Mountains are landscapes of startling contrasts - beautiful but dangerous, rugged but fragile. They offer sublime spiritual inspiration but are often places of desperate poverty. Mountains are unique landscapes that harbour much of the world's biological and cultural heritage, including many species, as well as knowledge and traditions, that are found nowhere else.
To draw attention to these vital environments, their people and their needs, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2002 as the International Year of Mountains (IYM), and invited FAO to serve as the lead agency for its observance, in collaboration with governments, other United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations. FAO is proud to be leading such an important initiative. We see this work as an extension of our role as task manager for implementing Chapter 13 of Agenda 21, which is dedicated to sustainable mountain development.
Undoubtedly the most important message of the International Year of Mountains is that mountains are crucial to the security of both highland and lowland people. Three billion people - more than half the world's population - rely on mountains for water for drinking, irrigation, industry and electricity. The IYM is an opportunity to raise awareness of the diverse values of mountain regions for society as a whole.
In the first article of this issue of Unasylva devoted to the mountains, M.F. Price and B. Messerli review the evolution of the inclusion of mountains in the global agenda since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the emergence of sustainable mountain development as a global priority. The authors identify the central issues of the five basic pillars of the IYM: economics, environment, culture and gender, policies and legislation and risk. These pillars form a framework for the articles that follow.
Although mountains are rich in natural and cultural resources, in economic terms they tend to be among the poorest places on earth. But mountains can also provide opportunities for redressing poverty and achieving sustainable development. H.R. Mishra presents five mountain strategies for promoting food, water, environmental and employment security - for both highland and lowland populations.
Mountain environments are characterized by broad diversity, not only biophysical, but also social, economic and cultural. M. Muthoo surveys the state of some mountain environments particularly in developing regions of Asia, Africa and Central and South America. He concludes that environmental issues should not be addressed in isolation, but need to be considered in combination with economic and social dimensions.
2002 is also the International Year of Ecotourism. In both socio-economic and environmental terms, mountain tourism and ecotourism offer both opportunities and problems. S.K. Nepal examines the Nepalese experience, which offers valuable lessons for international mountain communities.
Mountains are also places of rich cultural diversity. They are home to at least one-tenth of the world's population. Highland communities have developed cultural strategies over the centuries to sustain life in their often fragile and unforgiving environments. W.L. Mitchell and P.F. Brown describe the subsistence patterns, social organization and ideology of one traditional group of people from the high mountains, the Aymara of the Peruvian Andes, making some comparison to cultures of the Himalaya-Karakorum-Hindu Kush of Central Asia, with which the Aymara share some striking cultural similarities.
Mountain law is still in its infancy: there are few mountain-specific legal instruments currently in force at either national or international level. A. Villeneuve, P. Talla and M.A. Mekouar describe existing mountain legislation, including the Alpine Convention (the only legally binding mountain-specific international instrument), many non-binding "soft law" agreements and domestic mountain-specific legislation from the few countries that have developed it, mostly in Europe.
The contours and peaks of mountains make them highly unstable. In the mountains, people, property, infrastructure and ecosystems are threatened by various hazards and dangerous processes, which easily lead to casualties, injuries, destruction of goods and ecological damage. P.C. Zingari and G. Fiebiger discuss ways of evaluating risks and some means to mitigate them.
Statements from FAO's Director-General and the King of Nepal, profiles of mountain issues and activities from countries such as Bolivia, Italy, Kyrgyzstan and Peru, and information on mountain forests, tropical cloud forests and sacred mountains complete Unasylva's foray into the mountains.
The issue closes with a grave concern: most of the armed conflicts in the world today are in mountain areas. In 1999, 23 of the 27 major armed conflicts in the world were being fought in mountain regions. When people are at war, secure food supplies cannot be guaranteed. When the future is unpredictable, people are unlikely to take steps to improve their lives or their environment. Sustainable development, food security and peace must be promoted hand in hand.
Mountains are as vital as the oceans and as essential to human well-being. All people - whether dwelling at sea level or in the highest altitudes - depend on mountains for life. We are all mountain people. This awareness is the essential foundation of long-term, effective action.
