The Caucasus Mountain Forum (CMF) is one of SNC-mt's flagship initiatives. The hope of achieving sustainable mountain development in Caucasus regions is a major motivation for organising biannual regional forums for different stakeholders—especially for scientists working on the Caucasus mountain region.

The last day featured a poster session and awarding of the top three poster authors with certificates at the closure session of the Caucasus Mountain Forum. (First place: Serkan Gul, Yusuf Kumlutas, and Cetin Ilgaz, second place: Filippo Favilli, Isidoro de Bortoli, third place: Khatuna Gigauri

The Second Caucasus Mountain Forum (CMF) was held in Ankara, Turkey on 30 October–1 November 2019 gathering about 200 regional and international participants from the Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, the Russian Federation, and Turkey, as well as Austria, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Ukraine, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the UK. The Forum, hosted by Ankara University, was organised within the framework of the project “Strengthening the climate adaptation capacities in the South Caucasus” (SCAC), funded and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment).

Together with a variety of parallel workshops and thematic sessions, the Caucasus Mountain Forum included three plenary thematic sessions on climate change, management of mountain ecosystem services and sustainable tourism.

The formal approval of the Caucasus Regional Research Agenda (C-RRA) also took place at the Forum. The progress and effectiveness of decisions and resolutions will be assessed in the aftermath of the Forum, which takes place every two years, in order to reconfirm or select new thematic research areas, and to decide on updates of and/or amendments to the document. Around 25 papers presented in the Caucasian Mountain Forum were submitted by authors to the Ankara University Journal of Environmental Sciences for publication with 11 already published as of December 2019. Other articles were published in June 2020 after completion of the ongoing evaluation process.

The second Caucasus Mountain Forum benefited from high visibility, being cited in the Report of Secretary-General of UN on Sustainable Mountain Development at the Seventy-fourth session of UN General Assembly.

In 2019, the first national workshops developing and planning regional dialogue and cooperation in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan took place, bringing together the scientists and practitioners working and interested in the fields of disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and overall sustainable mountain development.

The meeting covered the overview of the

Caucasus Regional Research Agenda (C-RRA) and the introduction of the advocacy roadmap developed for strengthening the cooperation between academia and practitioners.

The meeting resulted in the creation of National Initiative Groups (NIG) in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia responsible for strengthening advocacy of the science-policy interface, ensuring scientifically justified policy

and decision making and C-RRA promotion. Co-chairs have been voted in each country for the next two years and will follow critical topics from the Caucasus Regional Research Agenda selected for further work:

• ■Georgia – Spatial planning and regional development
• ■Armenia – Socio-economic and regional development
• ■Azerbaijan – Natural hazards and biodiversity.

The Caucasus Spatial Data Infrastructure (C-SDI) platform has been developed in the frame of the “Supporting sustainable mountain development in the Caucasus” (Sustainable Caucasus) project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation under the SCOPES programme, and coordinated by the University of Geneva. The GeoNode is managed by the Caucasus Spatial Data Infrastructure (C-SDI) team and UNEP/GRID-Geneva.

In order to ensure the open access to and use of geospatial data for visualizing, modelling and monitoring diverse geographical, ecological and similar events, an open source geospatial data sharing platform has been set up using the GeoNode application.

The Caucasus SDI platform aims at fostering better geospatial data discovery, visualization, access and use for sustainable development in the Caucasus region. Each participating country has designated a focal point to help populate it with relevant geospatial data. To this end, some capacity-building material has been developed and adapted with specific Caucasus examples.

Maps and layers as part of the Caucasus Regional Research Agenda (C-RRA) illustrations are already online at the GeoNode platform.

The Caucasus Regional Research Agenda (C-RRA) development process followed the example of the SNC-mt sister networks: the Science for the Carpathians (S4C) and the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR). The purpose of C-RRA elaboration was to establish a collaborative process for identifying the current state of knowledge in core issue areas to sustainable mountain development in the Caucasus region, along with key challenges and opportunities and priority gaps for scientific research and development.

The priority research and development areas of the C-RRA are as follows: climate change and biodiversity; forestry conservation and development; water resources and management; land use and land cover change; natural hazards and risks; population and cultural diversity; tourism and recreation; socio-economic development and planning; and mountain cryosphere.

