What is the Mountain Partnership?

The Mountain Partnership is a Type 2 outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, 2002), acting as an umbrella alliance for promoting specific regional and thematic activities.

The Mountain Partnership is bringing countries, groups and organizations together to work towards a common goal: to improve the lives of mountain people and protect mountain environments around the world.

It does this by tapping the wealth and diversity of resources, knowledge (including traditional knowledge), information and expertise of its members to stimulate concrete action on the ground that will bring positive change in mountain areas.

The Mountain Partnership aims to function as a broker for joint activities, facilitating contacts between countries and institutions and creating conditions for technical cooperation and resource mobilization at the national, regional and global levels.

The Mountain Partnership also forges linkages with existing multilateral instruments relevant to mountains such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and mountain-related regional instruments such as the Alpine Convention and the Carpathian Convention.

How is the Mountain Partnership different?

Since mountains came to the forefront of global concerns at the Earth Summit in 1992, there have been growing networks and partnerships for mountains between mountain people, governments, donor agencies, implementing agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, the private sector, scientists and many others.

But the Mountain Partnership is a stronger alliance of stakeholders than has previously existed to deal with sustainable development in mountain regions.

It is stronger because it builds on the strong commitment towards mountain issues that has grown since the Earth Summit in 1992, it builds on the awareness raising and action generated during the International Year of Mountains (2002) and it maximizes the use of relevant existing networks, groups and institutions working in mountain and mountain-related issues around the world.

The Mountain Partnership promotes the implementation of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 (Earth Summit, 1992) and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the negotiated outcome document of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, 2002) , taking into account the growing involvement of global actors such as civil society, the private sector, NGOs and scientists in development efforts.

Who can join the Mountain Partnership?

The Partnership is open to membership from all sectors and includes not only governments, but also inter-governmental organizations and representatives of major groups (NGOs, research institutes, civil society groups) and the private sector, whose objectives and activities are consistent with the vision and mission of the Mountain Partnership, and who fulfil the criteria for membership.

The Partnership will only be effective if close collaboration is established between all these different groups, each of which has an important role to play.

Individuals cannot become members of the Mountain Partnership. Learn more.

What are the criteria for membership?

Criteria for membership of the Mountain Partnership include:

• endorsement of the general principles, values and objectives of the Mountain Partnership;
• active involvement in sustainable mountain development;
• being a formal entity, with a proven level of stability in terms of funding and organizational capacity;
• capacity to fulfil the membership roles and responsibilities, as defined by the Mountain Partnership governance and strategy.

As the Mountain Partnership is a global network, it is also essential that members have access to the information and communication technologies required (e.g. computer, e-mail and Internet access) so as to participate effectively in Mountain Partnership activities, as well as access to resources within their group/organization to act as an active Partnership member. Learn more.

What are members expected to do?

Members are expected to initiate and/or participate in collaborative activities with other members. Members are also welcome to share information, knowledge, expertise and experiences through various channels. This could include providing links to the Mountain Partnership Web site/s; contributing success stories, case studies, good practices, and/or lessons learned to the Mountain Partnership database/s; and participating in virtual discussions and electronic conferences.

Members can also play an active advocacy role for mountain and mountain-related issues within their countries and sphere of influence, including identifying and, whenever possible, mobilizing funds to promote investments in mountain areas.

What role do countries play in the Mountain Partnership?

Country members play a key role as catalysts for action on the ground. These members are well-placed to understand local needs and priorities, support community development and act as a bridge between local communities, central governments, regional institutions and international agencies.

It is important to remember that 78 national committees were established to observe the International Year of Mountains (2002). Most of these committees still exist and are transforming the messages of the Year into concrete and lasting action at the country level. Many committees have evolved into more permanent bodies and have initiated national strategies for mountain development.

Does the Mountain Partnership provide a substitute for actions and commitments by governments?

The Mountain Partnership does not substitute action and commitments by governments towards achieving sustainable mountain development.

The Mountain Partnership is meant to add value and to enhance the efforts of governments by establishing closer and more effective links between governments and with other IGO and civil society groups working toward similar objectives in mountain areas.

