Conservation and Sustainable Development in Mountain Areas

Edited by Martin F. Price

Contents

Page 1 2

Preface Mountain Areas Global Priorities

WCF theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity 4 5 6 7 8 9 Integrated Watershed Management Networking Towards Sustainability in the Balkans Integrated Watershed Management Around Tacan, Mexico and Guatemala Using the Ecosystem Approach for Mount Elgon Global Promotion of Regional Approaches to Mountain Conservation Himal Initiative for Landscape Management

WCF theme 2: Health, Poverty and Conservation Responding to the Challenge of Human Well-being 10 11 12 13 14 Poverty in Mountain Areas Peace Parks in Africas Great Lakes Region Developing a Regional Strategy for Conserving High Andean Wetlands Conserving the Cloud Forests of Lombok, Indonesia Mountains: 24% of the Earths Land Surface

WCF Theme 3: Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction Managing Risk in a Changing World 16 17 18 19 Coping with Climate Change in the Mountains Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment Global Monitoring in Alpine Environments Top 50 Mediterranean Plants

WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment Strengthening Corporate Responsibility 20 21 22 23 24 25 Mountain Products Improving Livelihoods Non-timber Forest Products in the Mountains of LAO PDR and Vietnam Benefiting from Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in the Hindu Kush - Himalaya Rewarding Tanzanias Upland Poor for Providing Ecosystem Water Services The Gran Ruta Inca Initiative Encouraging Good Practice and Environmental Responsibility

The Mountain Partnership 26 28 29 The Mountain Partnership Editors and Authors Credits

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Preface

Preface

As IUCN and its members are getting ready for the World Conservation Congress that will be held in Bangkok in November 2004, I am delighted to present you with a brochure highlighting the cutting-edge mountainrelated initiatives of IUCN and its partners in each of the four themes of the World Conservation Forum: 1) Ecosystem management bridging sustainability and productivity 2) Health, poverty and conservation responding to the challenge of human well-being 3) Biodiversity loss and species extinction managing risk in a changing world 4) Markets, business and the environment strengthening corporate responsibility. Mountains are characterized by a high degree of biological and cultural diversity as has been recognized internationally since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Although they have great economic potential in many parts of the world e.g. in terms of water resources and tourism most mountain regions are politically and economically marginalized and isolated, and mountain populations often find themselves at a clear disadvantage by comparison with other regions. But apart from challenges, mountains also represent fantastic opportunities to demonstrate the importance of the environmental services provided to our societies by the Earths ecosystems, and to realise sustainable development practices on the ground. This brochure showcases examples of how IUCN and our partners in the Mountain Initiative Task Force, established by the chairs of IUCNs Commission on Ecosystem Management and World Commission on Protected Areas, have responded to these opportunities and the lessons that have been learned. This is especially timely as the implementation of the International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions that was officially launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002 and for which FAO, a member of the Mountain Initiative Task Force, provides the interim secretariat is getting underway. As so often, this booklet could not have been produced without the competent and energetic assistance of IUCNs Commission volunteers and partner organizations. I would like to thank especially Dr Martin Price, Chair of the Mountain Initiative Task Force, as well as the partner organizations represented in this Task Force: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) Let me end by wishing all of you who are interested in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in mountain regions a successful IUCN Congress.

Achim Steiner

Director-General IUCN The World Conservation Union

Mountain Areas - Global Priorities

Mountain areas global priorities

Mountains cover 24% of the land surface of our planet (see page 14). These very diverse regions, stretching from the Equator almost to both poles, are home to 12% of the global population. While many mountain people live in rural areas often in remote, poor and disadvantaged communities many others are urban, living in towns and cities in mountain valleys and on lower mountain slopes. Globally, 26% of humankind live in, adjacent, or very close to mountain areas: many in major cities including Mexico City, Tokyo, and Quito and also in towns and cities on all the inhabited continents. Thus, well over a billion people depend on adjacent mountains for goods and services including water, food, forest products, and recreation. They, and further billions, also benefit from other mountains in other ways, including the provision of energy and minerals; their roles as centres of biodiversity, tourism, and religious significance; and clear evidence of climate change. The global importance of mountains has been increasingly recognised in global fora in recent years. In 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, the UN Conference on Environment and Development, or Earth Summit, included Chapter 13 Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development in Agenda 21, its plan for action. In 1995, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) identified mountain ecosystems as the subject of one of its ten operational programmes. By 2002, GEF had committed over $620 million and leveraged about $1.4 billion of additional funding for over 100 projects in 64 countries. In 1998, in a resolution sponsored by 130 countries, the UN General Assembly proclaimed that 2002 would be the International Year of Mountains (IYM). A total of 78 countries created national committees for the IYM. During the IYM, a Mountain Partnership (see page. 26) was established at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, which devoted paragraph 42 of its Plan of Implementation to mountains. At the end of the year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution appealing to UN organisations, governments, international financial institutions, NGOs, and academic, private sector and other stakeholders to further strengthen their involvement in mountain issues. In 2004, the seventh Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a wide-ranging programme of work on mountain biological diversity.

