Indigenous Peoples and local communities

The involvement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is a prerequisite for sustainable mountain development. The traditional knowledge and food production systems of Indigenous Peoples and traditional mountain communities provide important lessons on how to adapt to climate change, and are a reflection of value systems that place ecosystem preservation at the centre of their belief systems.

For Indigenous Peoples and local communities living in mountain areas, land, water and forests are not simply natural resources to be used. As their ancestors before them, today’s mountain dwellers understand that their well-being, their group identity and their children’s future depend on the careful stewardship of the environment. This ‘intangible heritage’ also enriches the global community, providing inspiration and insights for realizing a more sustainable relationship between humankind and the environment.

Mountain peoples cultivate a wide variety of crops that are adapted to a range of different elevations, slope conditions and microclimates. Moreover, Indigenous local farmers in mountains around the world have explicitly designed their agricultural systems to protect the soil from erosion, conserve water resources and reduce the risks of disasters triggered by natural hazards. These agricultural systems contribute to the protection of ecosystems, with tangible benefits also for communities downstream. In fact, it is widely recognized that while Indigenous Peoples only make up 5% of the world’s population, they are considered custodians of as much as 80% of the world’s biodiversity.

Therefore, mountain-dwelling Indigenous Peoples and local communities serve as custodians of traditional knowledge and biodiversity, including agrobiodiversity. It is important to recognize in Indigenous Peoples' mountain communities that men and women often have different areas of knowledge, experience and responsibility that contribute to preserving biodiversity, therefore special attention should be given to the knowledge and contributions of Indigenous women.

Despite the demonstrated importance of Indigenous Peoples' food systems and the broader set of cultural practices from which they derive, these are in danger of being transformed beyond recognition by the demographic, economic and environmental changes underway in mountain areas today. Many Indigenous Peoples in mountains are losing their lands as a result of phenomena such as encroachment, forced displacement, rural-to-urban migration and soil degradation. Indigenous Peoples' foods, stigmatized as ‘foods of the poor’, are often abandoned in favour of non-local foods that may be more readily available or convenient to cook but often contain high levels of sugar and fat and have relatively low nutritional value. This phenomenon compounds the problem of relatively high rates of iodine and vitamin A micronutrient deficiencies found in impoverished mountain communities.

With climate change scenarios strongly suggesting that if current trends continue, extreme weather events are likely to become ever more common and more intense in mountain areas, it is necessary to integrate Indigenous Peoples' agricultural systems and their historical perspectives on climate variability as key-tools in climate change adaptation strategies. The Mountain Partnership advocates for global attention and tangible commitments from the international community to achieving sustainable mountain development. This includes the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples' knowledge in responding to climate change adaptation, as stipulated by the UNFCCC COP21 Paris Agreement, and the right of Indigenous Peoples to their land, territories and resources, as stipulated by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous Mountain Peoples Map

 

The Canadian Mountain Assessment

The Canadian Mountain Assessment

publication

The Canadian Mountain Assessment provides a first-of-its-kind look at what we know, do not know, and need to know about mountains in Canada. It is based on insights from Indigenous knowledges of mountains, as well as findings from an extensive assessment of pertinent academic literature. The Canadian Mountain Assessment's inclusive...

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Enter the 2023 International Mountain Day photo contest

Enter the 2023 International Mountain Day photo contest

peak to peak

The November 2023 issue of Peak to Peak calls for submissions for the 2023 International Mountain Day photo contest, which focuses on restoring mountain ecosystems. Top news covers the launch of the Mountain Partnership's Mountain Youth Hub during the United Nations Global Indigenous Youth Forum, the creation of a new...

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Knowledge Sharing Summit

Knowledge Sharing Summit

event

The Canadian Mountain Network (CMN) is hosting its 3rd Annual Knowledge Sharing Summit on 25-28 September 2023 in Parksville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, at the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre.

This is the CMN's final Knowledge Sharing Summit after five years of mountain research as well as...

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MP member Tergar Charity Nepal wins Equator Prize 2023

MP member Tergar Charity Nepal wins Equator Prize 2023

news

Tergar Charity Nepal (TCN), a member of the Mountain Partnership, is among the winners of the 14th Equator Prize announced by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and partners. The 2023 award recognizes ten Indigenous Peoples and local communities from ten countries. The awardees will receive USD 15 000,...

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Key insights from the High-level Political Forum event on mountains

Key insights from the High-level Political Forum event on mountains

peak to peak

The August 2023 issue of Peak to Peak shares the outcomes of the Mountain Partnership's side event at the 2023 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Top news stories cover trainings on participatory guarantee systems in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Peru and sustainable mountain development in Italy, as...

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2022 MPS Annual Report now available online

2022 MPS Annual Report now available online

peak to peak

The July 2023 issue of Peak to Peak announces the release of the 2022 Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report, now available online. Top news stories include the International Network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples, IIED and the MPS' side event at the UN Water Conference, a Members' Voices featuring Tara Gujadhur...

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