Special Issue: Methodologies and Tools for the Management of Mountain Protected Areas: Mount Everest (Nepal, China) and K2 (Pakistan) Regions.

The problem of supporting decision- and policy-makers in managing issues related to solid waste and water quality was addressed within the context of a participatory modeling framework in the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone in Nepal. We present the main findings of management-oriented research projects conducted within this framework, thus providing an overview of the current situation in the park regarding solid waste and water quality issues. We found that most of the solid waste generated in the park is composed of organic matter, paper, and minor reused waste that is mainly reused for cattle feeding and manure, while disposal of other nondegradable categories of collected waste (glass, metal, and plastic) is not properly managed. Particularly, burning or disposal in open dumps poses a great hazard to environmental, human, and animal health, as most dump sites situated close to water courses are prone to regular flooding during the rainy season, thereby directly contaminating river water. Pollutants and microbiological contamination in water bodies were found and anthropogenic activities and hazardous practices such as solid waste dump sites, open defecation, and poor conditions of existing septic tanks are suggested as possibly affecting water quality. Collection of these data on solid waste and water quality and compilation of management information on the targeted social-ecological system allowed us to develop consensus-building models to be used as management supporting tools. By implementing such models, we were able to simulate scenarios identifying and evaluating possible management solutions and interventions in the park. This work reveals insights into general dynamics that can support the quest for solutions to waste and water quality management problems in other protected areas and mountain landscapes where traditional livelihood and land use patterns are changing under the influence of a growing population, changing consumption patterns, and international tourism.

The Himalayan-Karakoram range - for its elevation and geographic location, represents one of the ideal places for studying long-range pollutant transport systems on a regional scale and for monitoring changes index by mechanisms that act on global scale through monsoon circulation. This book offers a comprehension of the environmental phenomena

New tools and methodologies are required in systemic planning and management of mountain protected areas. Among others we propose here a decision support toolbox (DST) conceived as an integrated collection of both soft and hard system methodologies, consisting of participatory and computer-based modules to provide a set of integrated, self-contained tools and approaches to support decision-making processes in the management of mountain protected areas. The Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone (SNPBZ) in Nepal was taken as a pilot case. A number of participatory exercises such as participatory 3-dimensional modeling, scenario planning, and qualitative modeling were carried out to understand social-ecological processes and generate a systemic view over space and time. The qualitative models were then converted into computer-based system dynamics models. The design and development of DST software were carried out with an incremental and modular approach. This process involved stakeholder analysis and decision-making processes through a series of consultations. The software was developed with the main modules including scenario analysis, spatial analysis, and knowledge base. The scenario analysis module runs system dynamics models built in Simile software and provides functions to link them with spatial data for model inputs and outputs. The spatial analysis module provides the basic geographic information system functions to explore, edit, analyze, and visualize spatial information. The knowledge base module was developed as a metadata management system for different categories of information such as spatial data, bibliography, research data, and models. The development of DST software, especially system dynamics modeling and its linkage with spatial components, provided an important methodological approach for spatial and temporal integration. Furthermore, training and interactions with park managers and concerned stakeholders showed that DST is a useful platform for integrating data and information and better understanding ecosystem behavior as a basis for management decisions.

High mountains have sensitive social-ecological systems (SESs) characterized by fragility, complexity, and marginality. The local economies of these environments mainly rely on primary production, tourism, and leisure activities; thus human–ecosystem interactions are intricately linked. Many authors stress that this strict relationship must be assisted with a participatory approach involving interested stakeholders in the conceptualization, specification, and synthesis of knowledge and experience into useable information for the express purpose of addressing a problem complex. This paper presents experience garnered with a participatory modeling framework combining hard and soft methodology in 2 case studies: the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone (Nepal) and the Central Karakoram National Park (Pakistan). The modeling framework was developed based on local stakeholders' demands and needs; it consists of 5 modules, briefly presented here along with their conceptual background. In developing the framework, particular emphasis was given to considering the needs of decision-makers at the local level, rather than simply providing technical solutions to abstract problems. From the development of this modeling process, a need emerged to structure a management-oriented research module in order to generate management knowledge that is both stakeholder-relevant and evidence-based. The application of the framework in the 2 cases studies showed that the modeling can trigger valuable discussion among stakeholders as well as guidance for management-oriented research and feedback loops ensuring validation of knowledge. In addition, the resulting scenarios can help decision-makers in defining pathways for sustainable development in mountain areas, where people's livelihoods are closely dependent on ecosystems. The framework was developed in such a way that it can be replicated in other mountain areas with similar challenges.

