Vanishing Treasures UNEP

UNEP’s “Vanishing Treasures” Programme supports climate change adaptation of vulnerable species in mountain regions such as in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas (Bhutan), in the Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and in the Virunga region (Rwanda and Uganda). The Programme is funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and aims to generate maximum synergy between climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation by improving the adaptive capacity of mountain ecosystems while maintaining related ecosystem services, protecting mountain flagship species who are key to ecosystem functioning, and promoting alternative livelihoods for local communities.

Eurac Research supported the implementation of the programme of its Central Asia component and related activities through the elaboration of future climate scenarios and the analysis of climate risk based on the Impact Chain methodology in the target areas of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The partnership will also promote the capacity building in Central Asia and final consultation workshops to validate the risk assessment with local experts and communities were performed. The final report is available here: https://www.eurac.edu/doi/10-57749-sm1a-b467.

In addition, Eurac is supporting the Vanishing Treasures Programme in Bhutan with training the Bhutan Tiger Center in conducting a Climate Risk Assessment.

In the CAMCA (Supporting Central Asian species’ resilience to climate change) project Eurac is supporting UNEP and the project partners in providing climate data and analysis for the pilot areas in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Eurac Research is the contractor and responsible for the climate risk analysis in the Central Asia regions, in Bhutan and withing the CAMCA project under the technical supervision of UNEP and the programme advisors, and in close cooperation with designated implementing partners.

Contact person: Kathrin Renner (kathrin.renner@eurac.edu)

Website: https://vanishingtreasures.org/