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

First West African Mountain Forum held in Togo

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The first West African Mountain Forum was held in Kpalime, Togo on 5-8 October 2017. Although West African mountains are not the world’s highest, they have a key role for the food security of the area, are rich in biodiversity and are important to the overall sustainable development of the...

Building a framework for action – COP23

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Organized within the framework of the Mountain Partnership, the official side event “Implementing the 2030 Agenda & Paris Agreement in mountains: building a Framework for Action” was held on 14 November 2017 at the 23rd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP23)....

Mountains to be featured at UNFCCC COP 23

peak to peak

Issue 110 – Month 11 – Year 2017

The November issue of Peak to Peak announces the two side events organized within the framework of the Mountain Partnership that will take place during the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the United Nations Framework...

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#MountainsMatter contest deadline extended

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The deadline to enter the #MountainsMatter video contest has been extended from 20 October to 3 November 2017. From Brazil to France, Nepal to Tanzania, people around the world are responding to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s call for one-minute videos on the...

Climate Change, Food Security and Freshwater: Tackling Constraints and Nurturing Opportunities in Mountain Regions

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Coinciding with World Food Day on 16 October, the Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC) and the Nepalese Civil Society Mountain Initiative (NCSMI), together with the Ministry of Population and Environment of Nepal, the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and Kathmandu University...

Call for papers, food security and SMD

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Food security is a key concern for sustainable mountain development (SMD). The journal Mountain Research and Development is looking for papers that present validated insights into development solutions for reducing malnutrition and increasing food security for mountain peoples. The papers should analyse food systems in mountains against the background of...