Disaster risk management
Mountains are hazardous places. Many mountain communities live under the threat of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions caused by shifting tectonic plates. Gravity pushing down on sloping land compounds the destructive power of storms and heavy rains, producing avalanches, landslides and floods. Population growth, climate change and unsustainable natural resource management practices are putting dangerous pressure on the mountain ecosystems and making mountain communities increasingly vulnerable to disasters.
Women, children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to disasters. And in many mountain areas, it is these members of the community that are looking after mountain homesteads, as the men move to lowland cities or abroad to earn a better income and support their family through remittances.
Forces from outside mountain communities, such as commercial logging interests and market-driven agricultural production, also put pressure on mountain ecosystems. All of this can lead to deforestation and environmental degradation. The loss of forest cover deprives mountain communities of a protective barrier against landslides and avalanches and further contributes to increased soil erosion and water run off.
To reduce the risks of disasters in mountain areas it is urgent to increase awareness and to develop integrated strategies and policies on disaster risk management at the national level. Policy-makers involved with disaster risk management cannot afford to neglect mountains, considering the high number of natural hazards in mountain areas and the high vulnerability of mountain communities.
Making mountain cities resilientnewsTwo examples of increasing the resilience of mountain communities in Panama to disaster, written by Mountain Partnership member Fundación CoMunidad’s director, Alberto Pascual, have been published in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)’s 2017 edition of “How To Make Cities More Resilient: A Handbook For...
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Stepping up for mountains: Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report 2016publicationThe Mountain Partnership Secretariat outlines its key achievements in promoting sustainable mountain development last year in its 2016 annual report. The publication documents the Secretariat’s work in the areas of advocacy, communication and knowledge management, promoting International Mountain Day, brokering joint action and leading capacity development initiatives. The 60-page publication... Download » |
International Workshop on Mediterranean MountainseventThe Italian Ministry of the Environment together with the Italian Federation of Parks and Natural Reserves (Federparchi) will organize an international workshop on the mountains of the Mediterranean Basin on 5-6 July, in Treia, Italy, during the annual Soft Economy Festival. This edition of the Festival will focus on the...
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Mountain summer course in Italy to openpeak to peakIssue 106 – Month 7 – Year 2017 The July issue of Peak to Peak begins with an announcement of the opening of the 2017 International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) on 5 July in Ormea and Pieve Tesino, Italy. The newsletter... Download » |
Mountain summer course in Italy to opennewsParticipants of the 2017 International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) will meet on 5 July in Ormea and Pieve Tesino, Italy to begin a two-week training programme on sustainable mountain development. About 30 professionals from the fields of Agriculture, Economics, Forestry, Biology, Geology...
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High-level mountain conference announcedpeak to peakIssue 105 – Month 6 – Year 2017 The June issue of Peak to Peak announces the high-level conference on mountains “Mountains under Pressure” that will be held on 11 December 2017 at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. The newsletter continues with... Download » |
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