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.
![]() University of Central Asia staffer receives government awardpeak to peakIssue 59 - Month 7 - Year 2013
Our new issue of Peak to Peak reports on the programme officer for the Mountain Partnership in Central Asia receiving recognition from the Kyrgyz government. We also look at new Mountain Partnership members and activities,... Download » |
Mountains: Key Players for Global Sustainable DevelopmentpublicationMountains: Key Players for Global Sustainable Development Download » |
![]() Mountains under Watch 2013 (MUW13)eventMountains Under Watch is an interdisciplinary conference that aims at bringing together scientists and experts working in the diverse fields of climate change studies in mountain areas around the world. The specific goal of the conference is to share experiences, methods and strategies for long term observations and monitoring of... Read more » |
![]() Dam building in the Indian Himalayas threatens biodiversitynewsUnprecedented dam building in the Indian Himalayas holds serious consequences for biodiversity and could pose a threat to human lives and livelihoods, a new study has found. A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore, the University of Delhi and the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy... Read more » |
![]() Mountain gorilla population growsnewsThe total world population of mountain gorillas has risen to 880, according to census data released a week ago by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The critically endangered animals live only in two locations, Bwindi and the Virunga Massif area, which spans parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and... Read more » |
![]() Himalayan Glaciers Will Shrink Despite Steady ClimatenewsSome glaciers of the Himalayas will continue shrinking for many years to come, even if temperatures hold steady, a Brigham Young University geology professor, Summer Rupert, has predicted. Rupper’s most conservative findings indicate that even if climate remained steady, almost 10 percent of Bhutan’s glaciers will vanish within the next... Read more » |
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