Thematic chapters were drafted by the leading regional scientists, experts and practitioners from Ankara University, Malayer University, Ilia State University, Tbilisi State University, Institutes of Geography of Academies of Sciences of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, Khazer University (Azerbaijan), GeoGraphic (Georgia), and GeoRisk (Academy of Science of the Republic of Armenia) and prominent regional experts with backstopping from the University of Geneva and the SNC-mt Coordination Unit (secretariat) – the Sustainable Caucasus.

The C-RRA document approved at the Second Caucasus Mountain Forum 2019 will help scientists and other interested stakeholders to gain insight into research needs and priorities and undertake projects with colleagues from neighbouring countries to expand knowledge and exchange information for the establishment of a shared, scientifically justified comprehension of sustainable development perspectives in the Caucasus ecoregion.

A key challenge for Caucasus Spatial Data Infrastructure (C-SDI) development and the GeoNode population is the harmonisation of national spatial data, therefore, significant efforts were put into capacity building of national partners.

The first, within the SCAC project, training on the Caucasus Spatial Data Infrastructure (C-SDI) took place on 9 October 2019, in Baku. More than 25 representatives from scientific and educational institutions working in the field of natural disaster management and data processing participated in the training. Experts spoke in detail about the relationship between the use of various digital forms of data processing and their binding to geographical coordinates. Training also focused on the importance of the spatial data infrastructure approach for various sectors of the country and for natural disaster management.

The Caucasus SDI development besides establishment of the Caucasus GeoNode included the elaboration of the data management plan, selection of harmonised spatial data collection approaches, and organisation of a necessary set of trainings and meetings at the national and regional levels.

UNEP/GRID-Geneva and Sustainable Caucasus started the promotion of Azerbaijan’s membership in the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The Institute of Geography of National Academy of Azerbaijan (a member of SNC-mt) initiated the process of inter-ministerial consultation of Azerbaijan membership in the GEO and currently AzerCosmos already requested GEO Secretariat to provide membership forms to pursue further consultations.

From 30 March – 1 April 2020 the first regional workshop on teaching-learning practice improvement took place. Involving national experts (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), a University of Geneva (UNIGE) team and Sustainable Caucasus members, the meeting evaluated progress and planned upcoming interventions, particularly the study of international and local teaching-learning practices

The workshop was dedicated to an in-depth assessment of national higher education in DRM and Hazard Mapping in South Caucasus countries, and the development of a Distance Learning Module.

In-depth assessment of national higher education in DRM and hazard mapping in South Caucasus countries: This assessment of DRM and hazard mapping education at selected South Caucasus higher education institutions identified a significant number of relevant courses and teaching approaches, as well as indicators assessing the institutional environment, lecturer and administrative staff availability and competences as well as budgetary conditions. Meeting participants reviewed the assessment report of teaching and learning practices in these courses, identified gaps and priorities for improving existing courses and creating new ones and discussed a short list of potential courses to be included in DRM higher education at the regional level in the South Caucasus.

Distance-learning module for hazard mapping: A growing number of courses are offered as distance learning modules worldwide. The advantages of distance learning include worldwide accessibility, affordability, self-paced learning, diversity of high-quality programmes and value added for employability. Based on a DRM teaching review document prepared at the preselected South Caucasus universities, distance learning usage throughout the region is rare.

Participants learned about a two-part distance-learning module composed of theoretical (context, concepts, definitions) and practical (mapping concepts, tools, applications, practice) components. Students will be able to understand key DRM concepts including national and international DRM institutional contexts after the theoretical training (Part One). After practical training (Part Two), students will be able to apply DRM concepts using GIS tools to produce disaster risk maps. The Distance Learning Module is free of charge and is primarily developed for current students interested in DRM issues, however, it will also be open to a wider audience, including professionals, and will be deployed in selected Caucasus universities in the academic year 2020-2021.

Over the last 30 years, CERG-C has trained participants from more than 80 countries around the world. Since its inception in 1988, the main focus of CERG-C (from the French title: Certificat de spécialisation en évaluation et management des Risques Géologiques et risques liés au climat / Specialization certificate for the assessment and management of geological and climate related risk) has been to train scientists to reduce the impact of natural hazards. CERG-C programmes take a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and management of risk from natural hazards, merging ideas from disciplines such as the physical and social sciences, engineering, and economics.

