Events

High-level Political Forum side event "Mountains and sustainable development: a pathway for accelerating action"

From: 07.07.2022 to: 07.07.2022

This side event on mountains is organized within the framework of the Mountain Partnership, the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries, and of the 2022 United Nations International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development, proclaimed to increase awareness of the importance of sustainable mountain development and the conservation and sustainable use of mountain ecosystems. This event is organized by the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Andorra to the United Nations and Government of Andorra.

Covering around one quarter of the world’s land surface, mountains are key ecosystems, providing goods and services to the entire planet and supporting the livelihoods of a vast number of people. Mountains are of paramount importance as water towers for people in the mountains and for around 2 billion people living in connected lowland areas. They also home to 1.1 billion people (15 percent of the global population) and host 25 percent of terrestrial biodiversity.

Despite global efforts, mountains are lagging behind in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With eight years to go to the deadline of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Mountain Development, there is an urgency to accelerate sustainable solutions by joining forces with all stakeholders, fostering partnerships and spurring sustainable growth.

The high mountains of the world are currently experiencing a historically unparalleled, large-scale environmental transformation, with profound and impacts for landscapes, ecosystems, and people reaching far beyond mountain areas. Despite their global relevance, mountains still do not receive appropriate attention in United Nations processes such as the three Rio Conventions, nor investments and specific policies to promote adaptations and resilience. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the current pace, depth and scope of adaptation is insufficient to address future climate risks in mountain regions.

Mountain communities continue to be particularly at risk. As of 2017, one in two rural mountain dwellers in developing countries was estimated to be vulnerable to food insecurity. Mountain women, often the heads of households and stewards of adaptation and resilience, often lack access to services and need to be empowered to continue fulfilling their key roles as the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge and custodians of local culture.

All of these existing challenges have been further compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, risking to leave mountains further behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The event will focus on accelerating progress towards inclusive, resilient and sustainable mountain development, within the context of the three SDGs that are currently under revision: SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).  

The main objectives for the side event are to: 

• Promote action of governments for resilient, inclusive and sustainable mountain development in the main UN processes, including the main Rio Conventions;
• Advocate for policies to tackle biodiversity loss the degradation of ecosystems and the effectsof climate change
• in mountains in a worldrecovering from the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Take stock of progress made towards the achievement of SDG target 15.4,;
• Highlight the role of partnerships multi-stakeholder alliances and their role in the achieving SMD at all scales;
• Highlight the crucial role of education at all levelsto promote SMD.