The United Nations General Assembly declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP).
This global initiative aims to raise awareness of the vital role glaciers play as a key component of the
cryosphere and Earth system, thefar-reaching impacts of rapid glacial melt forecosystems and people, and
the urgent need to address their rapid loss. In doing so, theIYGP also highlights a critical need to strengthen
and broaden scientific research to inform measures that ‘protect’ glaciers, through decisive climate
mitigation and adaptation action.
The IYGP shines a spotlight on those places in which multiple and interconnected processes of change,
feedbacks, and socioeconomic factors interact with glacier loss, thereby exacerbating impacts – such as in
mountains and their downstream areas. This session connectsexpertise, interests, and scientific insights by
taking a systems approach to understanding and characterising the far-reaching impacts associated with
glacier loss and futurerisks. Some of thetopics and themes that will beexplored include:
Cascading impacts and compound risks (natural hazards and disasters).
Mountains without snow and ice– scenarios and foresight to imaginethe unimaginable.
History, ethnography, and the role of the arts and humanities for sensemaking and shaping societal
values in times of rapid change.
Impacts and opportunities for societal sectors (tourism, energy, water, agriculture) and governance
imperatives posed by glacier loss and theemergence of new periglacial landscapes.
This session will feature speakers with multidisciplinary contributions on the theme of glaciers in a
changing climate. It also invites contributions from across the geosciences, and beyond, to explore and
inspire new integrative research ideas and collaborations, as well as prospects for broader future-oriented
and socially-relevant glacier and cryosphere-related research.
The session is organized by the Mountain Research Initiative, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain
Research, and theForum Landscape, Alps, Parks, and is a contribution to the observance of theIYGP 2025.
MountResilience/Events
