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.
![]() A new system of waste disposal in the Everest ValleynewsThe EvK2Cnr committee, in partnership with Eco Himal and Sagarmantha Pollution Control Committee, is already working to solve the "Everest waste issue". One of the first results will be the installation of a new waste management facility in Namche Bazaar, Khumbu Valley, Nepal. In open huge holes nearby several villages,... Read more » |
![]() Yosemite’s Alpine Chipmunks Take Genetic Hit from Climate ChangenewsGlobal warming has forced alpine chipmunks in Yosemite to higher ground, prompting a startling decline in the species’ genetic diversity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. The novel study, recently appeared in the online publication of the journal Nature Climate Change, also shows... Read more » |
![]() Technical Experts – REDD+ and Climate Change Adaptation – application deadline: 31 March 2012newsTetra Tech ARD, an international development consulting firm based in Burlington, Vermont and Washington, D.C., is currently accepting expressions of interest from qualified regional and local technical experts for anticipated USAID-funded climate change adaptation and REDD+ projects in South East Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects...
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![]() CIPRA received the Dutch sustainability awardnewsThe International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) was awarded the 2012 Sustainability Organization of the Year by the Royal Dutch Mountaineering and Climbing Club (NKVB). In an on-line ballot, Dutch mountaineers from NKVB, the biggest mountaineering club outside of the Alps, voted CIPRA. CIPRA is a non-governmental... Read more » |
![]() IUCN engaging local communities to restore water flow in the Himalayan regionnewsAcross the Himalayan region in India springs are drying up, owing to changes in precipitation patterns and decline of the watershed’s forests. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with the support of mobile phone company Nokia, launched a project to restore water flow in the Balkila... Read more » |
![]() Monitoring the Effects of Climate Change in Protected Ecosystems - 19, 20 and 21 March 2012, Santiago de ChilenewsThe Workshop “Monitoring the Effects of Climate Change in Protected Ecosystems” is going to take place on 19, 20 and 21 March 2012 at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Santiago de Chile. Ranging from Mexico to the Land of Fire in Argentina,...
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