For millions of people living in mountainous areas, hunger and the threat of hunger are nothing new. Harsh climates and the difficult, often inaccessible terrain, combined with political and social marginality make mountain peoples vulnerable to food shortages.

As of 2015, one in three mountain people in developing countries was facing hunger and malnutrition.

The 2015 study Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity presents a geographic and demographic picture of the world’s mountain areas and assesses the vulnerability to food insecurity of mountain dwellers in developing countries, based on a specially designed model. The final section presents an alternative and complementary approach to assessing hunger by analyzing household surveys.

The results show that the living conditions of mountain dwellers have continued to deteriorate between 2002 and 2015. Global progress and living standard improvements did not appear to have made their way up the mountains and many mountain communities lagged behind the full eradication of poverty and hunger.

This 66-page publication gives voice to the plight of mountain people and sends a message to policy-makers on the importance of including mountain development in their agendas as well as specific measures and investments that could break the cycle of poverty and hunger of mountain communities and slows outmigration from mountain areas.

Updated information available: see the 2020 publication Vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity: updated data and analysis of drivers

A Year-long Ascent: Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report 2014

publication

The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) reflects its key achievements in promoting sustainable mountain development (SMD) in its 2014 annual report. Using mountain climbing as an analogy to facing SMD challenges, the annual report outlines its work in advocacy, communication and knowledge management, promoting International Mountain Day, brokering joint action and...

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Summer course on food security in mountains

peak to peak

Issue 79 – Month 4 – Year 2015

The April issue of Peak to Peak reveals that this year’s International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas, or IPROMO course, will focus on food security in mountain areas, and be held in Ormea and...

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Transnational Working Table 1

event

The first of two workshops on the results of projects in mountainous European countries and on the development of the Alps will allow participants to share knowledge and experiences on Alpine Space Projects. The meeting will also discuss WikiAlps, an encyclopaedia-like online platform, and its potential use in policy design...

Multimedia on policy recommendations for SMD in the Andes

news

During the Regional Workshop Post-Rio +20 "Sustainable Mountain Development: Building the future we need" held on November 12-14 in Lima, Peru, the Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN) launched a multimedia which containing key information and policy recommendations for sustainable mountain development in the Andes.

The...

Eighth Session of the UNECA Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-8)

event

The UN Economic Commission for Africa's Food Security and Sustainable Development programme aims to strengthen the capacity of Member States to design and implement policies and programmes to reinforce linkages between food security, population, environment and human settlements so as to achieve sustainable development. This meeting is also scheduled to...

Producción orgánica de cultivos andinos (FAO)

publication

Este manual es el producto de la sistematización de los saberes ancestrales que aún se practican en el área de la Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas del Norte de Cotopaxi (Ecuador) y de la revisión de otros valiosos trabajos realizados en los Andes ecuatorianos, donde la FAO, contando con...