaces and links from cryosphere to downstream areas 
  • Climate change mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity conservation and human-wellbeing 
  • Role of communities in adapting to change (climate, policy, economic…) 
  • Monitoring systems of deglaciating areas 

Planned Activities and Outputs for 2025-2026

  • A position paper will be submitted to Nature Climate Change 
  • Book “The voices of glacier. Stories of grief and hope amidst shrinking glaciers in the tropics”. To be published in 2025 by UNESCO and the IRD.  
  • We will be present at the African Mountain Congress in March 2025 where we will make presentations on agroforestry futures from Ethiopia, impacts of climate change and adaptative capacity across African mountains and work on understanding carbon as a value to support forest communities. 
  • Focus sessionMountain futures – Assessing challenges and co-producing solutions to mountain-social-ecological futures” at IMC 2025 to collect new narratives and models that can shape responses to the on-going unprecedented climate-driven social-ecological changes in mountain areas around the world. The inputs will be used to draft a global research agenda calling for forward-looking, just, collaborative, long-term approaches to address future impacts and risks across the world’s mountains. 
  • Focus session “The Future of Low-Latitude Alpine Ecosystems in a Changing World: What to Expect from Nature-Based Solutions” at IMC 2025 to document ecological changes in low-latitudes alpine ecosystems and explore the potential of nature-based solutions (NbS) and non-intervention approaches in reducing the vulnerability of these socio-ecological systems under rapidly changing environments. 

Outputs, Achievements, and News

Publications

  • Survey on challenges and opportunities provided by deglaciating areas (2022). 

Events and Presentations

  • Online session at the UNESCO event  in Paris to present the Book “The voices of glaciers”. (20-21 March 2025) 
  • Inaugural presentation of the International Year of Glaciers in Quito, Ecuador, where the book “The voices of glaciers” will be presented, together with a photographic exhibition.  (2025)
  • Inaugural Workshop of the Mountain Socio-ecological Futures Working Group,  Davos, Switzerland.  (21 June 2024)
  • Session at the International Association for Ecology (INTECOL), plus expression of interest for a special issue on “Assessment of tools to capture climate, social, economic and policy-driven social-ecological changes in mountain areas”. (2022)

News


How to Join

As community-led activities, these Working Groups are open to anyone from the MRI network to participate and contribute to the Working Group’s work plan. Early career researchers (typically up to five years after attaining a postgraduate degree), women, researchers, and practitioners from developing countries and less represented mountain regions are particularly encouraged to join and participate. Please contact the Working Group co-leads for information on joining: 

Images by: Ignacio Palomo.