News

Thirty-six young practitioners from 26 countries gathered today in Pieve Tesino, Italy to begin the Mountain Partnership's two-week IPROMO course. For the first time ever, IPROMO is targeting youth under the age of 35, primarily from developing countries, and will focus on the future of mountain forests.

Mountains are widely covered by forests (about 39 percent of the entire mountain area), and their resources are critical for a healthy planet. Mountains provide freshwater to more than half of humanity, host about half of the world's biodiversity hotspots, and provide habitat to 25 percent of terrestrial biodiversity and distinctive human communities. 

The role of mountains as a refuge and reservoir for biodiversity is expected to increase as lowland species migrate to cooler highlands in response to rising global temperatures. This could pose a threat to flora and fauna in mountain areas, but at the same time, mountains will be vital to support lowland species' survival, and today's youth will be tomorrow's stewards of the mountains and their resources.

The IPROMO training programme improves participants' understanding of the challenges faced by mountain people and ecosystems and catalyzes action towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in mountains as well as the Five Years of Action for the Development of the Mountain Regions2023–2027

Over the next two weeks, participants will be fully immersed in the topic of sustainable mountain development, with lectures covering mountain forest soils, the hydrological cycle, climate change, disaster risk reduction, mountain farming systems, the cultural and spiritual significance of nature in mountains and more. The instructors feature a mix of university professors, officers from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and representatives of non-governmental organizations and private sector. 

"The participants of this year's IPROMO will be the next generation of advocates to carry the mountain agenda forward. The immersive nature of the next two weeks will expand the young professionals' knowledge, along with their network of like-minded individuals in the field of sustainable mountain development from around the world," said Rosalaura Romeo, Interim Coordinator of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat.

The annual IPROMO course is jointly organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, the University of Turin, Italy, the University of Tuscia, Italy, and the National Research Council - Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection with the high patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Learn more about IPROMO 2023

Learn about the partnership with the University of Turin 

Photo by Adel Ramezani