Mountains and the Decade of Action and Delivery

 

 

 

Mountains and the Decade of Action and Delivery

Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York

 

Distinguished panelists and guests,

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

My name is Carla Mucavi, I am the Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization's Liaison Office to the United Nations and I am honored to deliver a few welcoming remarks on the occasion of this important side event.

I would like to thank the Government of Malawi for taking the lead for this Mountain Partnership side event, and welcome our distinguished speakers from the Governments of Argentina, Italy, Kyrgyzstan and Switzerland as well as from civil society: CONDESAN for the Andean Region and KIRDAK in Nepal.

The UN Decade of Action 2020 - 2030 calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to the world's challenges. Mountains provide biodiversity, food, water, clean energy to all of us and mountain communities are stewards of these precious resources. They can help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

One billion mountain people live in developing countries, and of these, 648 million live in rural areas. Half of the rural mountain people, 346 million, are estimated to be vulnerable to food insecurity. COVID-19 has amplified the impacts of pre-existing food and nutrition vulnerabilities, especially in poor rural areas.

With remittances drying up and disruptions in supply chains as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns, mountain communities are facing a slide back into poverty.

Today more than ever, and in the spirit of building back better, there is a need to give urgent attention to the threats and risks affecting mountain livelihoods and ecosystems.

We need supportive policies, investments and actions.

We need to build upon partnerships, strategies and initiatives such as the Decade of Family Farming, the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and achieving Zero Hunger for mountains and mountain communities.

I would also like to recall the role of the Mountain Partnership, the only UN voluntary alliance dedicated to mountains and mountain people, hosted by FAO, that today counts 400 members, including governments, civil society and intergovernmental organizations, all working towards protecting mountains and building resilience for mountain communities.

I look forward to listening to our distinguished speakers and to all participants as they engage in this critical conversation to ensure that the next decade can truly be one of action and delivery in mountains.

Thank you.