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University of Geneva

Climate Change and Water in Mountains: A Global Concern

What is climate change ? How are mountain regions affected by the evolution of water resources and their uses ? What kind of risks need to be considered ? Mountains are recognized as particularly sensitive physical environments where intense and rapid changes have in the past, and may increasingly in the future, place pressure on their resource base. In this context, a team of roughly 100 experts worked from 2008 to 2013 for the European ACQWA project (www.acqwa.ch) which was coordinated by the University of Geneva. The primary objectives of the project were to assess the impacts of a changing climate on the quantity and quality of water originating in mountain regions, particularly where snow- and ice melt represent a large, sometimes the largest, streamflow component. A further objective of the project was to determine the potential disruptions to water-dependent economic activities related to the climate impacts on hydrological systems, and to propose a portfolio of possible adaptation strategies. This particular MOOC is inspired by the ACQWA Project and offers a better understanding of climate change, its impacts on the quality and quantity of water in mountain regions and the risks related to changing water resources. From an interdisciplinary perspective, the participation of twenty-five instructors from five different countries (Switzerland, England, South Korea, India and Nepal) and fourteen institutions (UNIGE, RTS, UNIFR, UZH, ETHZ, Meteodat GmbH, WGMS, Imperial College London, Agroscope, République et Canton de Genève, Yonsei University, IHCAP, ICIMOD, SDC, FOEN) highlights the diversity of both theoretical and practical viewpoints related to these issues. By the end of this course, you will be able : - to define the general concept of climate change in mountain regions - to understand the concepts associated with climate change such as adaptation and water governance strategies - to consider the impacts of climate change on water resources in mountain regions - to identify the impacts of climate change on hydropower, agriculture, aquatic ecosystems and health - to enumerate risks that can occur in mountain areas and lead to disruptions in water availability and use. Your acquired knowledge will be evaluated through multiple-choice quizzes at the end of each unit of the course. This MOOC on “Climate Change and Water in Mountain Regions : A Global Concern” was initiated and financed by the University of Geneva, through its Institute for Environmental Sciences. We look forward to you joining us !

Status: Water Resources
Status: Natural Resource Management
IntermediateCourse17 hours

Featured reviews

MP

5.0Reviewed Apr 27, 2020

Very Good Course and content is very useful. Thank You Coursera.

AT

5.0Reviewed May 17, 2025

Amazing course, It has all the important stuff, information and research about the glaciers, water and high mountain ecosystem

PF

5.0Reviewed Mar 19, 2021

Very good course!! informative and interesting. it was also well produced

PD

5.0Reviewed Jul 29, 2020

This was excellent course which benefited lot to me.I grateful to suresh Gyan Vihar University and University of Geneva for providing such wonderful platform.

PJ

5.0Reviewed Oct 14, 2018

This is really interesting topic as this increased my knowledge about the glaciers and how they are changing over a course of time.

KK

4.0Reviewed Nov 30, 2018

Overall interesting content. The english of the presenters is often difficult to understand, and the subtitles are sometimes incorrect.

SY

5.0Reviewed Oct 2, 2020

THIS GAVE ME MORE IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE ON MY STUDIES. THANK YOU

SD

5.0Reviewed Sep 8, 2022

Amazing and challenging course. It'll test your perseverance in more ways than one.

OB

5.0Reviewed Jun 9, 2020

This course provides very good comprehensive knowledge of climate change risks in mountain.

EM

5.0Reviewed Dec 23, 2023

Very interesting course that deals with a wide range of subjects around water in mountainous regions.

JC

5.0Reviewed Jun 7, 2020

Instructors and course was too good and amaizing! But the questions was tuff enough.Thank you :)

SM

5.0Reviewed Sep 11, 2022

N​ice learning! experience during this course ,nice course structure.

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