This technical brief provides an updated global assessment of mountain population trends from 2000 to 2030, using the UNEP–WCMC mountain classification. The global mountain population is projected to reach 1.19 billion by 2030, with Africa showing the fastest growth and urban areas driving the most significant increases. These dynamics call...

On a cliffside, about 2 000 metres high in the Himalayan mountains of Bhutan, a woman weaves on a backstrap loom while chanting into the wind – a centuries-old spiritual craft of storytelling. In the village of Goenpa Kabab thrives a Buddhist, matriarchal community where women take immense pride in...

On 4 December, Dr. Devendra Gauchan participated in the meeting of Policies Working Group of the Agroecology Coalition. Speaking as the policy expert and lead technical author of Nepal’s Agroecology Roadmap, Dr. Gauchan presented an overview and latest progress of the roadmap, developed with the active facilitation of Local Initiative for Biodiversity,...

Context of Agroecology Roadmap of Nepal: • Dominance of smallholder family farming (average 0.55 ha) with highly fragmented land holding • Dominance of mountain terrains (3/4th of the country’s area) with fragile ecology, high landscape heterogeneity and inaccessibility • Increasing incidence of climate crisis, loss of biodiversity and resource degradation •...

Smallholders are sometimes thought to be conservative, fearful of change, when the opposite is true. I was in Colomi, a potato-growing municipality in the Bolivian Andes, making a video with Paul and Marcella. Local farmer, don Isidro, was kindly helping us find tuber moths to star in the video.  Don Isidro...

This year’s celebration of World Bee Day on 20 May highlights the vital roles of bees and other pollinators in ensuring global food security and nutrition. In this blog, Amritha V.S. highlights the importance of bees as pollinators and the need to raise awareness about conserving them to ensure food...

In 2025, the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka (TRISL) proudly celebrates its centenary, marking 100 years of innovative excellence in the tea industry of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). To mark this significant milestone, and in conjunction with International Tea Day on 21 May 2025, K.R.W.B. Kahandawa traces the history of...

El video muestra el trabajo de ALLPA, una ONG peruana que impulsa el desarrollo sostenible e inclusivo en comunidades indígenas de Áncash, en las altas montañas de la Cordillera de los Andes. Desde 2010, ALLPA trabaja con familias que viven entre los 3.000 y 4.500 metros de altitud, donde el...

El video destaca el trabajo de ALLPA, una ONG peruana que impulsa el desarrollo sostenible en las comunidades altoandinas de Áncash, Perú. A más de 3.000 metros de altitud, ALLPA trabaja con un fuerte enfoque en empoderar a las mujeres rurales, reconociendo su rol clave en la producción agrícola, la...

Glaciers are critical lifelines, sustaining rivers that support agriculture, food security and livelihoods for nearly two billion people in mountain and downstream regions. Rising global temperatures are causing glaciers to melt rapidly, reshaping ecosystems, threatening food and water security and increasing disaster risks. This technical brief examines the links between...

Billions of people depend on the fresh water that flows from increasingly fragile mountain environments. The water resources we receive from mountains are literally melting away before our eyes.Mountains and alpine glaciers – often referred to as the world’s ‘water towers’ – are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change and unsustainable...

Every year, Bolivia’s Huayna Potosí Glacier continues to thin and retreat upslope. With support from FAO and IAEA through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre and the IAEA technical cooperation programme, scientists are installing sensors to monitor snow accumulation and its melting. These insights help farmers and policymakers mitigate the impact of...

Springs are the primary source of water for nearly 50 million people in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), which spans across all or parts of thirteen Indian states and union territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh. These springs support domestic, agricultural, and livelihood needs in...

Mountain pastoralism is at risk of extinction due to changing socio-economic contexts. Though animal husbandry in mountainous area is one of the oldest economically valuable traditions and practices, herders are gradually shifting towards other occupations due to higher opportunities for income generation. High mortality rate of livestock is one of...

Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar el desempeño agronómico de seis accesiones de maní forrajero (Arachis pintoi) en el Nordeste de Antioquia, Colombia. La evaluación se realizó en el Centro de Investigación El Nus (Agrosavia), en San José del Nus, Antioquia, Colombia. Se empleó un diseño de parcelas divididas en...

Extreme climate events—such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts—are increasingly affectingecosystems, with the global average temperature projected to rise by up to 3 ◦C(IPCC, 2023) due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. These changes pose criticalchallenges to food security, as evidenced by 733 million people facing hunger in 2024. Inresponse, crop modeling...

When people in Gulrez, a small village in eastern Tajikistan, feel unwell, they don’t always travel to the nearest town for medical care. Instead, they often turn to Dzhamolov Mahmadali, a local healer in their community, who offers natural treatment using plants from the surrounding mountains. “I prepare medicine from what...

Society is increasingly aware of the strategic nature of food. The agri-food sector is postulated as one of the pillars of our democratic societies, due to its leading role in the production of healthy, safe and sustainable food. However, farmers and ranchers suffer serious problems that make their profession difficult....

Although living at altitude has never been easy – and mountain communities have long demonstrated exceptional ingenuity in thriving in harsh environmental conditions – the escalating impacts of climate change pose unprecedented challenges to mountain people, threatening their traditional ways of life and survival strategies. This publication discusses how mountain...

Tribal farmers in the Himalayas are vulnerable to climatic changes, as their rain-fed cultivation systems, practiced on steep, sloping terrain, are susceptible to changes in rainfall while at the same time being the primary means of livelihood. Soil and water conservation practices (SWCP) can improve the resilience of these cultivation...