IPROMO 2017 Summer School: Sustainable mountain development - 10 years of IPROMO courses
Environmental and economic issues to enhance mountain sustainability  

Introduction

The 2017 IPROMO course marks the tenth anniversary of the programme. The first course took place in July 2008 and since then, about 250 officers and experts have taken part in the IPROMO summer course. This year, the course will provide an overview of the key themes pertaining to sustainable mountain development (SMD) and will benefit from the support of a new partner - the University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy - who will join the two founding partners, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat of FAO and the University of Turin, Italy. 

Mountain ecosystems are increasingly affected by global challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, land degradation and natural disasters. The extreme vulnerability of these ecosystems puts their natural resources under increasing pressure, which heavily affects the mountain peoples who depend on these resources for their livelihoods by exacerbating poverty and triggering social tensions, out-migration and depopulation.  

Lowland as well as highland communities depend on mountains. In fact, over half of the human population depend on mountains for water, biodiversity, forests and clean energy. Yet in spite of this clear evidence of their global importance and of their disproportionate vulnerability to global challenges, mountains still do not receive the required attention in international negotiations and national policy making.

Objectives

The summer school will be held in two Italian charming alpine venues – Ormea, NW Italy, and Pieve Tesino, NE Italy – with field trips to the surrounding area. The course can accommodate approximately 30 participants, whom will be selected among officers, researchers and technicians dealing with SMD from all over the world. 

IPROMO 2017 will mark the tenth anniversary of the programme and will provide an overview of the main issues related to SMD, ranging from watershed, natural resources and soils management to disaster risk reduction, climate change, economic development, mountain forestry and governance. These key challenges and opportunities related to mountains will be discussed during the course and working groups will be formed, allowing participants to share their knowledge and build a network of experts. At the end of the course, the participants will not only have developed a solid understanding of the principles of SMD but also have joined an international network of IPROMO alumni and a community where to continue sharing knowledge and lessons learned.

The field trip to Aosta Valley, in cooperation with the Institut Agricole Régional (Valle d'Aosta Region), will allow participants to discover various examples of sustainable economic activities in mountain areas, while the field visits near Pieve Tesino will focus on mountain forestry and wood production for musical instruments. 

Structure and Venue

Activities will begin on 5 July 2017 with an overview of the course and end on 19 July 2017 with a closing ceremony; the course will include lectures, seminars, group work and field trips. The lecturers will be experts from the UN system, universities, international organizations and NGOs.  The activities in Ormea will be organized by the University of Turin (DISAFA-NatRisk), in collaboration with the CNR-IRPI and with financial support from the City of Ormea. The activities in Pieve Tesino will be supported by the Centre of Alpine Studies of the University of Tuscia, the City of Pieve Tesino, the Community of Valsugana and Tesino and the Autonomous Province of Trento. 

Basic information

Organizers:

Scientific Directors:

Professor Michele Freppaz - Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA) - Interdepartmental Research Centre on Natural Risks in Mountain and Hilly Environments (NatRisk), University of Turin, Italy

Professor Giuseppe Scarascia Mugnozza – Centre of excellence “Forests and Climate”, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy

Chair:
Mauro Bassignana - Institut Agricole Régional - Aosta, Italy

Logistics and programme manager:
Danilo Godone - Geohazard Monitoring Group, CNR IRPI, Turin, Italy

Technical coordinator:
Rosalaura Romeo - Mountain Partnership Secretariat, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Rome, Italy

Requirements:

Excellent command of English
Advanced scientific degree