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People living in mountain regions are discovering that managing watersheds for local needs is no longer a viable option. External pressure from the lowlands adds substantially to the difficulties of trying to sustain the resources used by local indigenous populations. These problems are best exemplified by addressing the hydrological and water quality issues that emerge from a combination of natural processes and the integrated effects of all land-use activities.

Sustainable water development and the mitigation of large-scale natural disasters in river basins depend in large measure on the ways in which upstream water sources and soils are protected. Environmental services provided by mountains are often only noticed when they are lost, as in the case of downstream floods caused by upstream deforestation. As half of humanity depends on fresh water that originates in mountain watersheds, protecting environmental services provided by mountain regions is highly important for lobal environmental security.

This book provides a snapshot of Global Change research in the world’s mountain regions. It results from the increased awareness of mountain issues that was generated during the International Year of Mountains 2002. Similar to a photograph, it represents only one part of reality and does not aim to include all aspects of Global Change research in mountains in a single compilation. To provide a panorama view, the book compiles examples of prominent recent mountain research in both natural and social sciences. An important and recurring theme of this book is the need for an integrated approach to mountain research involving stakeholders and policy-makers besides natural and social scientists. Such an approach pays attention to the complexity of mountain regions not only in terms of the strong environmental gradients along mountain slopes, but also in terms of socio-economic gradients associated with varied access to limited resources and rapidly changing land-use, economic and political circumstances.