Governments, intergovernmental organizations and major groups are all key actors working together and building on the comparative advantage that each brings to the Mountain Partnership.

What does the Mountain Partnership Secretariat do?

The Mountain Partnership is supported by a Secretariat, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and financed through contributions from the governments of Italy, Switzerland and Andorra.

The Secretariat supports the Mountain Partnership by acting as a networking and liaison point for members: it connects people and activities in mountain development to ensure greater participation, coherence and impact.

It does this by delivering key services: communication and information, knowledge management and brokerage. These services ensure that members have the knowledge and information necessary to participate effectively in the Mountain Partnership: communicating together, sharing knowledge, advocating for change and undertaking collaborative action on the ground.

The Secretariat also helps members by facilitating the process of building Partnership Initiatives, if requested. But the Secretariat neither co-ordinates the actions of members nor assigns specific tasks and responsibilities to them.

Does the Mountain Partnership Secretariat provide funds for members' activities within the Partnership Initiatives?

The Mountain Partnership Secretariat does not fund the activities of members. The main responsibility for accessing funds (e.g. preparing and presenting funding proposals) and fund raising will lie with members themselves. The Secretariat will not manage or distribute funds that are externally raised and intended to support specific activities and Initiatives of members.

But the Secretariat recognizes that the need to identify financial resources to support activities is crucial. It provides members with information about the availability of funds for mountain activities from all possible sources on an on-going basis.

Browse our funding database to locate global and local funding sources which are relevant to sustainable mountain development.

Mountains are defined according to the definition provided by UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), which divides mountains in 6 elevation classes:

• Class 1: elevation ≥ 4 500 m
• Class 2: elevation 3 500–4 500 m
• Class 3: elevation 2 500–3 500 m
• Class 4: elevation 1 500–2 500 m and slope ≥ 2°
• Class 5: elevation 1 000–1 500 m and slope ≥ 5° or LER > 300 m
• Class 6: elevation 300–1 000 m and LER > 300 m

Mountain ranges have been provided by Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) Mountain Portal and therefore align with their definition.

Mountain chains are defined according to the definition provided by the American Geological Institute which described them as a complex, connected series of several more or less parallel mountain ranges and mountain systems grouped together without regard to similarity of form, structure, and origin, but having a general longitudinal arrangement or well-defined trend.

Indigenous Peoples are defined according to the internationally agreed criteria on which the FAO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples is based which uses the following criteria: 1) Priority in time, with respect to occupation and use of a specific territory; 2) The voluntary perpetuation of cultural distinctiveness, which may include aspects of language, social organization, religion and spiritual values, modes of production, laws and institutions; 3) Self-identification, as well as recognition by other groups, or by State authorities, as a distinct collectivity; and 4) an experience experience of subjugation, marginalization, dispossession, exclusion or discrimination, whether or not these conditions persist. Since this database focuses on Indigenous Mountain Peoples this sub-group has to respect also all three of the following criteria: 1) Live or spend at least part of the year on a mountain or highland area; 2) Structure their traditional food systems around mountain ecosystems; 3) Have a clear connection between their collective identity and a mountain or range.

Main food production systems are defined as the main activities that relate to the production of food (agriculture, pastoralism, hunting and fishing) by an Indigenous or local mountain community.

Organizations are the organizations working with one or more Indigenous or local mountain communities.

Main crops, livestock and fish are the main crops, livestock and fish farmed, hunted or fished by an Indigenous or local mountain community.

Other relevant information concerning indigenous and local communities including some of the customs and traditions that characterize a community, the main ethnic group represented in the community, some key historical facts that defined the community and the most common language spoken by the community.

Estimated population is an estimate of the indigenous or local mountain community’s population. It is mainly based on available census data.

Please be aware that a number of local, national and regional terms are used to describe Indigenous Peoples, including tribes, ethnic minorities, natives, indigenous nationalities, First Nations, aboriginals, indigenous communities, hill peoples and highland peoples.