M-CHAIN: Cross-border science for mountain hazard risk governance

Editor's note: The devastating glacier collapse and ensuing debris flow near the China-Nepal border in August underscored the need for stronger cross-border cooperation in addressing mountain hazards.

Against this backdrop, the Global Partnership for Mountain Chain Hazards with Intelligent Early Warning and Risk Governance (M-CHAIN) was launched at Chengdu University of Technology on October 18.

In this article, Fan Xuanmei, Chair of the M-CHAIN initiative, discusses the importance of international collaboration in mountain hazard early warning and risk governance.

Fan is also Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection at Chengdu University of Technology.

On October 18, the Global Partnership for Mountain Chain Hazards with Intelligent Early Warning and Risk Governance (M-CHAIN) was launched at Chengdu University of Technology.

In July, the initiative was included in the third batch of endorsed initiatives under the United Nations International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD, 2024-2033).

It is the first China-led international mega-science initiative in the field of geohazards to be endorsed under the IDSSD and the only initiative in this field among the 22 endorsed initiatives in the third batch.

More than 100 experts and scholars from over 20 countries and regions participated in related activities, alongside representatives of international organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG), and the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL).

M-CHAIN is led and coordinated by the State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection at Chengdu University of Technology.

Initiated by Professor Fan Xuanmei, who serves as chair of the initiative, M-CHAIN brings together research institutions and experts from countries including Italy, Nepal, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada and Peru, and works in collaboration with international organizations such as ICIMOD, IAEG and ICL.

The initiative addresses an increasingly prominent global challenge.

Under the combined influence of climate change and complex environmental conditions, mountain hazards are becoming more complex in their formation and evolution, with impacts that can extend across river basins, regions and national borders.