High mountains have sensitive social-ecological systems (SESs) characterized by fragility, complexity, and marginality. The local economies of these environments mainly rely on primary production, tourism, and leisure activities; thus human–ecosystem interactions are intricately linked. Many authors stress that this strict relationship must be assisted with a participatory approach involving interested stakeholders in the conceptualization, specification, and synthesis of knowledge and experience into useable information for the express purpose of addressing a problem complex. This paper presents experience garnered with a participatory modeling framework combining hard and soft methodology in 2 case studies: the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone (Nepal) and the Central Karakoram National Park (Pakistan). The modeling framework was developed based on local stakeholders' demands and needs; it consists of 5 modules, briefly presented here along with their conceptual background. In developing the framework, particular emphasis was given to considering the needs of decision-makers at the local level, rather than simply providing technical solutions to abstract problems. From the development of this modeling process, a need emerged to structure a management-oriented research module in order to generate management knowledge that is both stakeholder-relevant and evidence-based. The application of the framework in the 2 cases studies showed that the modeling can trigger valuable discussion among stakeholders as well as guidance for management-oriented research and feedback loops ensuring validation of knowledge. In addition, the resulting scenarios can help decision-makers in defining pathways for sustainable development in mountain areas, where people's livelihoods are closely dependent on ecosystems. The framework was developed in such a way that it can be replicated in other mountain areas with similar challenges.

Visitors at high altitude are increasing in age and comorbidities, which can lead to a failure in acclimatization. We describe the development of acute mountain sickness (AMS) in a 44-year-old man with metabolic syndrome and the time- and altitude-dependent correlation between the development of AMS and blood pressure and heart rate changes. Our observations support a dominant role of endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of AMS and suggest new behavioral indications

The Himalayan–Karakoram range is located in one of the most densely populated and very rapidly developing world areas. Monitoring of atmospheric composition in this area can play a relevant role in evaluating the background conditions of the free troposphere and quantifying the pollution present at high altitudes, as well as in studying regional and long-range transport phenomena. Due to technical and logistic difficulties in carrying out measurements at high altitude in the Himalaya, no systematic observations of atmospheric constituents are available for this area. Thus, a new measurement station in such a region represents a unique source of data, able to make up for the prior lack of this information. For these reasons, in the framework of the SHARE-Asia and ABC projects, a remote monitoring station, the ABC-Pyramid Laboratory, will be installed in the Khumbu valley near Mt. Everst at 5079 m a.s.l. Continuous in situ measurements of chemical, physical and optical properties of aerosol, surface ozone concentration, as well as non-continuous measurements of halocarbons and other greenhouse-gas concentrations will be carried out. This monitoring station was projected, realised and tested in Bologna at CNR-ISAC Institute during autumn 2005. It was designed to be controlled by remote login and to operate for the long-term in extremely adverse weather conditions. This station represents an ideal place for studying regional and long-range air mass transport, due to natural and human processes. Precious 5-day forecast information about air-masses circulation at the ABC-Pyramid site will be supplied daily by Lagrangian backward trajectories, including suitable forecasts of stratosphere-troposphere exchange phenomena.

The Ev-K2-CNR Project has been promoting and developing research at high altitude (>2,500 m a.sl.) in the Himalaya and Karakoram since 1987. Recently, activities have been focused on development of a monitoring network (stations at High Altitude for Research on the Environment in Asia: SHARE-Asia) to increase the environmental and geophysical scientific knowledge in these mountain regions. Research and monitoring activity at high altitude require a particular experience and a well-organized network. Ev-K2-CNR has accumulated a significant experience in managing a high altitude network of automatic weather stations along the Khumbu Valley (Nepal) and in northern Pakistan (Baltistan region) in the framework of the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period Project. With the installation of an Atmospheric Brown Clouds Project (ABC) monitoring station near the Pyramid Laboratory-Observatory in 2006, near the base of Mount Everest, SHARE-Asia can also contribute to the study of atmospheric circulation of pollutants. The “ABC-Pyramid” is the first of a network of stations that are planned to be installed at altitudes between 2,500 and 5,000 m a.s.l. along the Himalayan–Karakoram chain. These stations will be operated under active cooperation with the local scientific community, creating ample cooperation between western countries and developing countries in the region.

The International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) project was created in the late 1980s to address growing international concerns over rapid changes observed in Earth's atmosphere. Much of IGAC's research effort during its first decade was directed towards assessing the effects of anthropogenic emissions on the background atmosphere. While questions remain concerning the point at which observed global/regional mean trends in component concentrations (signal) unambiguously rise above background natural variability (noise), it is now well recognized that human activities have perturbed the chemical composition of the atmosphere at local, regional, and global scales. Two overarching questions have emerged that constitute the basis for the IGAC action plan over the next decade: (1) What is the role of atmospheric chemistry in amplifying or damping climate change? (2) Within the Earth System, what effects do changing regional emissions and depositions, long-range transport, and chemical transformations have on air quality and the chemical composition of the planetary boundary layer? Within the context of the larger ABC-Asia project, a proposal was put forward for the activation of an ABC-IGAC Task focusing on the monitoring of aerosol and trace gases over the Asia–Pacific region and on estimating their impact on atmospheric chemistry and the radiation budget. The activities currently in progress, to include the Ev-K2-CNR Pyramid observatory in the Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC) monitoring network under the Stations at High Altitude for Research on the Environment in Asia (SHARE-Asia) project, aim at providing an important contribution to ABC-Asia and, at the same time, will undoubtedly be an opportunity for the Italian community of global-change researchers.