Women and men play key roles with respect to environmental protection and social and economic development in mountain areas. Women are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity and the main actors in terms of agriculture, animal husbandry and other small scale economic activities. In mountain communities, women are keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture and experts in traditional medicine.
However, women mountain dwellers are often invisible and their voices go unheard. They rarely participate in decisions affecting the management and use of local resources; they often lack basic rights, have little access to ownership and land tenure rights, education, health services and training. Since women and girls have less access to household resources, they are at a greater risk of hunger and malnutrition.
As men migrate to lowlands areas or abroad in search of better income, women are left to manage the farm and household and participate in small trade and income-earning activities. Yet lack of access to credit hampers efforts to improve or expand their farm activities and earn cash incomes.Inaccessibility shapes the lives of mountain communities. Further, the challenges men and women face in mountain regions is intensified by altitude, steep terrain and isolation.
![]() International Conference on Managing Mediterranean Mountain GeoheritageeventMediterranean mountains are sensitive environments showing a long history of human intervention resulting in complex land use and mosaics. Climate oscillations since the Tertiary Era, ranging from tropical and mild climates to cold climates during glacial periods, have left a remarkable imprint on many Mediterranean mountains. The annual variation of... Read more » |
![]() Mountains, one year after the Paris Agreementpeak to peakIssue 104 – Month 5 – Year 2017 The May issue of Peak to Peak reveals that 36 countries mentioned mountains in the first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) they submitted after signing and ratifying the Paris Agreement. The newsletter continues with stories about the Third World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)... Download » |
![]() The roles of women in mountains regionsnewsWomen from mountain regions all over the world gathered in Alpbach, Austria for the conference “The Role of Women in Mountain Regions” on 18-19 April 2017 to discuss their roles in mountain communities and the changes they want for the future. The economic, ecological, social and cultural challenges faced by... Read more » |
![]() Celebrating International Women's Day in UtahnewsSponsoring events that raise awareness about sustainable mountain development (SMD) in the state of Utah, USA, and in North America, and bringing the public into contact with international guests are two of the main goals of the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at Read more » |
![]() A UN entity to insure mountains have a voicepeak to peakIssue 102 – Month 3 – Year 2017 The March issue of Peak to Peak opens with a news about two Mountain Partnership (MP) members presenting an oral statement on behalf of the MP during the 55th Commission for Social Development at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The... Download » |
![]() Online mountain assessment tool launchedpeak to peakIssue 100 – Month 1 – Year 2017 The January issue of Peak to Peak presents the launch of a new online tool that facilitates international and cross-disciplinary collaboration on the assessment, conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity. The newsletter continues with a call to highlight... Download » |
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