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Armando Lamadrid and Ilan Kelman

One of the most prominent changes currently being experienced around the globe, including in mountain regions, is contemporary climate change. In the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region of Asia, climate change is of increasing concern since rising temperatures threaten to melt mountain glaciers and snow while disrupting already variable monsoon precipitation patterns, both of which will impact downstream water supplies vital to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. Mountain ecosystems are also important to peoples of the region and face dramatic shifts in composition and distribution as temperatures rise and the water balance changes.

This book aims to examine how modeling can be applicable toward local adaptation to climate change, using the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) as a case study. This introductory chapter sets the stage by summarizing mountain systems and change in the context of the HKH, especially highlighting the importance of involving mountain peoples in any discussion and work. Then, each chapter is summarized. In the final section, limitations and extensions of the work here are reported, focused on developing, testing, and implementing solutions on the terms of the people most affected without losing sight of wider contexts. Modeling is one knowledge system among many that is needed for adaptation and other development work in the HKH and other mountain areas.

Climate-Change Modeling for Local Adaptation in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region