International Mountain Day 2025: Why World Heritage Glaciers Matter

Celebrated on 11 December, International Mountain Day reminds us of the essential role mountains play in sustaining life. This year, the global community highlights the profound importance of glaciers, which nourish ecosystems, support communities and embody cultural identity, even as they face rapid and often irreversible change.

Fifty UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers, representing almost 10% of the Earth's total glacierized area. Across these sites, the impacts of climate change are already visible. UNESCO’s report World Heritage Glaciers: Sentinels of Climate Change warns that glaciers in one-third of World Heritage glacierized sites will disappear by 2050 regardless of emissions scenarios, a projection that illustrates the scale of the crisis and the narrowing window to preserve what remains.

In Africa, the continent’s last remaining glaciers, all located within World Heritage properties, are vanishing at unprecedented rates. In Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains National Park, UNESCO is working with the Uganda Wildlife Authority, supported by the Government of the Netherlands, to strengthen glacier monitoring, build scientific capacity and develop long-term adaptation strategies that help local communities navigate the changing environment. 

© Ignacio Palomo / Glacier of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park (Uganda) 

In Central Asia, the Vanch-Yakh (Fedchenko) Glacier in Tajik National Park (Mountains of the Pamirs) (Tajikistan), the longest glacier outside the polar regions, is also retreating rapidly. Its meltwater sustains millions of people downstream, making its future a regional concern in terms of both water security and climate resilience. The glacier stands as a striking example of the transformations unfolding across high mountain regions worldwide.

Beyond their ecological importance, mountain landscapes are deeply woven into the cultural and spiritual heritage of the communities who depend on them. In numerous World Heritage sites, mountains are sacred spaces, sources of memory and belonging, and anchors of seasonal rhythms and livelihoods. They shape local identities, inspire stories and art, and support agriculture, tourism and traditional knowledge systems. As these landscapes transform, communities risk losing not only vital natural resources but also the cultural touchstones that form part of who they are. The Voices of Glaciers: stories of grief and hope amidst shrinking glaciers in the tropics, a publication by UNESCO and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), brings forward testimonies and artistic expressions that illustrate how deeply environmental changes resonate across mountain societies.

International Mountain Day is a timely reminder of what is at stake, underscoring that the future of mountain communities, biodiversity and global water security is inseparable from the fate of glaciers. This call to awareness is echoed throughout the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (2025) and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025–2034), which unite science, policy and culture to mobilize action for a rapidly changing cryosphere.

UNESCO urges renewed global cooperation so that, by acting together, governments, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, youth and local communities can ensure that glaciers and the cultures and ecosystems they sustain remain sources of life and inspiration for generations to come.