COMMIT
The following actions have already been implemented by the MCSA, either formally or informally:
A – Ride sharing is a common yet informal practise due to the resulting environmental and transport cost savings. We have not quantified that but it will become part of any carbon footprint calculations. Public transport to venues is not an option in South Africa. Internal annual reports will initially be qualitative.
B – Climate Action is a standing matter on the MCSA National Committee’s agenda and among others led to the creation of a Subcommittee to the National Committee and filling of a national portfolio for “Conservation” as well as several similar positions at the level of the MCSA Sections. Progress with respect to the MCSA’s Climate Action Plan pledge will be detailed in an annual report to the National Committee.
D – The portfolio mentioned in B has recently evolved to align with the UIAA’s Sustainability Charter and Climate Action Plan.
E – MCSA commits to take stock of all relevant ongoing and potential Sustainability and Climate actions. The inventory will be qualified in order to inform our analysis of our strengths and weaknesses.
F – A Climate Action Statement has been published on the MCSA website.
The following potential actions may be re-considered later:
C – Ask your members: What climate friendly practices do you already use when climbing or hiking? The MCSA implements a long-standing Code of Conduct for members that includes such practices. New members are educated to follow the Code of Conduct. We may rather survey our members about how they perceive the Code of Conduct and how well it is generally applied by themselves and others. Thereafter the Code may be reviewed and updated if necessary.
G – The publication of a roadmap for sustainability and climate action will follow after completion of Commitment E. Commitment E may include a Code of Conduct survey, our alternative to Commitment C as stated.
H – The MCSA cannot commit to becoming a regional UIAA Champion but, within our means, will be open to support other federations upon their request.
MITIGATE
The following mitigation actions have already been implemented by the MCSA, either formally or informally:
A – Measuring the MCSA’s carbon footprint – a provisional approach has been submitted to the National Committee. Given the go-ahead, the approach will be refined and applied with a view to establishing a baseline.
B – MCSA implements ride-sharing informally. Ride sharing as a formal mitigation measure will be considered for inclusion under carbon footprint monitoring.
E – Renovating huts and facilities to be climate-friendly – MCSA huts are designed to not use electricity and to source water from springs. Members practice a code of ethics demanding of them to leave no trace.
K – MCSA works with authorities on land and infrastructure management for example to restore footpaths damaged by heavy long-term use.
In the foreseeable future, the following mitigation actions may be implemented by the MCSA, either formally or informally, or not at all:
C – The impact of vegetarian or low-carbon catering will be insignificant at the limited scale of events organised by MCSA, and are thus unlikely to be implemented.
D – Due to scale and structural design, setting of targets to reduce emissions by MCSA geographically distributed, and often being multiple-use infrastructure, will be unworkable.
F – Due to the limited scale and informal nature of MCSA business, a general policy to consider climate impact of suppliers and contractors will offer insignificant value and is thus unlikely to be implemented.
G – A system to award clean-up and restoration projects is unlikely to be established in the MCSA due to the emphasis on sustainability and stewardship of our Code of Conduct, which is already an ingrained and lived culture of our members.
H – It is not possible to measure the mitigation impact of our ecosystem restoration projects while tree planting will be ill-advised in the natural non-forested areas of our protected areas and mountains. The alternative plan to render MCSA’s activities climate-neutral will be to use the dubious artificial construct of buying carbon credits from elsewhere. Such an approach is not within the ambit of the MCSA.
I – MCSA does not have full-time offices with staff and home offices are multiple-use infrastructures so the economics of renewable energy and water recycling cannot be applied.
J – MCSA is still a long way from having any significant quantitative results to publish but henceforth quantitative and qualitative annual reports will be reviewed by the MCSA National Committee before possible publication.
ADAPT
The following adaptation actions have already been implemented by the MCSA, mostly at the level of the MCSA Sections but certainly as part of the shared MCSA culture:
A – Social conversations about how “climate change already affects our activities” are increasingly part of members’ mountaineering thinking and preparation for extreme events. Nonetheless, the climate is variable and it takes decades to demonstrate significant change, thus such conversations remain to some extent inconclusive. Nonetheless, a number of very active WhatsApp groups have intense discussions about Alien Invasive Plant Control and continuously share detailed practical and scientific information. It can be expected that Climate Change is one of the drivers of invasive plants but much research will still be required to quantify this.
B – “Leave no trace” is part of the MCSA culture and new members receive orientation training that includes our Code of Conduct as a cornerstone of our culture.
C – Trips are led by seasoned mountaineers with experience of extreme climatic events and trips are planned accordingly. Talks about recent trip experiences are shared at the local Section level.
