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

#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...

Enter the #MountainsMatter video contest

peak to peak

Issue 109 – Month 10 – Year 2017

The October issue of Peak to Peak launches the #MountainsMatter video contest, to bring attention to the plight of mountain peoples and ecosystems for International Mountain Day 2017. The newsletter continues with stories about the University of the Mountains’ initiative to...

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Enter the #MountainsMatter video contest

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To bring attention to the plight of mountain peoples and ecosystems for International Mountain Day (IMD) on 11 December, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is asking you to make a one-minute video on the theme of ‘Mountains under pressure: climate, hunger, migration’ for...

Short Course: Crop Genetic Diversity in the Field and on the Farm, Principles and Applications in Research Practices

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The University of Rome Sapienza, in collaboration with the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR) and Bioversity International, will hold a one-week credited short course on “Crop Genetic Diversity in the Field and on the Farm: Principles and Applications in Research Practice”, based on a text book by the...