Cryosphere Services to Support SDGs in High Mountains

Jinglin Zhang,Weiming Kong,Shiwei Liu,Wei Zhang

doi:10.3390/su14020791

Abstract

The cryosphere is able to provide a variety of services for the benefit of human well-being and underpins regional sustainable development. The cryosphere deterioration induced by climate change is impacting the services and will subsequently impede the efforts to meet sustainable development goals (SDGs) in high mountain societies. Here, we detail the context of cryosphere services and establish a dataset for its linkage to SDGs. This allows us to uncover its roles in supporting SDGs, directly by a causal connection and indirectly through either cascading effects or interconnection among SDGs. We find that the SDGs in association with the basic needs of high mountain societies are mostly affected by the cryosphere services. The different types of services pitch in with distinctions to be embraced by various SDGs, whilst some play a prominent role in the contribution to a broad range of SDGs. We further investigate how the services behave in their contributions to SDGs, by taking a view via the lens of a network that deciphers the relationship between the services and SDG targets as well as the interconnections among SDG targets. With an insight into the centrality and modularity of services in the network, we then delineate the inherent criticality of services to SDG targets as a whole, and reveal the specificity of services that co-contribute to a cluster of SDG targets in each network community. We take out the services from the network and maintain their interlinks to the targets of each underlying SDG system represented in six key entry points, so that the services critical to the transformation pathways in the entry points for SDGs in high mountains can be identified. Finally, we discuss the trade-offs that can occur in high mountains, which is unique for the cryosphere services. It creates more complexity in the assessment of overall benefits that the cryosphere services may provide to SDGs, and urges the balance that has to be maintained in attaining those services for the transformation.

Highlights

The cryosphere is able to provide a variety of services for the benefit of human wellbeing and underpins regional sustainable development
We established a relationship dataset in association with the linkages between the cryosphere services and sustainable development goals (SDGs), based on the evidence identified in the critical reports and literature
We found that some SDGs are more prominently influenced by cryosphere services, including those to ensure ‘no poverty’ (SDG 1), ‘zero hunger’ (SDG 2), ‘clean water and sanitation’ (SDG 6), ‘sustainable cities and communities’ (SDG 11), ‘responsible consumption and production’ (SDG 12), and ‘life on land’ (SDG 15)

Summary

Introduction

The cryosphere is able to provide a variety of services for the benefit of human wellbeing and underpins regional sustainable development. The cryosphere deterioration induced by climate change is impacting the services and will subsequently impede the efforts to meet sustainable development goals (SDGs) in high mountain societies. We discuss the trade-offs that can occur in high mountains, which is unique for the cryosphere services It creates more complexity in the assessment of overall benefits that the cryosphere services may provide to SDGs, and urges the balance that has to be maintained in attaining those services for the transformation. The cryosphere plays critical roles, in climate systems, and in supporting societies such as those in mountain regions [9,10]. A lack of understanding of how the cryosphere contributes to SDGs hinders the development of effective pathways in high mountains. Reasonable optimization of cryosphere resource allocation requires an understanding of the multiple linkages between SDGs and cryosphere services

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion