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.
![]() National climate change plans cite mountainspeak to peakIssue 96 – Month 9 – Year 2016 The September issue of Peak to Peak reveals that 48 countries mentioned mountains in their national climate change plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The newsletter continues with stories about an agro-ecology training in the... Download » |
![]() Mountains at the World Conservation CongressnewsThis year the World Conservation Congress, hosted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will feature a number of events that address mountains on 1-10 September in Hawaii, USA. The discussions will revolve around the theme of “Planet at the crossroads”, signifying that “the ecosystems... Read more » |
![]() Agro-ecology training in mountains of MorocconewsMigrations & Développement started a project to train a network of farmers in southern Morocco in the ways of agro-ecology. To resolve two of the challenges that farmers in rural areas of the Moroccan Mountains are facing, namely poverty and the harsh living conditions, and environmental degradation due to... Read more » |
![]() Call for input for Snow Leopard DaynewsThe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of Kyrgyzstan and the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Secretariat are planning a high-level panel event and the launch of a publication for International Snow Leopard Day 2016 in close collaboration with the Global Environment Facility... Read more » |
![]() Newsletter about mountains in ArgentinanewsThe National Mountain Committee of Argentina has issued the 12th edition of its newsletter, which outlines progress made on the Telefood project. Two aspects of the project came to an end in April and in July 2016, respectively. The first was aimed at making students’ diets more healthy at the... Read more » |
![]() Japan celebrates the first-ever Mountain DaynewsJapan celebrates its newest national holiday “Yama no Hi”, or Mountain Day, for the first time today, 11 August 2016. The holiday has been introduced for the purpose of celebrating a day which offers people the opportunity to come close to mountains and appreciate their benefits. On this day, the... Read more » |
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