Mountain Ecosystems Impact upon the Water Cycle

Mountain ecosystems are amongst those crucial ecosystems, which are necessary for the healthy functioning of the hydrological cycle. They play a key role in maintaining freshwater quantity and quality worldwide.

It is estimated that one in two people worldwide depend on freshwater mountain sources. Whatever happens in upland watersheds has a massive impact on the water supply of downstream areas and the destruction and disturbances of mountain ecosystems have wide-reaching global consequences.

Mountains are often called nature’s water towers. All of Earth’s rivers have their headwaters and origins in them. They intercept air circulating around the globe and force it upwards where it condenses into clouds, which provide rain and snow. They also store water in various ways, including the formation of snow and ice, which is later released as melt-off during warm seasons.

Another essential source of fresh water is glaciers and mountain snow. During winter months snow accumulates in the mountains. It slowly melts over the summer, generating fresh water for streams and rivers and the needs of humans, plants and animals. Nowadays mountain snows and glaciers are melting and receding at an unprecedented rate.

As has been noted by many scientists, these glaciers are not only a major source of fresh water for more than half of humanity; they are also a fundamental part of the planet’s climate cycles. Either positively or negatively they effect weather patterns on a global scale. Therefore they effect us all.

We all generally understand the temporary crisis we would experience, if the water tanks in our homes were not operational. In this case however, we are talking about the water towers of Earth and the potential global crisis that would occur if they should cease to function. Therefore it is of paramount importance that these irreplaceable ecosystems are given immediate attention and that all is done to protect and restore their mixed biodiversity. We cannot afford to loose this biodiversity because it plays a vital role in precipitation and the creation of snows at high altitudes.

Problems related to their degradation are not simply problems for those living in mountain regions. All of life on Earth is affected. Through deforestation, dam building and the mass burning of fossil fuels, humanity has inadvertently brought about these problems Therefore it is the responsibility of the international community to do everything possible to fix them. If we do not take concerted unified co-operative action now it will only get far worst.

On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at a UN Summit — officially came into force. The Sustainable Development Goals are an interrelated set of Goals, Indicators and Targets that UN member states are expected to use, to frame their agendas and political policies over the next 15 years. Target 6.6 sets a mandate for world governments to protect and restore water related ecosystems, as they are essential for realising access to fresh water for all.

Fresh water security has already been recognised as central to global security and the ecosystems which regulate this has been recognised as central to water security. Therefore this needs to be included as a crucial element within all global defence strategies.