Lima, December 4, 2014. The UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme joined the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), ANDES (Peru), and the International Network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples (INMIP) today to share its experiences and visions on community-based adaptation for mountain communities. Mountain ecosystems have been the first affected by climate change and will experience the most severe changes over time.

Opening the workshop, Mr. Delfin Ganapin of the GEF Small Grants Programme, discussed the vulnerability of mountain communities to climate change. Following, a series of presentations by the partnering organizations identified the impacts of climate change on mountain peoples' livelihoods, water, food production, ecosystems and biodiversity.

A key emphasis of the workshop presentations was the importance of traditional knowledge that mountain communities hold to further adaptation, food security and agrobiodiversity conservation. Specifically, they highlighted how climate resilience can be achieved when knowledge on traditional agricultural practices such as preserving indigenous crop seeds or water harvesting are informed by scientific knowledge. Cross-cultural and inter-generational transmission of traditional knowledge and culture, along with preservation of biocultural rights, need to be considered in the forthcoming adaptation solutions.

Key findings from the recent Mountain Communities Workshop on Climate change and Biocultural Heritage in Bhutan support this approach, as Ms. Krystyna Swiderska from IIED explained. A follow-on discussion, with INMIP community member from the Potato Park (Peru) and the Eastern Himalayans provided further practical, on-the-ground insights on the use of traditional, community-based knowledge for climate resilience. In support, Peru
vian partner Alejandro Argumedo from ANDES introduced the vision for the International Network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples (INMIP), along with the Bhutan Declaration on Climate Change and Mountain Indigenous Peoples which emerged from the workshop.

Emphasizing the importance of communities as partners in community-based adaptation (CBA), Mr. Ganapin shared SGP's experience in CBA and discussed potential linkages between SGP's new initiatives on Mountain CBA and Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs); and the FAO Mountains Partnership. The concept of a Mountain CBA programme generated positive interest from the participants, engendering a lively discussion with questions coming from representatives from Africa, Latin America and other countries.

For more information contact Katharina Davis, GEF Small Grants Programme, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..