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

Sustainable bioeconomy in the Mountains

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The International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) 2018 came to a close this week after two weeks of lessons dedicated to sustainable mountain development in Ormea and Pieve Tesio, Italy.

“IPROMO is a great networking mechanism that allows practitioners from around the world to...

Mountain session, SDG 15 Expert Group Meeting

peak to peak

Issue 116 – Month 6 – Year 2018

The June 2018 issue of Peak to Peak provides a brief overview of the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 on Life on Land that was held in New York on 15 May 2018. The newsletter continues with stories about...

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Mountains and islands, fragile ecosystems

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Giorgio Grussu of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat presented the Coalition for Fragile Ecosystems at the 61st Congress of Rotary District 2080 on 25 May 2018 in Santa Teresa di Gallura, Sardinia, Italy. The Coalition for Fragile Ecosystems is a collaboration between the Mountain Partnership and Global Island Partnership that aims...

Food and tourism in the Philippine Cordillera

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The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) together with Slow Food travelled to the Philippines on 7–17 May 2018 to explore the potential of a new pilot on food and tourism in the Philippine Cordillera region, aimed at promoting linkages between high-value mountain products and ecotourism services. The pilot would...

MP Steering Committee meets in Rome

peak to peak

Issue 115 – Month 5 – Year 2018

The May 2018 issue of Peak to Peak provides a brief overview of the Mountain Partnership Steering Committee meeting held in Rome, Italy, on 23–24 April. The newsletter continues with stories about the 2018 International Mountain Day theme; the baseline data...

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Climate resilience in Central Asia’s mountains

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Kyrgyzstan is one of the most vulnerable countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to the impacts of climate change, primarily due to the sensitivity of its agricultural systems to climatic changes. Higher temperatures could cause altered precipitation patterns and more frequent heat waves, leading to increased aridity and drought,...