Introduction and Road Map for Impact of Global Changes on High-Mountains - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 15

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Introduction and Road Map for
Impact of Global Changes on
High-Mountains
Velma I. Grover
INTRODUCTION
Mountain regions encompass nearly 24% of the total land surface of
the Earth and is home to approximately 12% of the world's population,
mountains are highly critical from the view point of ecosystem services
that sustain human society both in highlands and lowlands in large parts
of the planet. Mountains constitute the hot spots of biodiversity, and the
mighty glaciers and forested mountain-ranges are the source of important
rivers of the planet. Water discharge that builds up in these mountains is
transported through the drainage system to the lowland where it sustains
the economy and prosperity of people in numerous ways. Mountain regions
with their super proportional discharge compared to the lowland, are
therefore considered of signifi cant hydrological importance. See box 1 for
defi nitions of mountains. Mountain ecosystems provide various services
and goods as well 1 :
1. Provisioning services—freshwater, fresh air, timber, food, renewable
energy supply.
2. Regulating services—climate, water, air, erosion and natural hazard
regulation, carbon sequestration.