Key global values and challenges

Such initiatives clearly show that mountain areas and their resources are important for billions of people, not only those living within and immediately adjacent to them, but also downstream and further afield. Perhaps the greatest global value of mountain areas derives from the fact that almost all of the worlds major rivers rise within them. They are the source of much of the worlds water supply most notably providing 80-100% of freshwater in arid and semi-arid regions of the tropics and sub-tropics, but also a significant proportion even in humid areas. Thus, mountain water plays a fundamental role in global food security, especially when used for irrigation and food production; in some regions, 95% of available freshwater is used for these purposes. Water is also a vital source of energy, both in the mountains, but particularly downstream. A key issue is to ensure the reliable delivery of water flows of the necessary quality and quantity, which may necessitate the payment of incentives to upstream land managers (see pages 6 and 23). Most centres of greatest biodiversity are in, or include tropical mountains: the Atlantic forest of Brazil, northern Borneo, the eastern Andes, the eastern Himalaya-Yunnan region, and Papua-New Guinea. Many secondary centres are in Mediterranean areas (see page 19) including South Africas Cape Province, as well as arid mountains, parts of the Rocky Mountains, and Central Asia. Many factors combine to create these high levels of biodiversity (see page 17). Such richness is important not only for its intrinsic value, but also as the basis for local livelihoods (see pages 20-22), and for its genetic potential. For instance, the original varieties of many food crops including wheat, maize, potatoes, beans, and apples come from mountain areas. High levels of biological diversity are also one reason that almost a quarter of the worlds protected areas are in mountain regions (see page 8). As discussed at the 5th World Parks Congress in 2003 and in many other venues, the conservation of biodiversity requires effective partnerships between local communities, government and non-governmental conservation agencies, and other stakeholders to assure the long-term survival of these vital ecosystems (see pages 5, 8, 11-13).
PHOTOS: (Top right) While most of the land in mountain areas is rural, they also include major cities, such as Quito, Ecuador (Otto de Keizer). (Right) Mountains include many sacred places, whose surroundings often have high biodiversity due to long-term protection; such places are often also important tourist destinations. One example is Studenica monastery, Serbia, a cultural World Heritage Site within the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve (Martin Price).

Mountain Areas - Global Priorities

Mountains are also centres of cultural diversity, for reasons including isolation, refuge from dominant cultures, and distance from centres of power. However, many mountain cultures and traditions are threatened by the forces of globalisation, unfortunately including demands for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin which largely derive from mountain areas. A further force of globalisation is tourism. Mountain areas are a major focus for recreation and tourism, of increasing global importance as more than half of us live in urban areas from which we need to escape periodically, to experience different environments and enjoy a wide range of outdoor and cultural activities. Tourism, the worlds largest industry, can bring both benefits and negative impacts to mountain people and their environments (see pages 24, 25). However, the seasonality and long-term unpredictability of almost every type of mountain tourism imply the need to develop it to be complementary to other economic activities and land uses. Both the tourism industry and governments need to develop and implement policies and financial instruments to ensure that tourisms economic benefits not just locally, but to national economies are reinvested in the resources that attract tourists; not just physical infrastructure, but also landscapes and cultures. A key factor in globalisation and the rapid development of tourism in many mountain areas has been increased accessibility by all means: road, rail, and air. Such increases have largely been driven by external priorities: including not only the development of tourism, but also the need to extract raw materials and to provide military access to frontier areas which are often along mountain ranges. Road and railroad construction has led to new economic opportunities for some mountain people, but also to changes in their societies and the destruction and fragmentation of mountain habitats. Furthermore, means of transport powered by fossil fuels are linked directly to the emission of greenhouse gases and hence to climate change. This will have significant consequences for mountain people and the environments on which they and billions of others depend (see page 16). Paradoxically, this links to a further value of mountain areas: the fact that certain elements of their landscapes and ecosystems are being, and will be, influenced more rapidly by climate change compared to other regions. This brings opportunities for monitoring in mountain ecosystems to provide early-warning systems for our planet (see page 18).

