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

Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity

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Dushanbe Forum of Mountain Countries - 2015: Water and Mountains

publication

More than 120 representatives of organizations from across Central Asia and from around the world whose work is dedicated to the concerns of mountain societies and environments, gathered in Dushanbe for the first ever Forum of Mountain Countries taking place in Central Asia, to share perspectives and best practices on...

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Mountain course focuses on food security

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Twenty-four participants from 22 countries on three continents took part in the eighth edition of the International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) from 24 June to 3 July 2015. The course was organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, the University of...

MP member wins sustainability award

news

On June 2015, Fundación Cordillera Tropical (FCT) won the 2015 National Energy Globe Award for Ecuador in recognition of its commitment to creating sustainable livelihoods in the southern Ecuadorian Andes. Energy Globe, the world award for sustainability, recognized FCT's program to promote pasture restoration on private land bordering Sangay National Park...

Linking food security to mountains

peak to peak

Issue 82 – Month 7 – Year 2015

The July issue of the Peak to Peak opens with a story about the eighth edition of the annual International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain areas (IPROMO) which is focusing on the food security in...

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Mountain Farming Is Family Farming

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Mountain farming takes many forms – forms as diverse as the world’s mountain landscapes – yet largely remains family farming. These mountain farming activities have traditionally fed and supported individual households although, today, they have begun to expand increasingly toward global markets. Yet, mountain farmers still tend to be driven...