D – MCSA huts may be more prone to wildfire damage and the response to that involves designating locations protected from fire and also clearing high growth near the hut. The MCSA does not manage open-access trails but certainly advise the applicable authority whenever a trail has become dangerous.
E – It is not clear what new risks for MCSA members result from climate change because such risks are basically the same as before; yet these are more frequently and perhaps more severely experienced. Accordingly, these risks are already covered in mountaineering and climbing training. It may serve the MCSA well to record climate- related incidents over time and space since it will inform decision-making at the level of hiking/climbing venues, as well as Sections and overall.
F – Over the years the MCSA partnered with several research and monitoring programmes in the biodiversity domain, for example the Protea Atlas Project, the reporting of invasive alien plants and the release of parasitic insects for the biological control of such plants.
G – The matter of helping members to make safe decisions is somewhat moot as trip leaders must be experienced before undertaking official MCSA. Furthermore, in South Africa mountain conditions have always been somewhat unpredictable and those risks are thus topmost of all considerations during trip planning. Nonetheless, during the past 12 months, even the 5-day weather forecasts have become unreliable and created uncertainty even for experienced leaders. As per Item E above, a long-term record of climate-related incidents may be useful to inform decision-making.
H – In terms of ecosystem restoration projects, the MCSA has been waging a relentless campaign against several species of Alien Invasive Plants, including pine, pompom, hakea, wattle, lantana and crofton. Teams of volunteering hackers have been removing such plants on all the MCSA land and often further away, aiming to restore ecosystem integrity resulting in better water retention and carbon sequestration. Much research will be necessary to quantify the effects of the campaign. Trail maintenance is also a regular undertaking on MCSA land. On the other hand, opportunities for reforestation are limited.
I -The long-term risks to the MCSA activities and infrastructure are at this stage delegated to the level of the MCSA Sections since climate risks vary across geographical regions. Generally speaking, experienced leaders are relied upon to develop a shared understanding of the risks as Climate Change unfolds. Furthermore, the MCSA has a Search and Rescue Subcommittee to the National Committee that coordinates five geographically distributed and formally constituted volunteer teams that can be called upon to perform mountain rescue operations. Those teams are well- trained and well-connected to public and private emergency services and respond rapidly. They are assisted by military helicopters when necessary.
J – The MCSA is an active participant in the UIAA MPC and always available to share its particular expertise with other member Federations upon request.
K – Standard digital tools are currently used at local levels to inform planning, maintenance, biodiversity stewardship, rescue and firefighting based on local knowledge and experience. It has been noted by the MCSA Search and Rescue Subcommittee that both MCSA and non-MCSA mountaineers are increasingly relying digital maps available on mobile phones. These maps contain inaccuracies and when combined with inexperience resulted in increasing hazardous experiences.
ADVOCATE/EDUCATE/INFLUENCE
The following actions have already been implemented by the MCSA as part of the shared MCSA culture down to the level of the MCSA Sections:
A – Members’ observations and experiences are shared via scheduled Section-level gatherings, thematic social media groups and newsletters.
B – Climate change awareness has been raised by Section-level speakers and newsletter snippets and these will continue over time.
C – MCSA Sections sporadically join clean-up days and public campaigns on a voluntary basis.
D – MCSA participates in the UIAA Youth Commission and a MCSA YEA! (Young Explorers Award) Award has been established by the MCSA National Committee to replace the Supertramp Award. At the Section-level, youth programmes are driven by small groups or individual members; these are organised bottom-up.
G – Sharing of authentic information and storytelling about climate change observations happens during small group meetings as per item A above.
I – Gear-sharing and repair culture is well-observed by the less well-resourced mountaineers of Africa; any positive climate change outcomes are not intentional and cannot be accounted for.
Proposed actions that cannot be prioritised at this stage:
E – Establishing a formalised MCSA group of climate change media spokespersons will be premature. In the interim elected national officials and project leaders within the Sections act as ad hoc spokespersons.
F – Partnering with other organisations happen around specific projects such as restoration and rescue; the purpose of which are the completion of specific activities. Promotion of public awareness of climate change may happen as an incidental consequence but it is not the primary objective and is therefore not prioritised.
H – The MCSA will participate in national or regional policy discussions on matters of climate change as and when needed but this will be on an ad hoc basis.
I – At the current scale and nature of the MCSA, there are little or no resources for working with “ambassadors for climate change in mountains” as proposed by the UIAA Action Plan.
J – The scale and nature of MCSA does not yet warrant prioritising the training of members on how to assess the climate impact of gear, suppliers and activities. Such information may be collated and made available online in due course.