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Celebrating IMD in Asia

19.01.2017

Throughout Asia, many organizations enthusiastically observed International Mountain Day (IMD) in December 2016. The theme “Mountain Cultures: celebrating diversity and strengthening identity” was the focus of many Mountain Partnership members’ seminars and conferences. In the Altai Republic of the Russian Federation, the Gorno-Altaisk State University launched a photo contest to highlight the cultural diversity of the Altai Mountains, which are home to ten indigenous peoples and over 50 nationalities. Schools in the Kosh-Agach District organized a folk concert along with an exhibition of traditional products and young local artists’ works.

In Bangladesh, the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs organized a five-day Mountain Fair in celebration of the culture, history and heritage of the peoples who live in the country’s highlands. The fair included cultural performances by the different indigenous groups and market stands with highlanders’ traditional foods, handicrafts and more. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representation Office in Bangladesh participated at this fair where they set up a booth to exhibit FAO’s activities improving food security and restoring livelihoods in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The Himalayan Forest Research Institute held a conference on mountain cultures in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. In their discussions, the scientists, officers, research scholars and staff of the Institute noted the importance of mountains to life, and to the indigenous peoples and cultures that mountains are home to. They also expressed their concerns for the erosion of traditional culture due to urbanization and out-migration. In Ladakh, India, the Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) announced 20 trips to remote, marginalized communities in the Himalayas in 2017. Many of the communities GHE works with live in extreme poverty, and these trips focus on community development through renovation of village houses, preserving local heritage and art and livelihood improvement.

Students at the University of Padjadjaran in Indonesia, organized a workshop to support the local peoples of the Desa Genteng mountain village improve their agribusinesses. The workshop, “Promoting Entrepreneurship and Farm Financial Management for Sustainable Mountain Development”, was the launch of a three-year programme to boost livelihoods in the community.

The FAO Representation Office in Iran organized an event in collaboration with the Alpine Club of Iran and MP Member the Mountain Environment Protection Society at which they established a United Nations Mountaineering Club. The Environmental Science Students Association of the University of Tehran also hosted an event to discuss the negative impacts of climate change on mountains. The Association chose the Lorestan mountain newt, a critically endangered amphibian, as the symbol of their IMD observance.

Meanwhile, the University of Central Asia (UCA), jointly with Mountain Partnership members in the Kyrgyz Republic, led a celebration at UCA in Bishkek. The event opened with a presentation of the ancient nomadic calendar ‘Aisanak’ and concluded with the Climate Champions Award Ceremony for the best traditional adaptation practices among mountain villages of the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities. The event featured a mountain products exhibition, led by the Agency of Development Initiatives. Also in Bishkek, the Yrystan Public Foundation for Sustainable Community Development held a celebration at the Botanical Gardens where they presented a publication for a distance-learning course on sustainable mountain development.

In Nepal, the Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC) hosted a mountain conference on “Rethinking the development agenda: advancing resilient livelihoods of mountain peoples” at Club Himalaya in Nagarkot, Bhaktapur. Over 50 government, civil society and private sector representatives attended. The conference concluded with the writing of a seven-point declaration and action plan to take the mountain agenda further.

At the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara, the Nepal Mountaineering Association held the third Mountain Festival. In light of the festival’s objective to enhance the livelihoods of mountain communities by promoting mountain products, protecting vulnerable mountain environments and promoting mountaineering, the event hosted over 30 vendors of mountain foods, drinks, crafts and other goods. The festivities continued with wall climbing, a Chhello (stone throwing) competition, traditional archery and music.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) organized a knowledge forum at its office in Dhapakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal. Panellists at the forum led discussions about opportunities and challenges of strengthening mountain cultures and identities in the context of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. They looked at how cultural resilience and promotion can be mainstreamed in mountain development through natural resource management, livelihoods and gender; conservation and promotion of mountain heritage; and policy.

In Pakistan, the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) organized the Sixth Pakistan Mountain Festival. The festival kicked off with youth rock climbing in Margalla Hills National Park, followed by a Mountain Youth Forum on climate change in Rawalpindi. In collaboration with the festival, students from the National College of Arts Rawalpindi participated in an oil-on-canvas art competition to capture mountain cultures in paintings. The Hunza and Kalash women, culture and heritage were the preferred themes for the participants’ artworks.

In Sri Lanka, the Prabhawa Organization held its seventh annual IMD celebration at Prabhawa Mountain. They organized a march starting from Haputale. Along the route, religious observances were held in a Hindu and a Buddhist temple. When march participants reached Prabhawa Mountain’s peak, they enjoyed local indigenous foods served on banana leaves alongside freshly brewed tea in coconut shells. Several individuals were honoured with awards for their contributions to environmental and social welfare.

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More pictures of IMD celebrations are available on the Mountain Partnership’s Flickr gallery 

Photo: Prabhawa Organization