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The Principality of Andorra supports the Mountain Partnership

16.07.2019

The Department of Agriculture of Andorra has agreed to offer strategic support to the Secretariat of the Mountain Partnership, officially becoming a ‘Champion for Mountains’.

The Principality of Andorra is already a member of the Mountain Partnership, a United Nations voluntary alliance committed to improving the lives of mountain peoples and protecting their environments globally. Currently, more than 370 governments, intergovernmental organizations, key groups (such as civil society, NGOs, private sector) and sub-national authorities are members.

As part of its support, the Department of Agriculture is loaning an Andorran government official to strengthen the capacity of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, based at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The competitive selection took place between November 2018 and March 2019 in Andorra, and resulted in the arrival of the official at FAO headquarters in Rome on June 17, 2019.

In parallel, over the next two and a half years the Government of Andorra will support several events to lend maximum assistance to the actions and priorities of the Mountain Partnership. To begin with, the Permanent Mission of Andorra to the United Nations is organizing a side event on climate change in the mountains during the High Level Political Forum taking place in New York on July 16, 2019.

The event is organized with the collaboration of the Secretariat of the Mountain Partnership and other governmental member states, including Italy, Kyrgyzstan and Switzerland, as well as the Small Grants Program of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The Andorran delegation has previously organized a similar event on the theme "Leading sustainable development in mountains" in 2018. The theme chosen for this year's side event is "Facing climate change in mountain regions".

Andorra’s support to the Mountain Partnership will continue in the coming years, as political events such as the XXVII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in Andorra in 2020 and will allow for the creation of new synergies and opportunities to highlight mountain themes.

The Department of Agriculture of Andorra also hopes to organize IPROMO training on the sustainable management of mountain areas in Andorra, extending this opportunity to Spanish-speaking professionals. The Secretariat of the Mountain Partnership has been organizing IPROMO since 2007 with 12 courses already conducted in English.

"Andorra, a small State with a population of only 80,000 inhabitants, thus becomes a global example for other members of the Mountain Partnership,” said Gustavo González, Director of the Business Development and Resource Mobilization Division (PSR) of FAO. “We hope that other countries will support the alliance through the secondment of officials, experts or other contributions, including financial. Andorra has already taken a step forward."

Read the Spanish language version of the press release

FAO Press Release

Photo from Patricia Quillacq