Conflict and insecurity
in mountain regions -
a barrier to sustainable
development
Wars and armed conflicts represent perhaps the most significant barrier to sustainable development in mountains. In 1999, 23 of the 27 major armed conflicts in the world were being fought in mountain regions.
Occupying the high ground has always been of strategic importance when opposing forces have fought for local or regional supremacy. The rugged high terrain of mountain areas offers not only a military advantage for seizing military power, but also a place of refuge for opposition movements retreating from lowland areas. Mountain people are often helpless hosts to insurgents.
Mountain regions are often among the poorest and least developed places in the world and thus suffer disproportionately from the terrible effects of conflict. Fighting is the worst barrier to food security and poverty reduction, preventing basic life-sustaining activities such as water collection and food production. In areas where landmines are used, they not only maim innumerable innocent people, but also prevent the use of agricultural lands, often for many years, until expensive mine clearance can be undertaken. Infrastructures such as roads and schools are destroyed, halting economic development. The death, injuries and emotional trauma of war devastate individual lives and national advancement.
Conflict often arises when mountain communities - often marginalized ethnic, racial or religious minorities or indigenous groups - are denied a voice in how local resources are used. The remoteness of mountain regions can make the establishment and enforcement of regulations regarding resource management and the adoption of authoritative systems for settling disputes extremely difficult. Thus local disputes over resources, territory and political jurisdiction can degenerate into long-standing conflicts between neighbouring communities and countries. Central governments based in lowland capitals can be inattentive to mountain needs, and lack of effective political representation has sometimes fuelled local rebellion or violent revolution.
In 1995, disagreement over the management of mountain waters was the source of 14 international conflicts. Many river basins are shared by two or more countries. As populations increase and the demand for water intensifies, the potential for international wars over water resources escalates. For this reason international treaties have often been necessary to regulate the use of mountain waters. Internal conflicts over the control of mountain waters can be just as catastrophic as international ones.
National interests regarding water management may be at odds with those of mountain communities living near proposed dams or on lands at risk of flooding. Protest may arise when the interests of mountain communities are not taken into account in the planning of large-scale water management projects. Legitimate protest is sometimes met with violent repression, triggering a spiral of conflict.
In addition, mountains are a primary battleground in illegal drug trade and efforts to control it. Both the coca bush (the source of cocaine) and the opium poppy (used to produce heroin) are native to mountain areas. For international criminal organizations, cocaine and heroin mean big money. For many mountain farmers in developing countries, growing illegal crops offers better returns than other crops, including food crops. Often it is poor farmers who pay the heaviest price when governments and international organizations attempt to eliminate drug trafficking by curtailing the cultivation of illegal crops. When drug money is available to buy large amounts of sophisticated weaponry, conflicts can explode into full-scale military and paramilitary operations. In these situations, it is usually the least affluent mountain families who suffer the most.
