Over the past few weeks, GEO Mountains has hosted the inaugural meetings of each of its 11 Task Groups. Collectively, the Task Groups span the full breadth of the GEO Mountains Implementation Plan – from helping contribute to our inventories and supporting nascent systematic mountain monitoring initiatives to developing training and capacity development resources (including “Knowledge Packages”) that seek to deliver the latest science into policy circles effectively.   

Attendance across the series of meetings was solid, but what really stood out was the exceptional degree of engagement with the challenges at hand exhibited by the participants. We are truly fortunate to be able to count such individuals and the institutions that support them amongst our network! Following each meeting, a video recording and brief written summary were circulated all volunteers, including those who were unable to attend on this occasion.

Our Task Groups are open and inclusive. In addition to helping drive GEO Mountains forwards, getting involved may bring multiple benefits to participants themselves, including collaborating with colleagues across diverse disciplines and regions; maintaining the legacy and extending the impact of shorter-term projects; and supporting Open Data and Open Science efforts. Several Task Groups still have open co-leadership positions available. We warmly invite anyone interested to contribute their expertise to one or more Task Group(s) to get in touch.

Going forward, the intention is that each Task Group will meet online every 2-3 months. In addition, for those able to travel, we hope that the forthcoming International Mountain Conference 2022, which will take place in Innsbruck, Austria, from 11-15 September, will provide an excellent opportunity to assemble many GEO Mountains Participants / Members and other potentially interested parties. We will explore the possibility of holding informal fact-to-face Task Group meetings around the conference, which will no doubt be extremely welcome after the last two years of disruption!

On behalf of the GEO Mountains Co-Leads,

James Thornton

Find out more about GEO Mountains Task Groups, including how to get involved, on the GEO Mountains Task Groups webpage.

Cover image by Sergio Cerrato.