Editing IPCC:AR6/SROCC/Chapter-2 (section)

=== 2.3.6 Cultural Values and Human Well-being ===

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Cryosphere changes also impact cultural values, which are held by populations in high mountains and other regions around the world; these impacts often harm human well-being (Tschakert et al., 2019 <sup>[[#fn:r959|959]]</sup> ) ( ''medium evidence, high agreement'' ). Cultural values were covered extensively in AR5, with particular emphasis on small island states and the Arctic; the research on cultural values in high mountain regions is relatively new. Out of a total of 247 UNESCO World Heritage natural sites recognised for their outstanding universal value, 46 sites include glaciers within their boundaries, where the presence of glaciers is stated among the principal reason (5 sites), or secondary reason (28 sites), for World Heritage inscription; complete glacier extinction is projected by 2100 in 8 to 21 of these sites, under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively, compromising the outstanding universal value placed on these sites, which have been inscribed at least partly for their exceptional glaciers (Bosson et al., 2019 <sup>[[#fn:r960|960]]</sup> ). UNESCO defines “outstanding universal value” as “ cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity” ( UNESCO, 2012 <sup>[[#fn:r961|961]]</sup> ). Furthermore, in recognising the importance of the cultural and intangible value placed by communities on aspects of their surrounding environment, such as those afforded by cryosphere elements in the high mountains, are mentioned under the workplan of the Warsaw International Mechanism as a specific work area under ‘Non-economic loss and damage’ ( UNFCCC Secretariat, 2014 <sup>[[#fn:r962|962]]</sup> ; Serdeczny, 2019 <sup>[[#fn:r963|963]]</sup> ).

Cultural values include spiritual, intrinsic and existence values, as well as aesthetic dimensions, which are also an element of tourism and recreation (Section 2.3.5), though they focus more directly on ties to sacred beings or to inherent rights of entities to exist. However, these values overlap, since the visual appeal of natural landscapes links with a sense of the immensity of mountain landscapes, glaciers and fresh snow (Paden et al., 2013 <sup>[[#fn:r964|964]]</sup> ; Gagné et al., 2014 <sup>[[#fn:r965|965]]</sup> ). Moreover, different stakeholders, such as local communities, tourists and policymakers, may place different emphasis on specific cultural values (Schirpke et al., 2016 <sup>[[#fn:r966|966]]</sup> ). For the indigenous Manangi community of the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal, the loss of glaciers which they have observed threatens their ethnic identity (Konchar et al., 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r967|967]]</sup> ). Villagers in the Italian Alps also report that glacier retreat weakens their identity (Jurt et al., 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r968|968]]</sup> ).

Spiritual and intrinsic values in high mountain regions often, but not exclusively, rest on deeply held religious beliefs and other local customs ( ''medium evidence, high agreement'' ). Some communities understand mountains through a religious framework (Bernbaum, 2006 <sup>[[#fn:r969|969]]</sup> ). In settings as diverse as the Peruvian Andes, the Nepal Himalaya, the Alps, the North Cascades (USA), Mount Kilimanjaro and the Hengduan Mountains of southwest China, local populations view glacier retreat as the product of their failure to show respect to sacred beings or to follow proper conduct. Experiencing deep concern that they have disturbed cosmic order, they seek to behave in closer accord with established traditions; they anticipate that the retreat will continue, leading to further environmental degradation and to the decline of natural and social orders—a prospect which causes them distress (Becken et al., 2013 <sup>[[#fn:r970|970]]</sup> ; Gagné et al., 2014 <sup>[[#fn:r971|971]]</sup> ; Allison, 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r972|972]]</sup> ). In the USA, the snow covered peaks of the Cascades have also evoked a deep sense of awe and majesty, and an obligation to protect them (Carroll, 2012 <sup>[[#fn:r973|973]]</sup> ; Duntley, 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r974|974]]</sup> ). Similar views are found in the Italian Alps, where villagers speak of treating glacier peaks with “respect,” and state that glacier retreat is due, at least in part, to humans “disturbing” the glaciers (Brugger et al., 2013 <sup>[[#fn:r975|975]]</sup> ), resulting in an emotion which Albrecht et al. (2007) <sup>[[#fn:r976|976]]</sup> termed solastalgia, a kind of deep environmental distress or ecological grief (Cunsolo and Ellis, 2018 <sup>[[#fn:r977|977]]</sup> ).

Glacier retreat threatens the Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge of populations in mountain regions; this knowledge constitutes a cultural service to wider society by contributing to scientific understanding of glaciers (Cross-Chapter Box 4 in Chapter 1). Though this knowledge is dynamic, and records previous states of glaciers, it has been undermined by the complete disappearance of glaciers in a local area (Rhoades et al., 2008 <sup>[[#fn:r978|978]]</sup> ). This knowledge of glaciers is often tied to religious beliefs and practices. It is based on direct observation, stories passed down from one generation to another within community, placenames, locations of structures and other sources (Gagné et al., 2014 <sup>[[#fn:r979|979]]</sup> ). Residents of mountain areas can provide dates for previous locations of glacier fronts, sometimes documenting these locations through the presence of structures (Brugger et al., 2013 <sup>[[#fn:r980|980]]</sup> ). Much like other cases of data from citizen science (Theobald et al., 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r981|981]]</sup> ), their observations often overlap with the record of instrumental observations (Deng et al., 2012 <sup>[[#fn:r982|982]]</sup> ), and can significantly extend this record (Mark et al., 2010 <sup>[[#fn:r983|983]]</sup> ).

An additional cultural value is the contribution of glaciers to the understanding of human history. Glacier retreat has supported the increase of knowledge of past societies by providing access to archaeological materials and other cultural resources that had previously been covered by ice. The discovery of Oetzi, a mummified Bronze Age man whose remains were discovered in 1991 in the Alps near the Italian-Austrian border, marked the beginning of scientific research with such materials (Putzer and Festi, 2014 <sup>[[#fn:r984|984]]</sup> ). Subsequent papers described objects that were uncovered in retreating glaciers and shrinking ice patches in the Wrangell-Saint Elias Range (Dixon et al., 2005 <sup>[[#fn:r985|985]]</sup> ), the Rocky Mountains (Lee, 2012) and Norway (Bjørgo et al., 2016 <sup>[[#fn:r986|986]]</sup> ). This field provides new insight into human cultural history and contributes to global awareness of climate change (Dixon et al., 2014 <sup>[[#fn:r987|987]]</sup> ). Though climate change permits the discovery of new artefacts and sites, it also threatens these objects and places, since they become newly exposed to harsh weather (Callanan, 2016 <sup>[[#fn:r988|988]]</sup> ).

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