Treasuring our mountains, conserving our biodiversity

Mountains host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and are home to 15 percent of the world’s population. Unfortunately, they are also currently under threat from climate change, overexploitation, invasive species, and pollution. As a result, the communities who live on the mountains are some of the world’s poorest and struggle to survive. For all of these reasons, it is imperative that we act now to halt biodiversity loss in these regions and build up resilience for mountain people.

On occasion of International Mountain Day 2020, the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, on behalf of the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries, in collaboration with FAO and the UN Environment Programme, organized a virtual event to foster cooperation development with regard to the preservation and restoration of fragile mountain ecosystems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her opening remarks, Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, Ambassador Mirgul Moldoisaeva called for international, as well as regional cooperation for the conservation of mountain biodiversity. During the event, members of the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries shared their thoughts on the various ways that mountains define their identity, and on the role that mountain people play as custodians of biodiversity. Keynote speakers included the Permanent Representative of Andorra to the UN, Elisenda Vives Balmaña, the Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN, Alexander Marschik, the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the UN, Amrit Bahadur Rai, the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN, Baeriswyl Pascale, and the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the UN, Mahmadamin Mahmadaminov.

The UN Under Secretary-General, Liu Zhenmin, delivered a statement with a pre-recorded video message. He noted that mountain indigenous peoples and local communities must be involved in all international efforts for climate change adaptation and mountain ecosystem conservation.

The UN Development Programme Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Mirjana Spoljaric-Egger highlighted the need to foster transboundary cooperation. She also presented tools aimed at safeguarding the fauna of mountain ecosystems.

FAO Deputy Director-General, Maria Helena Semedo, underscored the value of protecting mountain biodiversity. She emphasized the importance of investing in sustainable mountain development, noting the relevant work of the Mountain Partnership, which FAO has co-founded and which currently numbers over 300 members.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of New York Office at UN Environment Programme, Satya Tripathi, reiterated that if we really want to protect and conserve the fragile mountain ecosystems, we need to take stock of the role that non-locals have played in reshaping these landscapes.

FAO Director of the Forestry Division, Mette Løyche Wilkie, further stressed the need to bring mountain people to the heart of sustainabledevelopment. Wilkie also referred to findings of FAO’s Vulnerability of Mountain Peoples to Food Insecurity report, indicating that one in every two mountain people in developing countries is at risk of not having enough food to maintain a healthy life.

The event also featured high-level panellists from the Alpine Convention Secretariat, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Columbia University, and the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory. All event participants recognized the sustainable management of mountain biodiversity as a global priority, and hailed the International Mountain Day as an opportunity to celebrate the mountainous regions and the people who reside in them.

The event was moderated by the Director for Intergovernmental Cooperation at the UN Environment Programme Office in New York, Jamil Ahmad.