Looking to the heights

GRID-Arendal’s work for lifting mountains in 2023

By GRID-Arendal

December 11^th, 2023

It's been another busy year for us at GRID-Arendal in our quest to bring mountain topics to the forefront of global discussions, motivate decision makers to value mountain environments, and strengthen the resilience of people living both in the mountains and downstream.

Here, we present three examples from 2023 of how we pushed the mountain agenda forward.

1. Enhancing reliable environmental journalism on mountain topics

We believe in the power of high-quality journalism. Environmental issues can be very complex, as the consequences of past political and economic decisions can impact communities for many years or even decades afterwards. Strong environmental reporting is needed to ensure that verified facts are an integral part of the decisions we make for our future and the stories we tell now. Reliable reporting of environmental issues at local, regional, and international levels is also extremely important to raise awareness and create public pressure for action.

We have noticed a strong interest from journalists in covering more environmental issues, learning about how our local partners work, and how GRID-Arendal contributes to similar efforts around the globe. With journalists pushing their editors to feature more environmental stories and reports, the public will have a better understanding of what is happening in the mountains they call home.

In 2023, we continued our series of journalist trainings with a workshop held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This builds on the trainings held last year in Hindu Kush Himalaya and Central Asia, organized with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) respectively. The reports produced by participants during these workshops have reached tens of thousands of viewers far beyond the mountain regions and are available in multiple languages. Both local and national reporting about environmental issues in mountains has been shared on social media, national television, radio stations, and in other online publications.

The Tigrovaya Balka Nature reserve in the mountains of Tajikistan.

A group of Tajik journalists and leaders of women's group facing water shortages in Tajikistan.

Strengthening environmental reporting through communication workshops in Tajikistan.

2. Bringing the message directly to key decision makers

Much of our work entails transforming scientific data and local knowledge into visually attractive knowledge products. This helps raise the profile of mountain issues and provide a platform to present solutions, all while making sure that these products will be seen and understood by the most important audiences.

This year, we published a coffee table book Resilient Mountain Solutions: Ten Local Solutions for Global Impact. In this coffee table book, we present ten different types of nature-based solutions that combine social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development with adaptation, resilience, and preparedness for future risks from climate change. The solutions presented aim at equipping mountain communities with simple, affordable technologies and the knowledge required to build long-term resilience. Each solution was developed over several years, in close partnership with local communities, partner organizations, experts, and with the support of governing institutions and decision makers. The book also contains simple steps for implementing these solutions and recommendations for scaling up and scaling out.

The book was launched both in Europe at UNESCO Headquarters and in Asia at ICIMOD where it was presented by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Nepal. Both launches took place in large international events to directly reach relevant decision-makers and their advisors, from the local to the global level. The book was accompanied by a poster exhibition, website, and thematic postcards to make the information available to a wide audience, both during and after the event.

Another publication highlight of 2023 was the launch of the Arctic Permafrost Atlas. Although the book’s primary focus is on the Arctic, we also wanted to provide an overview of permafrost extent and issues in high mountain regions around the world via informative and visually attractive maps, stories, art, and infographics. We felt this was important to provide a global perspective and keep mountain permafrost on the agenda. The Atlas was held up as a good example of outputs from EU-funded projects in a speech by the European Commissioner for Innovation and Research at the One Planet - Polar Summit in Paris and was also presented at UNFCCC COP28 to reach climate decision makers at the highest levels.

3. Fostering strong partnerships

We partner with several key organizations working for sustainable mountain development around the world. Our partner organizations have subject-matter as well as policy expertise and include global and regional mountain development organizations such as UNEP, Norad, ICIMOD, and universities who are aligned with our ambitions for greater impact.

In 2023, we continued our work on the Steering Committee of the Mountain Partnership, which gathers more than 520 institutions from around the world, including governments and intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations (CSOs), and even the private sector, all focusing on the bringing mountains to a more prominent place on the international stage.

We also kicked-off the Green Trail Concept project with partners across Europe this year, putting sustainability on the agenda for those who use mountains as a place of recreation. Our aim with this project is to boost sustainability awareness and create a tool for trail race organisers, participants, and stakeholders to host trail running events that have a positive impact on mountains and their communities.