Mountain biodiversity
Mountains loom large in some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes. Their unique topography, compressed climatic zones and isolation have created the conditions for a wide spectrum of life forms.
Half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots are concentrated in mountains and mountains support approximately one-quarter of terrestrial biological diversity. Mountains are home to rare species of plants and animals. These include increasingly rare animals such as gorillas, mountain lions, and the majestic tahr or strikingly beautiful plants such as orchids and lobelias.
A large portion of the world's most precious gene pools (for agriculture and medicine) are preserved in mountains. Crops that are important for food security, such as maize, potatoes, barley, sorghum, tomatoes and apples, have been diversified in mountains and an array of domestic animals - sheep, goats, yaks, llamas and alpacas - have originated or been diversified in mountains. Other crops, such as wheat, rye, rice, oats and grapes, have found new homes in the mountains and evolved into many varieties. Coffee and tea, with their roots in Ethiopia and the Himalayan region, are mountain crops as well. Medicinal plants are one of the most valuable resources from high altitudes. This rich biodiversity holds cultural, ecological and economic value. In the Andes, for example, farmers know of as many as 200 different varieties of Indigenous Peoples' potatoes and, in Nepal, they farm approximately 2 000 varieties of rice.
Climate change, poverty, commercial mining, logging and poaching all exact a heavy toll on mountain biodiversity. The sustainable management of mountain biodiversity has increasingly been recognized as a global priority. The Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a Programme of Work on Mountain Biological Diversity in 2004, which includes a set of actions and targets addressing characteristics and problems that are specific to mountain ecosystems.
Mountain conservation in NepalnewsThe role of conservation for Nepal’s prosperity both at the national and local level is addressed by the study “Conservation and prosperity in new federal Nepal: Opportunities and Challenges” by Shailendra Thakali, Brian Peniston, Govinda Basnet and Mahendra Shrestha. The study was conducted from February to April 2018 and commissioned...
|
IPROMO 2018: Bio economy in the mountainspeak to peakIssue 117 – Month 7 – Year 2018 The July 2018 issue of Peak to Peak provides a brief overview of the International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) that was held from 18 June to 2 July 2018 in Ormea and Pieve Tesino,... Download » |
Mountain Futures 2018eventIn March 2016, stakeholders from 35 countries established the Mountain Futures Initiative, as part of the inaugural Mountain Futures Conference in Kunming, China. The initiative seeks to foster local innovations for resilient livelihoods in mountain regions worldwide; it aims to identify, develop and scale up mountain-based solutions to global problems. In...
|
Food and tourism in the Philippine CordilleranewsThe Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) together with Slow Food travelled to the Philippines on 7–17 May 2018 to explore the potential of a new pilot on food and tourism in the Philippine Cordillera region, aimed at promoting linkages between high-value mountain products and ecotourism services. The pilot would...
|
61st Congress of Rotary District 2080eventGiorgio Grussu of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat will present the Coalition for Fragile Ecosystems that the Mountain Partnership and Global Island Partnership are building together at the 61st Congress of Rotary District 2080 (Rome, Lazio, Sardinia), to be held on 25 May 2018 Santa Teresa di Gallura, Sardinia, Italy. The...
|
Mountain agrobiodiversity at FICO Eataly WorldnewsMountain products and their role in preserving agrobiodiversity was presented by Rosalaura Romeo of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) on the International Day for Biological Diversity during the conference “Forgotten fruits and agrobiodiversity: resources worth saving”. The conference was organized by the Fondazione Fabbrica Italiana Contadina, ARPA Emilia Romagna, FICO,...
|
Mountain Partnership
| Our work
| Focus areas
| Follow Us
Subscribe to Peak to Peak Newsletter
|