Linking challenges and opportunities

In a rapidly changing world, mountain regions and their people are often experiencing greater and faster changes than most. Consequently, it may be appropriate to explicitly link the challenges facing mountain people and ecosystems with some of the opportunities inherent to mountain regions. One possibility is to develop livelihoods based on quality mountain products (see page 20), recognising the important linkages between the maintenance of biological and cultural diversity and the need to maintain the identity and cultural traditions of people on mountain areas. Mountain protected areas and adjacent land could be a particular focus for such initiatives (see pages 7, 13, 22). Another possibility is for mountain protected area managers to take the lead in promoting the development of, and utilising, state-of-the-art technologies in small-scale alternative energy sources and energy conservation. These are often particularly appropriate in mountain areas because of their high solar radiation, steep watercourses, and windiness, and because of high costs of connection to regional or national grids and of transmission. Similarly, state-of-the art methods of water use and management should be implemented in mountain protected areas. While the implementation of such technologies will have minimal direct effects on mountain ecosystems, they can significantly benefit mountain people; and well-illustrated, clear interpretative materials and programmes addressed to the millions who visit mountain protected areas could have an important impact in raising awareness of the vital heritage they protect and the ways in which it is endangered by climate change. Similarly, we hope that this brochure, illustrating good practice and innovative initiatives being undertaken by IUCN and its partners in its Mountain Initiative Task Force, will contribute to greater understanding of the values of mountain areas and some of the diverse means to address the many challenges for their conservation and sustainable development.

Martin F. Price

PHOTOS: (Left) In a warming world, purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) has migrated to higher altitudes in the Alps during the 20th century; it has been found as a new species on several peaks (Harald Pauli). (Right) Mountain water is vital for billions of people, and will even become more so as populations grow and the climate warms (Martin Price).

WCF Theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity

Integrated watershed management

Watersheds are drainage areas where fresh mountain water gathers and flows downstream to feed rivers and lakes, before running into the ocean. More than half of the worlds population depends directly on these mountain watersheds for water to grow food, to generate energy, to drink, and for other domestic purposes. Often, people living in mountain watersheds are amongst the poorest and most disadvantaged in the developing world. Poverty, isolation, growing population, and limited access to land are forcing many upland peoples to adopt unsustainable farming and land-use practices such as excessive livestock grazing, tree felling, and the cultivation of marginal lands. Over the last three decades, these and other threats to upland watersheds such as mining, global warming, tourism and urbanization, have put the supply of the worlds fresh water at great risk. The effects can be seen in eroded soils, landslides, destructive torrents, loss of biodiversity, flooding of agricultural lands in nearby downstream areas, poor groundwater recharge, diminished water quality and quantity, the sedimentation of reservoirs and irrigation infrastructure, reduced agricultural productivity, and severe ecological imbalances.

Managing complex systems for sustainable development

Forested watersheds are vital for the ecological health of the world. In addition to their important protective role, they shelter immense biodiversity, provide food and fodder and are important sources of a wide variety of wood and non-wood products. Yet, we need to better understand the crucial relationship between forests and water if we are to improve the management of freshwater resources for both upstream and downstream users. Integrated watershed management means implementing systems that ensure land resources are conserved and used sustainably now and for future generations. The integrated watershed management approach combines forestry, agriculture, hydrology, ecology, climatology and other sciences to find better ways of conserving and using land resources. But watershed management is more than natural science methods and tools. It is an on-going process which actively involves local people and decision makers - in both upstream and downstream areas - in analysing the problems and developing appropriate solutions to ensure that the activities undertaken are well adapted to the local situation and not overly dependent on external resources. Well-designed and properly implemented watershed management programmes can improve the livelihoods of local people while protecting the environment on which they depend.

