Mountains

Sustainable mountain development

 

India<br /> Women during the harvest.<br /> Photo: I. Isaac/FAO/13646

Why do mountains matter?

Life

Mountains are storehouses of genetic diversity that help feed the world. Around 20 plants supply 80 per cent of humanity's food. Six of them (maize, potatoes, barley, sorghum, apples and tomatoes) originated in mountain areas. Seven others (wheat, rice, beans, oats, grapes, oranges and rye) found new homes in the mountains and evolved into many different varieties.

Water

Mountains play a central role in collecting and storing the single most precious element for life on earth: freshwater. The rivers and streams that flow from mountain slopes are living bonds connecting mountain and lowland communities. More than half the world's population relies on the fresh water that flows from these mountain watersheds and many different factors can damage or poison this vital source of life. The consequences are felt by everyone.

Degradation

When mountain forest is cut unsustainably or too much land is cleared for farming, ranching or mining, the water that normally flows into mountain watersheds washes over barren slopes. The resulting erosion transforms mountain soils, and poses the threat of avalanches, landslides and flooding. As fertile soil and forests are lost, rivers begin to silt up and rare species of plants and animals can face extinction.

Poverty and hunger

This environmental degradation often means increasing poverty and hunger for mountain people, already amongst the world's poorest and hungriest. As resources become scarce, conflicts over their use can arise. Many men, women and families have no choice but to migrate to lowland cities. Mountain communities disintegrate and entire cultures and languages disappear.

Challenges to face

The growing demand for water, the consequences of global climate change, the growth in tourism, the pressures of industry and agriculture in a world of increased globalization are just some of the challenges facing the sustainable development of mountain regions and the management of watersheds.

Mali<br /> Farmer weeding his plot where onions, tobacco and other vegetables are grown.<br /> Photo: I. Balder/FAO/22995

FAO meets the challenges of sustainable mountain development

FAO is meeting the challenges of sustainable mountain development in many ways around the world.

FAO's focus on mountains is an integral part of its responsibility as the UN specialized agency devoted to raising levels of nutrition, improving agriculture productivity and alleviating poverty and hunger. It also supports the role FAO has been playing as Task Manager of Chapter 13 of UNCED Agenda 21, the blueprint for sustainable mountain development that arose out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

The scope of FAO's work in mountains and watersheds is broad and extensive. Across its technical departments FAO is addressing the needs of mountain people and mountain environments through its normative work, field programme, direct country support and contribution to global partnerships.

• investigating food insecurity and malnutrition in mountain areas and carrying out vulnerability assessments,
• documenting best practices in sustainable mountain development,
• charting trends in mountain legislation and assisting countries improve mountain policies and laws,
• improving the policy environment for sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountain regions,
• strengthening communication and research networks by building a mountain module in the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) to link global environmental and socio-economic data for mountain ecosystems,
• promoting inland capture fisheries and aquaculture in mountain areas,
• encouraging the protection and promotion of high-quality mountain products to improve mountain livelihoods,
• servicing the European Forestry Commission Working Party on the Management of Mountain Watersheds.

Yemen<br /> Women cultivating land outside Shibram town.<br /> Photo: L. Lizzi/FAO/22512

Field programme

• assisting countries tackle mountain issues through capacity-building, institutional strengthening and pilot field activities within the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme. Projects are already underway or completed in Armenia, Cuba, Tajikistan, and North Korea, while others are under development in Poland, Turkey, Mexico, the Fouta Djallon highlands (West Africa) and Pakistan,
• designing and implementing strategies, programmes and projects related to food security, watershed management, sustainable livelihoods, policy and law, enterprise development, etc, in mountainous regions around the world.

Support to countries

• acting as lead coordinating agency for the International Year of Mountains in 2002, FAO supported the development of 78 national committees to initiate concrete action. That action continues today. Many of these national committees are evolving into permanent bodies, developing national strategic plans, creating fair polices and laws and implementing sustainable mountain development.

Contribution to global partnerships, initiatives and programmes

• bringing FAO's wide range of technical expertise and experience to the Mountain Partnership, a global alliance of countries, inter-governmental organizations, civil society, NGOs and the private sector, dedicated to improving the lives of mountain people and protecting their environments. FAO is a founding member of the Mountain Partnership and hosts the Secretariat to support it,
• serving as lead agency for observance of UN International Mountain Day, celebrated on 11 December every year, and producing communication materials for observance at the national level,
• contributing to global mechanisms, conventions, processes and initiatives to increase knowledge and conserve mountain ecosystems, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Mountain Research Initiative,
• enhancing cooperation in mountain development with other UN agencies, NGOs and countries, particularly through the Inter-Agency Group on Mountains.

FAO's work in mountains contributes directly to reducing extreme poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability, two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) .

Tajikistan<br /> Photo: A. Proto/FAO/20656

Publications

Mountains and the law - emerging trends

Towards a GIS based analysis of mountain environments and populations (summary and full publication)