USAID Adaptation Community Meeting: An Introduction to the High Mountains Adaptation Partnership (HiMAP)

Please join us for the first meeting of the year on Thursday January 16th, 2014 from 4:00-5:30pm at IRG/Engility, 8th floor conference room, 1211 Connecticut Ave, NW.  Dr. Alton C. Byers and Mr. John E. Harlin will present on the High Mountains Adaptation Partnership (HiMAP). 

Click here to watch the webinar recording from January 16, 2014. 

Presentation abstract: Glaciated, high mountain regions of the world play a critical role in providing water and ecosystem services to large human populations living downstream – and climate change impacts are felt first and foremost in relation to water resources in these high altitude regions.  Reduced dry season flows, increasing threats from glacial lake outburst floods, and concerns about climate impacts on high mountain livelihoods and biodiversity provided the motivation for scientists, practitioners, and government officials to create the High Mountains Adaptation Partnership (HiMAP) in March, 2012, the first program of its kind to focus primarily on remote, high altitude mountain ecosystems and communities to develop innovative tools and practices for facilitating adaptation to climate change. The presentation will provide an overview of HiMAP’s experiences over the past two years in Nepal (Mt. Everest region) and Peru (Cordillera Blanca) in helping local people develop climate change adaptation plans; reduce the risk of potentially dangerous glacial lakes; promote a new generation of “Climber-Scientists” fluent in both laboratory as well as traditional field skills; promote and expands a new HiMAP community of practice; and strengthen institutions and communities to leverage co-financing for adaptation project implementation.  Two short videos showing HiMAP’s recent work in Nepal and Peru will accompany the PowerPoint presentation by Alton C. Byers and John E. Harlin.  

Speaker Bios
Alton C. Byers, Ph.D., Co-Manager of the High Mountains Adaptation Partnership, is a mountain geographer, conservationist, and mountaineer specializing in applied research, high altitude ecosystems, climate change, and integrated conservation and development programs.  He received his doctorate from the University of Colorado in 1987, focusing on landscape change, soil erosion, and vegetation dynamics in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Khumbu, Nepal. He joined The Mountain Institute (TMI) in 1990 as Environmental Advisor, and has since worked as Co-Manager of the Makalu-Barun National Park (Nepal Programs), founder and Director of Andean Programs, Director of Appalachian Programs, and, since 2004, as Director of Science and Exploration.  His recent awards include the American Alpine Club’s David Brower Conservation Award; Association of American Geographer’s Distinguished Career Award; Mountain Steward Award from The Nature Conservancy; and Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal.  Alton has published widely on a range of scientific topics, and is an author and editor of Mountain Geography: Human and Physical Dimensions, published in September, 2013 by the University of California Press at Berkeley. 

John E. Harlin is the “community of practice” moderator and a Senior Program Manager for the High Mountains Adaptation Partnership (HiMAP) and The Mountain Institute. Following a degree in Environmental Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, John pursued a career as a mountain guide, writer, and editor at various mountain-related publications. His editorial positions have ranged from “field editor” to “editor in chief” of Backpacker magazine, Summit: The Mountain Journal, and the American Alpine Journal. His books include three volumes of The Climber’s Guide to North America, The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father (published in five languages), and Lost Lhasa: Heinrich Harrer’s Tibet. Awards include “Best Book on Mountaineering History” from the Banff Mountain Book Festival and the Literary Award from the American Alpine Club. He has also starred in the IMAX movie The Alps and guest-hosted the PBS series, Anyplace Wild. He is an active climber and skier with new routes on several continents, though his largest journey was a recent 104-day muscle-powered circumnavigation of Switzerland. John currently edits publications, manages websites, and develops new programs for HiMAP and TMI.