International Mountain Day is an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build partnerships that will bring positive change to the world's mountains and highlands.
It was the UN General Assembly who designated 11 December, from 2003 onwards, as 'International Mountain Day'. This decision results from the success of the UN International Year of Mountains in 2002, which increased global awareness of the importance of mountains, stimulated the establishment of national committees in 78 countries and strengthened alliances through promoting the creation of the International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions, known as the 'Mountain Partnership (WSSD, Johannesburg, 2 September 2002). FAO was the designated lead coordinating agency for International Year of Mountains and is mandated to lead observance of International Mountain Day.
International Mountain Day 2007
Foreword
12 November 2007
Dear Colleague,
The United Nations General Assembly has designated 11 December, from 2003 onwards, as “International Mountain Day”. We are please to enclose communication and promotional material to help you celebrate this special day and to share it with some of your key relevant partners.;
The theme for the International Mountain Day 2007 is “Facing Change: Climate Change in Mountain Areas”. Climate change is a reality today, and some of the best evidence comes from mountain areas: mountain glaciers in nearly all parts of the world have been retreating for decades and, in somei cases, have disappeared. This year’s theme presents an opportunity to increase awareness that global climate change is a reality now, that mountains are particularly affected, and that this has important implications for humankind beyond mountain areas.
These communication materials are posted at the following Web site: http://www.fao.org/mnts/intl mountain_en.asp.
For specific questions related to this year’s theme you may wish to contact Alemneh Dejene, Senior Officer, Environmental Assessment and Management Unit (e-mail: alenmeh.dejene@fao.org)
Best regards,
José Antonio Prado
Director,
Forest Management Division
Fax: +39-06-57055 137
E-mail: mountain-day@fao.org
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Climate change is a reality today, and some of the best evidence comes from mountain areas: mountain glaciers in nearly all parts of the world have been retreating for decades and, in some cases, have disappeared.
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The principal reason for climate change is increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century. Climate change is not only about changes in temperature, but also in rainfall and snowfall, and the frequency of extreme events, such as storms, droughts, floods and heat waves. In the future, climate change may increase climate variability beyond the limits of past experience. The cost of inaction is much higher than that of timely and appropriate investment in climate change management.
International Mountain Day 2007, with its theme of Facing Change: Climate Change in Mountain Areas, presents an opportunity to increase awareness that global climate change is a reality now, that mountains are particularly affected, and that this has important implications for humankind beyond mountain areas.
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