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The effects of climate change in mountains is the main topic of the fourteenth IPROMO summer school, which opened in a completely virtual format on 6 July 2021 and runs until 19 July. 40 participants from 18 countries, including officers, development experts and technicians, are taking part in this year’s course, which features instructors from around the globe, including the University of British Colombia in Canada, CONDESAN in Ecuador, ICIMOD in Nepal and a few from Italy, among others. 

This year’s theme is “Post-COVID-19 recovery in mountain areas.” The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an incredible loss of life worldwide and has posed an unprecedented challenge to public health while disrupting economies. The pandemic and the restrictions adopted by countries to respond to it have amplified the existing vulnerabilities and marginalization of mountain communities. Mountain livelihoods – which rely mostly on agriculture, tourism and remittances – have been particularly affected by the global lockdowns. The prolonged recession that is unfolding will require special attention to ensure that the most vulnerable among mountain people – particularly women and youth – are not pushed further into poverty and deprivation, and that pressure on natural resources does not increase. 

"This year's IPROMO course will inspire participants to overcome the global COVID-19 crisis and join forces to build forward better in mountains to make them more resilient," said Rosalaura Romeo, Programme Officer of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat. 

The 2021 IPROMO course will focus on several aspects, tools and skills that contribute to an integrated management of mountain areas through the many aspects involved in recovery plans and the concept to “build forward better.” Topics include sustainable mountain development, climate change in mountains, transforming agrifood systems to increase resilience, sustainable forest management as an asset for green recovery, mountain tourism, and a zoom-in on regional perspectives. 

There will be four 45-minute modules per day, followed by 15 minutes for questions and answers, for a total of four hours of lessons each day. The e-learning platforms used will be MOODLE and CISCO WEBEX; all lessons will be available both live and recorded. At the end of each day, a questionnaire will be distributed to participants to be filled before the following day’s lesson. Virtual working groups will be formed, allowing participants to share their knowledge and build a network of experts. 

The annual IPROMO course is jointly organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, the University of Turin, Italy, and the University of Tuscia, Italy, with the high patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Many Mountain Partnership members such as CONDESAN, ICIMOD, UNEP and of course FAO, are contributing to this course by making available their experts as instructors. 

Learn more about IPROMO 2021 

Learn about the partnership with the University of Turin 

Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash