The challenge of global climate change is engaging scientists across a wide range of disciplines and has become an important issue for politicians and environmental agencies around the world. Modeling scenarios predict not only a range of temperature increases, but also critical changes in precipitation, over the next century. Regional variations in these climatic parameters will be of great significance, particularly in the mountains, which are well known to be sensitive, fragile environments. The impact of these climatic changes will be compounded by population growth, both within and beyond the mountains, leading to increased demand for basic resources, especially land and water.
