Green economy
Covering 27 percent of the earth's surface and home to nearly 15 percent of the global population, mountains provide globally significant goods and services vital for the well-being of humanity as well as ecological health of the planet.
Roughly 60-80 percent of the world's freshwater resources for domestic, agricultural and industrial consumption originate from mountains. By providing vital ecosystem, provisioning and supporting services, mountains contribute directly and indirectly to the economic development, environmental protection, and human well-being to populations living in mountainous areas and in the downstream regions.
Mountains are crucial for the green economy due to myriad of goods and services they provide to upstream and downstream populations. A significant share of world’s resources coming from mountains for mining, forestry, water for drinking and irrigation directly contribute to the economic development. Mountain products and services form the basis for many economic sectors – food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, forestry and rangeland production, hydropower generation, tourism and others.
Economic growth and sustainability in the uplands and lowlands is directly linked with ensuring sustainable supply of mountain ecosystem resources that support livelihoods of a billion people living in mountain regions.
In the face of global challenges, such as climate change, the sustainable management of the ecological wealth of mountains is key to ensuring the wellbeing of people and the planet.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution: Sustainable Mountain Development (2012)publicationResolution adopted by the General Assembly on Sustainable mountain development at the 66th Session. A/RES/66/205
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COMUNIS conference – 8 March 2012 – EURAC research, BolzanonewsThe International Final Conference of the “COMUNIS” Project will take place on 8 March 2012 in Bolzano (Italy), on the premises of the EURAC Convention Centre. The event is organized by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea in cooperation with the institute for Timber Plants and the...
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Can We Construct Urban Communities That Conserve Biodiversity?newsFor the first time in our history, more people live in urban vs. rural areas and humans continue to move into cities. Cities have huge impacts on our natural resources. Urban dwellers consume vast amounts of energy, produce waste, and alter landscapes to the point where native plant and animal...
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Rare wheat from the mountains of Tajikistan at Arctic seed vaultnewsRare wheat collected from the “Roof of the World” in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan; amaranth, barley and once-forgotten forage crops that could sustain livestock in these climatestressed times are among the seed samples arriving this week for the fourth birthday of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV). The Global...
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Conference: Planet Under Pressure 2012 - 26-29 March 2012, London, UKnewsThe 2012 international Planet Under Pressure conference will take place from 26 to 29 March 2012 in London, UK. The conference aims to provide a comprehensive and scientific update on the pressure that planet Earth is now under. Global sustainability scientists, decision-makers in policy, development, business and the wider non-government...
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Landscape Blog launched on 30 January 2012newsAs part of the three-year collaborative Landscape for People, Food and Nature Initiative, the new Landscapes Blog has now been launched. The Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative, which officially commenced in November 2011, aims to scale up successful strategies for integrated landscape management that simultaneously support, improve food...
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