Looking toward the next generation of watershed management

Integrated watershed management and its benefits are attracting increasing attention around the world. However, the last systematic, global-scale assessment of watershed management strategies and approaches was carried out in 1985, and many of the same problems and constraints it found still exist. In 2002, FAO, in cooperation with key stakeholders, launched a Review and assessment of watershed management approaches preparing the next generation of watershed management programmes, to provide a platform to share information and draw lessons from field experience, in order to develop improved strategies for the implementation of effective watershed management at local, national, and regional levels. The initiative included a survey of key actors, a stocktaking/review of FAOs watershed management field activities, analysis of case studies, regional workshops, and a final international conference in Sardinia in 2003. The results of this initiative will be disseminated to decision makers, practitioners and researchers working in watershed management in international organizations, national institutions, and NGOs. They are expected to contribute to improved approaches, policies, programmes and field projects in watershed management, and to help better orient research.

Thomas Hofer

PHOTOS: (Left) Slash-and-burn agriculture removes forests and significantly affects the quality and quantity of downstream water flows (I. Velez/FAO). (Top Right) At the global scale, fuelwood is the main source of energy in mountain households. However, if it is not harvested sustainably, the resulting loss of forest cover can have severe consequences (G. Diana/FAO). (Right) Approximately 70 percent of global fresh water consumption is used in irrigated agriculture, and more water will be used in the future as world food production increases to meet the growing demand (A. Odoul/FAO).

www.fao.org/forestry/site/mountains/en

WCF Theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity

Networking towards sustainability in the Balkans

In the Turkish language, the word Balkans denotes a mountain or mountain range. By the end of the 19th century, this had become the name for all of South-eastern Europe. Large mammals and birds of prey have all found refuges in this vast mountainous peninsula. Balkan lynx, brown bears, wolves, and imperial eagles are a few of the flagship species confined to these mountains, whose survival depends on wise management of their habitats.

Diversity and security

The Balkans have some of the highest ecological diversity in Europe and are characterised by small states with many borders, often along mountain ridges. Thus the key to preserve this unique and diverse region is effective transboundary cooperation, the aim of IUCNs project Conservation without Frontiers: Networking towards Sustainability in the Balkans. By developing such a project in which countries are expected to join in conserving their natural heritage, and considering the regions turbulent political situation, IUCN has a challenging task. Most of the countries experienced war and instability as former Yugoslavia disintegrated, resulting in unstable economies and lack of funds and coordination for conservation activities. Yet, despite the political insecurity and due to the formerly closed borders, these are some of Europes most untouched mountain landscapes, among the most important regions for transboundary cooperation worldwide.

Cooperation across frontiers

Benefits of transboundary cooperation include effective and equitable management of common resources; joint resolution of common problems such as forest fires; capacity building through knowledge transfer; and building of trust in politically sensitive areas. Often, protected areas have not yet been designated; some areas are protected in one country, but not in its neighbour. IUCNs Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe is serving as a platform and an information centre to generate and disseminate knowledge and best practices in transboundary cooperation. This has already been established at Skadar lake (Albania /Montenegro) and in the Stara Planina (Serbia/Bulgaria); more than 30 potential sites for transborder cooperation including excellent representatives of Peace Parks, such as the Prokletije mountains, shared by Serbia and Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania have also been identified. Through the focus on transboundary protected areas, this project touches on two thematic areas: protected areas; and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. In relation to protected areas, IUCN aims to help improve coverage of protected areas in the region, influence their effective management, and create ecological networks. In terms of biodiversity conservation, IUCN places emphasis on improving information flows, protecting migration corridors, and increasing populations of flagship species. A long-term goal is to establish a Balkan Greenbelt as part of the European Greenbelt along the former Iron Curtain, forming a north-south backbone of the Pan-European Ecological Network, and acting as a symbol of union between East and West, thus strengthening the integration between European countries.