This year, the CERG-C programme will have two participants from Georgia: George Merebashvili and Salome Gogoladze, both Ilia State University graduates who work at the Institute of Earth Sciences and Seismic Monitoring Centre of the University. They both work at the Geology department, George as a junior specialist and Salome as a senior specialist.

The Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is a mainstream European movement involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily committing to increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. By their commitment, Covenant signatories aim to meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2-reduction objective by 2020.

More than 300 municipalities in the Eastern Partnership region have signed up to the Covenant of Mayors, which has become the most ambitious worldwide urban climate and energy initiative, bringing together more than 7,700 signatories and representing over 240 million citizens. Municipalities play a key role in making changes that have a direct impact on citizens.

Sustainable Caucasus, along with the became a supporter of the Covenant of Mayors in 2018, particularly in the field of adaptation to climate change. Another Covenant of Mayors supporter from Georgia is the Energy efficiency Centre, while the National Coordinators in Georgia are the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.

A two-day communications workshop, Advancing Covenant of Mayors in Eastern Partnership Countries took place in February 2020 in Minsk, Belarus. The Georgian participants of the conference included representatives of the Georgia Energy efficiency Centre, Sustainable Caucasus, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and Ministry of Environmental and Agriculture of Georgia.

The Science for the Carpathians Network (S4C) and the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region (SNC-mt) both constitute networks of researchers working on mountainous regions with similar aims:

• ■following the tradition of counterparts from other mountain regions around the world;
• ■promoting research collaboration that generates knowledge on mountains to support sustainable development, especially sustainable use of natural resources;
• ■exchanging knowledge and sharing best practices with other mountain regions;
• ■fostering dialogue between research, policy and practice and addressing the needs of sustainable development of mountain regions, linking scientists from the Carpathians and Caucasus;
• ■enhancing and promotion and advocacy for Sustainable Mountain Development (SMD) at national, regional and international levels;
• ■mining of indigenous local knowledge from the Carpathians and the Caucasus relating to the sustainable use of natural resources under climate change.

The research agendas of both S4C and SCN-mt contain many similar focus areas aimed at understanding the socio-ecological systems of the respective mountain regions and their transitions. Both networks are supported by and cooperate with the UNEP Office in Vienna, Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, which works on international mountain ecosystems. The aforementioned organizations are partners and have invested time and resources in the promotion of both networks.

The objectives of cooperation between S4C and SNC-mt are the further exchange of information, experiences, success stories, as well as elaboration, financing and implementation of joint activities, with the aim to facilitate reaching the objectives of both S4C and SNC-mt networks. A Memorandum of Understanding between S4C and SNC-mt will be signed at the Forum Carpaticum.

The details about Forum Carpaticum new dates are available here.

The Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region (SNC-mt) is an open network of researchers and other stakeholders interested in disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research on the Caucasus region and academic collaboration. SNC-mt seeks to improve research capacity for and within the Caucasus region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, the Russian Federation and Turkey) and to link research to the needs of sustainable development and environmental protection.

The SNC-mt online platform plays a key role

in the process of collecting, providing, sharing and disseminating knowledge and information concerning sustainable development of the Caucasus region. It serves as a tool for communication of results, success stories, established tools and messages to scientists and practitioners working on the Caucasus region and the wider public.

Currently, the SNC-mt platform hosts 517 organizations; 1,406 registered and 188 self-registered users; 3,597 publications; 133 projects; 60 policies and laws and 39 academic programmes.

The organisation of the Caucasus Summer School is one of the main activities and traditions of Sustainable Caucasus and SNC-mt. The summer school aims to encourage global, regional and national knowledge exchanges and the identification of suitable models and practices for improving higher education, teaching and learning practices in the Caucasus.

Caucasus Summer School 2020 will be organised by Sustainable Caucasus, together with the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Science and Ilia State University. The village of Anaseuli, Guria was selected as the site for the

Caucasus Summer School 2020 with the topic: “National Disaster Risks – Identification, Mapping and Assessment for Sustainable Mountain Development.”

The global spread of COVID-19 has been developing rapidly over the last few weeks with numerous new cases raising significant concerns at a global level. To ensure the health and safety of all those around us, the organizing committee of the Caucasus Summer School is currently exploring the option of holding the Caucasus Summer School later in the year. The information on possible alternative dates will be shared later here.