This video gives an insight into the SWM Programme work with ranchers and community scouts in the Habu Community Conservancy, which is located in the communal livestock grazing areas of western Ngamiland, Botswana. The video introduces Godlop, a community scout benefitting from the SWM Community Conservancy Project, which is supporting...

The event takes place in Mukono Town on May 12 Unlocking community barriers for a profitable and open source agroforestry coffee value chain: this is the leading theme at the 4th Slow Food Uganda Coffee Festival. Slow Food Uganda believes that agroforestry in coffee production is the key to achieving sustainability...

In 1994, UPA began the adventure of publishing a Yearbook of Family Farming. The objective was simple, although ambitious: to collect in an annual work the main data, ideas and proposals of this production model, which in the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers we have defended since our origin. Now,...

Mountains and islands make up 30 percent of the earth's surface area and are home to approximately 1.3 billion people. Mountain and island communities are among the worst hit by climate change, suffering from high rates of poverty and hunger and struggling to cope with natural disasters. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat...

Mountain soils represent a finite, virtually non-renewable resource that provides essential ecosystem services for life on Earth, not only in the mountains but also downstream (FAO and ITPS, 2015). Although the average soil formation rate is not easy to assess, due to the variability of the soil forming factors (Jenny,...

The gouverments in Sweden and Norway have nominated the "Summer farming at fäbod andseter – knowledge, traditions and practices related to grazing of outlying lands and artisan food production” to the UNESCO Representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity There are now only 750 active summer- mountain frams in...

Spring water plays a crucial role in sustaining life in the Himalayas. Yet these vital water sources are drying as a result of natural and anthropogenic factors. In July and August 2020, we conducted phone interviews with leaders from 300 local government units across Nepal to identify the status of...

Millets are one of the Future Smart Foods (FSFs), indigenous to Nepal. Millets are rich in micronutrients, more resilient to water and heat stresses and can be cultivated in marginal lands and at different altitudes ranging from plain terai to high hills. They can contribute to the overall sustainability of...

No se puede discutir que la demanda de “café sostenible” está en su punto más alto. Ahora, más que nunca, tanto las marcas como los consumidores se dan cuenta de la importancia de cultivar, comprar y beber café que sea social y ambientalmente sostenible. Hay una serie de razones complejas que impulsan este...

Traditional mountain landscapes governed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) conserve unique wildlife and agrobiodiversity, and strongly support climate change adaptation and mitigation by protecting ecosystem services, including grasslands that store almost 50% more carbon than forests. But mountain biodiversity and the Indigenous and traditional peoples that sustain it are...

Welcome to the latest edition of IIED’s forests newsletter.We are excited to announce the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) International Conference, share a story from the FFF's work in Nepal and an Integrated Community Forest Management Monitoring and Evaluation Tool developed by IIED in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance.

Este cuaderno práctico, dirigido tanto a productores orgánicos/ecológicos (agricultores, procesadores) como aquellos que han entrado en transición orgánica/ecológica, vinculados acadenas devalor y que trabajan en agroecosistemas de montaña, tiene el objetivo de brindar una herramienta de apoyo para el registro de información importante para la verificación de la calidad orgánica...

The contribution of overgrazing to high-elevation rangeland degradation is a problem across the Himalayan region, and it leads to tensions among users. In the alpine areas of eastern Bhutan, 2 communities of settled and seminomadic herders have been engaged in enduring open conflict over access to a large natural pasture....

The Low Carbon Dairy Farm consists of conducting an environmental and technico-economic diagnosis on each farm and identifying potential actions to improve its carbon footprint. The objective is to build a progression strategy in collaboration with the farmer, so that the action plan fits the realities of the farm and...

During the last decades, soil organic carbon (SOC) attracted the attention of a much wider array of specialists beyond agriculture and soil science, as it was proven to be one of the most crucial components of the earth’s climate system, which has a great potential to be managed by humans....

During the last decades, soil organic carbon (SOC) attracted the attention of a much wider array of specialists beyond agriculture and soil science, as it was proven to be one of the most crucial components of the earth’s climate system, which has a great potential to be managed by humans....

This publication presents a collection of case studies by Mountain Partnership (MP) members from around the world, highlighting experiences of agroecological mountain farming systems. It aims to increase attention toward agroecological principles and approaches and showcase their potential. The MP, the only United Nations global voluntary alliance dedicated to sustainable...

Known for their smaller size and brown colour, Busha cattle have withstood the harsh climate and living conditions in mountainous parts of the Balkan Peninsula for centuries. In Serbia, the Busha breed is not only an important element of animal genetic diversity, but also a source of food and income...

Euromontana has worked on the Smart Villages concept since 2017 as member of the European Network for Rural Development’s Thematic Group on the topic. Through the Horizon 2020 project SIMRA (Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas), Euromontana also contributed to broaden the definition of the concept, by advocating that the Smart Villages approach...

Ma Thi Ninh thought farming would be relatively easy. The Yen Duong area of Viet Nam where she lives has excellent, arable land and offers many sought-after products, including organic sticky rice, seasonal vegetables and bamboo used for traditional handicraft products. But once she started to farm and trade in...