Maya Zitkovic

PHOTOS: (Right) An existing transboundary site: Lake Skadar and the mountains on the border between Albania and Montenegro (Martin Schneider-Jacoby). (Top right) Imperial Eagle a flagship species of the Balkans (Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia). (Above) Dinara-Livanjsko polje, a potential transboundary site in the karst landscape between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Martin Schneider-Jacoby).

www.countdown2010.net/greenbelt.htm

WCF Theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity

Integrated watershed management around Tacan, Mexico and Guatemala

Tacan volcano is situated on the Mexico-Guatemala border. As part of the Water and Nature Initiative, IUCN and local partners in both countries are implementing a four-year project on the integrated management of watersheds associated with Tacan. The goal is to increase governance, empowerment, and negotiation skills for decision-making. The project area includes the watersheds of the Suchiate and Coatn rivers, shared by Mexico and Guatemala, and the Mexican watersheds of Cahoacn and Cosalapa. About 350,000 Mexicans and 300,000 Guatemalans live in this 3170 km2 area. Most are rural, with mid- to high-level marginality, particularly in the indigenous ethnic groups. In the Guatemalan zone, productive activities focus on basic food crops such as corn, potatoes, beans, and wheat. Land distribution is inequitable: 95% of the farms are under seven hectares in area and comprise 29% of the cultivated land. In the Coatn watershed, 98% of the farms are under seven hectares, occupying 86% of the cultivated area. Access to drinking water ranges from 58% in urban areas to 36% in rural areas. On the Mexican side, the main crops are coffee, banana, and mangos, along with corn, soy, and sesame. Land tenure among farmers can be divided into two main groups: landholders with under five hectares, concentrated in the Coatn watershed; and those with more than five hectares, in the Suchiate watershed. The latter is the only part of the Mexican zone with significant irrigation, covering 6,200 hectares. Access to drinking water ranges from 70% in urban areas to 38% in rural areas. The project aims to foster the integrated management of water resources and their associated ecosystems by consolidating mechanisms for coordination and the management of water and soil resources. A key activity is to generate the information to prepare comprehensive watershed management plans. A strategy for awareness raising and information dissemination will be developed, along with strategic alliances for short-, medium-, and long-term implementation of the management plans. Further objectives are to set up pilot projects on priorities identified in the management plans; and to implement a system for project monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The ecosystem approach, equity and sustainability are crosscutting themes being integrated in all project actions. Thus, during the project, emphasis will be given to identifying, selecting, directing, and strengthening efforts by non-governmental organizations, government agencies, academic institutions and community groups to ensure the continuity of actions established in the comprehensive management plans for the watersheds.

Communications Unit of IUCN-Mesoamerica

IUCNs Water and Nature Initiative

IUCNs Water and Nature Initiative is a collaborative effort of over 80 organisations world-wide to improve water resources management. It is a direct response to the call for action of the 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague in March 2000 and the endorsement this meeting gave to IUCNs Vision for Water and Nature. The Initiative demonstrates the ecosystem approach to water management in field projects around the world, supported by projects that develop tailored tools for empowerment, governance, finance, knowledge and learning. It develops practical solutions to polluted waterways, dried-up rivers, and drained wetlands, and shows that ecosystem-based management and participation of stakeholders will help solve the water crisis of today - bringing rivers back to life and maintaining the livelihoods of many. The objectives are to: Demonstrate ecosystem management in river basins; Empower people to participate in sustainable water management; Support wise governance of water resources and wetlands; Develop and apply economic tools and incentives; Improve knowledge to support decision making; Learn lessons to raise awareness about wise water use.

Bos Elroy

PHOTOS: (Right) The rivers flowing from Tacan provide water for 650,000 people (Ricardo Hernndez Auerbach). (Left) The inauguration of the Tacan project in Tapachula. Mexico (Marco Calvo).

www.fao.org/forestry/site/mountains/en

WCF Theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity

Using the Ecosystem Approach for Mount Elgon

Mount Elgon, a massive mountain on the Uganda-Kenya border, rises to 4131 m, 3070m above the surrounding plains. Its topography introduces attractive scenery to the landscape; cool heights and rain bring respite from the hot plains; and the lower slopes provide a refuge from regional insecurity. There are many rare or endangered relic species, especially in the alpine and montane zones, and many birds and lower vertebrates of limited distribution. While there are few endemic animals, there are probably many endemic lower plant species (mosses, etc.). The mountains ecosystems are protected by two National Parks, one in each country; a National Reserve in Kenya; and several Forest Reserves. Mount Elgon has great cultural significance for 1.7 million local people, related to the tangible and intangible values of cultural sites and diverse natural resources bamboo shoots and stems, firewood, medicinal plants, vegetables, crop stakes, polewood, timber, honey, and bushmeat traditionally used by, and vital for, regional communities. Mount Elgon acts as a catchment for the Turkwell and Lake Turkana system, the Lake Victoria basin, and Lake Kyoga and the Nile River Basin, maintaining water quality, quantity, and evenness of flow. Such contributions to international waters imply the responsibilities and obligations of regional water agreements.

