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

2nd Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change: “Hunger for Action”

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The second Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change, will be held from 3 to 7 September 2012 in Hanoi, Viet Nam. The Conference is co-organized by the Governments of Viet Nam and the Netherlands, in collaboration with other partners, including the World Bank and the Food and...

The retreating Himalayas: disaster in slow motion

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If the unprecedented rate of glacial retreat in the South Asian region is not checked, countries in the area are likely to turn highly food-insecure. Pakistan’s latest Climate Change Policy clearly indicates that freshwater resources in Pakistan are dependent on snow and glacial melting and monsoon rains; all of which...

Rivers will generate a quarter of GDP by 2050, study shows

news

The world’s 10 most populous river basins (Ganges, Yangtze, Indus, Nile, Huang He Huai He, Niger, Hai, Krishna and the Danube) will be vital for economic growth – but only if water shortage threats are tackled. Rivers are the very “stuff of life”, yet billions of people do not have...

Agriculture and Rural Development Day at Rio+20

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The 4th Agriculture and Rural Development Day will take place on Monday 18 June 2012 at the Sul América Convention Center, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other international organizations are organizing this full-day side event during the UN...

Why the Alps matter

publication

Policy brief presented at Rio+20

The Alps are a coherent mountain region covering 190,568 km2 across eight countries, with a population of 14 million. Their central location in western Europe gives them many important roles for the continent. The Alpine economy is based on a symbiosis of...

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Why mountains of the Middle East and North Africa matter

publication

Policy brief presented at Rio+20

Mountains of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are important for sustainable development in national, regional and global contexts. The goods and key ecosystem services provided by these mountains are vital for the sustainable development....