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.
![]() United Nations General Assembly Resolution: Sustainable Mountain Development (2022)publicationResolution approved by the United Nations General Assembly on sustainable mountain development at seventy-seventh session. A/RES/77/172 Download » |
![]() Carpathian Ministerial ConferenceeventPoland, in its capacity of the Presidency of the Carpathian Convention, will host the Carpathian Ministerial Conference on 21–22 November 2022 in Rzeszów, Poland, which will allow for high-level discussion on pressing topics from the regional and international perspective. The programme of the Conference will focus on two main subjects: |
![]() Global Meeting provides new momentum for mountainspeak to peakThe October 2022 issue of Peak to Peak shares the highlights from the recent Sixth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership held on 26-29 September 2022 in Aspen, United States of America. Top news stories include an overview of the high-level discussion on mountains hosted by the Government of Kyrgyzstan... Download » |
![]() Inclusive and resilient mountain food systems: Opportunities and best practices - policy briefpublicationMountain food systems are unique, complex, diverse, and linked with cultures of local communities and indigenous peoples. They shape landscapes, and support biodiversity and nutrition security worldwide. Currently, these systems are playing an important for providing ecosystem services, sustaining the livelihoods of 1.1 billion people living in the world’s mountains... Download » |
![]() 8th European Symposium on South American Camelids and 4th European Meeting on Fibre AnimalseventFollowing the tradition of previous events, the Symposium will cover a broad range of topics related to the breeding, husbandry and sustainability of South American domestic and wild Camelids, wool sheep, Cashmere and Angora goats, Angora rabbit and all other fibre mammals in Europe and throughout the World. The invitation to... Read more » |
![]() Bringing mountain producers to Terra MadrenewsIn the framework of a collaboration with UNDP’s Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), the Mountain Partnership Secretariat will be supporting a series of workshops at Terra Madre, Turin, Italy. Eleven delegates of eight producer organizations, coming from six countries (Guatemala, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda and Uganda) will participate... Read more » |
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