The world’s
mountains comprise some of the most spectacular landscapes, a myriad of ecosystems,
a high diversity of species, and unique human communities. Mountains provide
several resources that will increasingly become scarce in the next few decades
such as freshwater, energy and food. Mountains provide for the freshwater needs
of more than half of humanity. Mountains support about one quarter of world’s
terrestrial biological diversity, with nearly half of the world’s biodiversity
“hotspots” concentrated in mountains. Covering around 22 percent of the earth’s
land surface, mountains play a critical role in moving the world towards
sustainable economic growth. They not only provide sustenance and well-being to
915 million mountain people around the world, representing 13 percent of global
population (their lives are intricately connected to mountains, and their
survival depends on mountain biological diversity), but mountains also
indirectly benefit billions more living downstream (UN website).
Nevertheless,
mountains are vulnerable due to a number of natural and anthropogenic threats
such as seismic hazards, fire, climate change, land cover change and
agricultural intensification, and infrastructure development. Furthermore,
these pressures essentially degrade mountain environments, which, in turn,
impact the provision of ecosystem services and the livelihoods of people who
heavily dependent on it. Moreover, mountain ecosystems’ fragility signifies a
substantial challenge to sustainable development because the impacts of
unsuitable development are more intense, rapid, and difficult to rectify than
in other ecosystems. Thus, natural resources management must take efficiently
place in order to promote the conservation and the sustainable use of
increasingly scarce resources from mountain areas, including water,
biodiversity, forests, grasslands, and soils.
International
Mountain Day (IMD) was celebrated on 11 December. The International Mountain
Day has its origins in 1992, when the adoption of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21
“Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development” at the United
Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development was a mountain
development landmark. IMD was established in 2003 by the United Nations General
Assembly. It commenced to raise awareness to all of the things we rely on
mountains for and in particular how necessary it is for the health and well-being
of the flora and fauna. It is about resolving to conserve mountain biological
diversity and to effectively implement mountain biological diversity programmes.
By celebrating IMD as well as the rich diversity and identity of the world’s
mountain cultures, we recognise the deep connection of communities and
individuals to mountains. International Mountain Day is annually observed with
a different theme relevant to sustainable mountain development led by the FAO (Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). The
theme for 2016 was: "Mountain Cultures: Celebrating diversity and strengthening
identity". Its aim was to highlight Mountain Cultures.
Here is a video
providing more information on IMD:
Source: UN
References
