Introduction and Road Map for Impact of Global Changes on High-Mountains - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 23

In this section (of the chapter) the focus is on governance and laws about
mountains and how to appreciate the limits of nature rather than destroying
the ecosystems. The section begins by an overview of international and
national laws by Leuzinger and da Silva which looks at the development of
'soft law' at Rio followed by examples from Europe and Brazil. As discussed
by Frangetto, Leuzinger and da Silva it will be interesting to have a global
international accord designed specially to protect mountains.
The next part of this section by Rosaio looks at the Alpine Convention
and if this can be a model for protecting trans-boundary areas of the
mountains. The efforts of protection are also analyzed by checking what
international organizations and research networks have been doing in
regards to mountains.
After this analysis, Vieria et al. present a socio-environmental
perspective of the ecological risks and disasters in hillsides and
mountainous areas in Brazil because of the impact of global changes on
mountains. As argued by the authors: The ecological disasters, either of
natural or technological origin, can be understood as some of the greatest
subjects of the current Environmental Law, for its aggravation before
the climatic changes, intensifi cation of the risk generation due to the
fast technological development, but especially as a consequence of the
environmental vulnerability generated by poverty, which contributes for
a bigger exposition to the human rights violation. Probably the best at
this point is to at least apply a 'precautionary principle' to prevent further
damage to the mountainous ecosystem.
CASE STUDIES
The last section in this topic looks at different case studies to see how
specifi c mountains/mountainous regions are being impacted by the global
changes discussed above. The fi rst case study is from Africa. As discussed
by Evaristus, some mountains such as those found in East Africa (e.g., Mt.
Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro), appear like 'islands' rising above the surrounding
plains. Mount Kenya like other mountains of the world is a zone where the
signals of global change are quite apparent. Already there are indications
that the glaciers on Mt. Kenya are receding and snow on its summits is
disappearing. As the author has discussed in the chapter that although
likely impacts of climate change on the mountain's tourism are unclear, yet
the main issue is: Could climate change affect Mount Kenya's ecosystem so
irreversibly that mountain tourism could become unsustainable?
Moving away from Africa to Asia, in the next chapter, Chettri et
al. look at the impact of global changes on the Hindu Kush-Himalayas
(HKH), one of the most dynamic ecosystems in the world with a rich
and remarkable biodiversity. The region is endowed with a high level of