Global Change and Mountains: Consequences, Responses and Opportunities - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 88

important role in atmospheric circulation and climate regulation and act
as a pool for the storage carbon and soil nutrients. The mountain slopes
consisting of nearly 28% of the world's forests, provide mechanical support
to landscape and hence protect fragile slopes against land degradation
and slope instability (IPCC 2007a,b). (iv) Cultural Services that provide
opportunities for recreation and education and spiritual and aesthetic
inspiration (World Resource Institute 2005). The mountain regions exhibit
cultural and ethnological diversity including spiritual traits and rich
traditional ecological knowledge, which besides strengthening the adaptive
capacity of mountain communities to global change also provide fascinating
attractions to a variety of visitors (Bernbaum 1997).
During the last 50 years human interventions have transformed
natural ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable
period of time in human history on the Earth. This was primarily to fulfi l
rapidly growing demands of natural resources, such as, arable land, food,
freshwater, timber, grazing areas and fuel which resulted into a considerable
and largely irreversible loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services on Earth.
Although these changes in the natural system have contributed signifi cantly
towards betterment of the quality of human life, but they also caused rapid
exploitation of natural resources, substantial loss of ecosystem services and
imbalanced economic growth in many parts of the planet. The depletion of
natural resources and continued disruption and loss of ecosystem services
may adversely affect the process of attaining the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). The challenge of
restoration of ecosystem services and conservation of environment, while
meeting increasing demands of natural resources would require signifi cant
changes in policy planning and decision-making processes from local to
international levels. There are a number of possibilities and opportunities
that may be used to restore certain types of ecosystem goods and services
in such a way that they provide positive synergies with other ecosystem
services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a).
Marginality and Vulnerability of Mountains and their Inhabitants
Mountains include some of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet
(ICIMOD 2010) as they are highly sensitive to a variety of changes caused
by natural as well as by anthropogenic factors primarily owing to their
high altitude, steepness of terrain, high rainfall, thin and shallow soils,
sensitive fl ora and fauna, climatic complexities and geodynamic instability
(Sonesson and Messerli 2002) (Fig. 4.2). The drivers of changes range from
a variety on natural hazards and disasters including, degradation of land,
slope instability and landslides, volcanic eruptions and seismic activities,
fl oods and fl esh fl oods, cloud bursts, avalanches, droughts to a series