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.

Outcomes of the 2016 World Mountain Forum

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The 2016 World Mountain Forum (WMF) provided a platform to discuss sustainable mountain development (SMD) in the context of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WMF 2016 resulted in a Mbale Call for Scaling Up Action, themed 'Don’t leave the mountains behind,' which...

Fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership

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The Fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership (MP) was to take place 21-22 October 2016 in Mbale, Uganda, but has been postponed to 2017. The new date and venue are to be determined.

This Global Meeting will provide members with an opportunity to discuss delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals,...

Landscape experts met in the European Alps

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Around 200 participants from the Americas, Asia and Europe met at the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape (PECSRL) 2016 conference in Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria to discuss the past, present and future of rural mountain landscapes. Hosted by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research...

July issue of eco.mont journal now available

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The July 2016 issue of “eco.mont – The Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management” is now available online. The journal was founded as a joint initiative of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR), the Read more »

Journalists blog about their Alpine tour

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The first blog entries of the journalists who participated in the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention’s ‘We are Alps’ tour are now online. On 29 June - 5 July 2016, ten journalists crossed the Alps with the aim of raising awareness on the challenges and opportunities of...