The publication was commissoned in conjunction with Surface Ocean - Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS), the International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution (ICACGP), The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR).
In a partnership with the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) based in Berne (Switzerland), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), UNESCO is selecting biosphere reserve sites from each of the major mountainous regions of the world as the focus for this new global climate change monitoring programme.