Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Cross-Chapter-Paper-5 (section)

=== FAQ CCP5.5 | Why are regional cooperation and transboundary governance needed for sustainable mountain development? ===

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''Regional cooperation and transboundary governance are key to managing our vast mountain resources because they do not necessarily share political boundaries. Mountain countries need to come together, share data and information, form joint management committees, jointly develop policies and take decisions that benefit all countries equitably. A lack of cooperation may lead to missed opportunities to address climate risks and adequately manage mountain resources, which could cause social unrest and spark conflict within and between countries.''

Mountains are climate change hotspots that are highly susceptible to climate change. Due to rapidly changing climatic conditions, climate change is one of the major issues that would benefit from regional cooperation. The transboundary management of mountains means shared legal and institutional frameworks for sharing the benefits and costs of managing mountain ranges across boundaries, whether local or district jurisdictions within countries or indeed across national boundaries.

The IPCC’s Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere refers to governance as an ‘effort to establish, reaffirm or change formal and informal institutions at all scales to negotiate relationships, resolve social conflicts and realise mutual gains’. Governance is an act of governments, NGOs, private-sector institutions and civil society in establishing rules and norms for restricting the use of common goods. Institutions can guide, constrain and shape human interaction through direct control, incentives, and processes of socialisation. How do we apply the definitions of governance and institutions in the context of mountains? Since governance not only refers to government, which is a formal arm of the state, the report also talks about other agencies such as community organisations, non-profit organisations or businesses that play a vital role in society and influence individual or collective decisions and help in preventing the overexploitation of resources.

To comprehend the processes of governance in mountain areas, we need to recognise how each of these agencies adds to the enduring task of enabling and managing change at the system level but also to preserving social structures and reconciling disputes. For the sustainable and resilient development of mountain regions, governance mechanisms may be different than those applied to the management of other resources, such as coastal zones or rivers. Mountains are also mostly transboundary and do not necessarily follow political boundaries. Mountain governance, therefore, is about managing resources across political boundaries for the benefit of all countries. This includes downstream countries that also rely on resources such as water, silt and others from these mountain regions. These include high rangelands, biodiversity hotspots, forests and glaciers, for example.

There are several examples of regional cooperation in connection with the governance of shared resources in mountains. Some examples come from the Arctic (bottom-up and science-based evolution of Arctic cooperation), Southeast Europe (regionalisation of environmental benefits) and the HKH region (intergovernmental scientific institution for research and data sharing). Mountains share resources, so their management will benefit from cooperation among countries. Transboundary cooperation is needed not only to address transboundary climate risks and regional adaptation to climate change in mountains but also to work across countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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