Hurni, Hans

Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS)

14Global change that affects mountain environments has many fac-ets, extending beyond the biophysical impacts on temperatures, ex-treme weather events, melting glaciers and shortened snow cover related to climate change. Global change also has profound impacts on forest cover and composition, land use patterns and systems, water cycles and qualities, soil health and degradation, and agro-biodiversity. And even more broadly, many changes occurring glob-ally have profound socio-economic impacts on mountain people. The lives and livelihoods of mountain people are affected by the same socio-eco-nomic changes that affect people in the rest of the world, although impacts are of-ten more profound, owing to the increased vulnerability and reduced resilience of mountain environments. These socio-economic changes that can affect mountain people both positively and negatively, include economic globalization, increasing accessibility, dynamic demography, more social infrastructure and changing con-sumption patterns (Figure 1).  In developing and transition countries, mountain people have reduced possibili-ties. Their lack of good roads increases transaction costs, the steeper slopes on the farmland add to the cost of maintaining agricultural systems, and there are higher production and reproductive costs. In addition, they are disadvantaged owing to low current investment in, and less innovation adapted to, mountain farming con-ditions. Mountain farmers also have to deal with the fact that 17% of mountain areas outside Antarctica are “protected areas”, which has potentially negative ef-fects on mountain farming due to banning or restricting farming activities.Farmers in Murghab District, Tajikistan, integrate new technologies with traditional living (B. Wolfgramm)Global change and  mountain livelihoods Hans Hurnisource: https://doi.org/10.7892/boris.46511 | downloaded: 13.3.201715Global change in mountains may also lead to disadvantages for livelihoods. For example, if men must migrate in search of labour opportunities outside the moun-tains, it may result in feminization of mountain farming. Unless sufficient labour can be mobilized for farm activities and for maintaining the stability of natural resource use, children may be taken out of school to work on family farms. Also, if there is an insufficient labour force, the terrace systems that enable farming in steep mountain areas can disintegrate in a very short time period. Yet, mountain areas often have access to water for irrigation or drinking water sup-ply. Equally, mountains may be favourable areas owing to their potential for tourism development, which is often coupled with conservation areas owing to higher bio-diversity – an asset for tourism. And those relatives who have migrated can still sup-port their families and their mountain communities through increased remittances. Equally, with the global trend towards better access and social services, urbani-zation and market integration are now taking place in mountain environments. Although often at a slower pace than in lowlands, these trends contribute to improving the livelihoods of mountain communities and help integrate them into national and regional markets. Mountains are also used increasingly by urban populations for recreation and leisure, thereby offering mountain communities an opportunity to move from subsistence to cash crop and livestock production, and away from primary occupation to services. Although global change has both positive and negative impacts, the issue is that the negative consequences may be more pronounced in mountains, both for the communities and for their environments, requiring more awareness, more atten-tion and quicker reaction than elsewhere. Equally, the consequences of negative impacts may go beyond the boundaries of mountains and affect people and eco-systems in the surrounding lowlands. While water is the most obvious resource for explaining such interactions, there are many more concerns, such as unwanted mi-gration, negative impacts of reduced snow and ice cover, a loss of quality of agri-cultural products from mountains, or reduced potential for tourism and recreation. International cooperation in sustainable mountain development and international cooperation in research, education and knowledge generation have the poten-tial to help identify changes with negative implications for mountain livelihoods and resources. This, in turn, may lead to finding long-lasting solutions to such problems, while strengthening the ability to benefit from positive potentials for sustainable mountain development as they emerge from global change processes. Remittances flowing to Kathmandu, Nepal, drive urbanization in the most fertile land (S. Wymann)(Global)institutionalchangeEtc. Global Change and Resulting Risks and Opportunities(Global)consumptionchange(Global)climatechangeMateriallivelihood(incl. food)Securedmaterial/socialresourcesSocial andculturalpositionOrientation of family farmers‘ strategyComplex multi-strategies(balancing risks and opportunities)FamilyfarmersIll healthLimited labour force   Problems of securityInformaloff-farmactivitiesInsecurity of markets/prices Insecurity of access to landClimate variabilityWaterconflictsSoil degradation   Figure 1: Family farmers aim to balance risks and opportunities that come with global change Source: (1), modified

Global change and mountain livelihoods

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Global change and mountain livelihoods

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