Programme background
Years of national activities in the forests and other protected areas in both countries showed the need for a regional approach to ensure the delivery of the benefits and services the mountain provides to local people and the remote users; and of biodiversity of local, national, regional, and global significance. The Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation and Development Programme (MERECP) responds to this need. MERECP involves IUCN and key management institutions and communities in both countries. It builds on their experience, taking advantage of opportunities to share lessons and supporting joint conservation activities for improved management. It is based on the principle of linking environmental management to livelihood security and poverty alleviation: priorities for the East African Community and the Uganda and Kenya governments. Pressures on the ecosystems stem partly from the inability of adjacent communities to sustain themselves from current livelihood strategies. Resources are being depleted and degraded in and near populated areas, mainly due to unsustainable use due to poverty, rapid rural population growth, poor or inappropriate management skills, and weak management institutions and systems. As resources become scarce on private and community lands, people turn to the neighbouring protected areas. Threats to biodiversity conservation also arise from policy and institutional weaknesses. Alleviating poverty and addressing policy and institutional weaknesses will help mitigate the pressures. MERECP is based on the ecosystem approach, a strategy for integrated management of land, water and living resources promoting equitable conservation and sustainable use, which is based on scientific methodologies that consider the processes, functions and interactions among organisms and their environment. It recognizes that people, with their cultural diversity, are integral components of ecosystems.

Laurent Ntahuga

PHOTOS: (Above) Men carrying smoked bamboos, harvested according to a collaborative management agreement between Mount Elgon National Park and the surrounding communities (David Hinchley). (Top right) Mount Elgon from the south. The lines of Eucalyptus trees are used to demarcate the boundary between the Park and farm land (Edmund Barrow). (Right) The Turkwell River, which feeds Lake Turkana in Kenya, is one of many flowing from Mount Elgon (Edmund Barrow).

WCF Theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity

Global promotion of regional approaches to mountain conservation

Over 100,000 protected areas cover 12% of the Earths land surface. They are a major land use around the world and a principal tool for achieving the strategic objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Almost a quarter of protected areas are in mountain areas, and mountains have been a formal thematic focus of IUCNs World Commission for Protected Areas (WCPA) since 1991.

Transboundary Mountain Protected Areas

Mountains often form international and sub-national borders, and many mountain protected areas have been established adjacent to these borders. An increasing number are managed as transboundary mountain protected areas. Such areas are symbols for peace and co-operation between nations, and have led to the development of the Parks for Peace concept. For mountain animals, transboundary management can assure free movement of species between countries, and co-operative management for their conservation. For mountain rivers and streams, it may mean co-operative water catchment management. For mountain flora, it usually means more effective conservation. But co-operative transboundary management goes beyond this, with benefits including shared research effort, joint staff training and staff exchange programmes, shared surveillance, and joint operations, such as search and rescue and dealing with fire incidents. Formal agreements help to guide these initiatives, and include: the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Area, recognising co-operative management between Lesotho and South Africa; the co-operative agreement between Waterton Lakes (Canada) and Glacier National Park (USA); and the Australian Alps Memorandum of Understanding, guiding the management of three organisations across the range. The WCPA has actively supported improved management for Transboundary Protected Areas. Since many of these are, or are planned, in mountains, the WCPA Mountains Biome plans to hold a workshop in the Himalaya in 2007, for mountain protected area management experts from around the world. The workshop will identify the benefits of, and principal management issues and responses relating to, mountain transboundary protected area management, leading to capacity-building documents for protected area management practitioners.

Conservation corridors
Continental-scale conservation corridors have been advocated as key mechanisms for conserving biodiversity. They can minimise fragmentation and the loss of habitat, and provide for the conservation needs of large and migratory species. Their importance will grow with climate change. Mountain chains provide real opportunities for conservation at this scale: examples include the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Corridor (USA-Canada); the proposed Conservation Corridor along the Andes; and the proposed Australian Alps-Great Escarpment Conservation Corridor. Some mountain protected areas are already within important conservation corridors, and in 2006, the WCPA Mountains Biome plans a workshop to address the special approaches needed to establish and effectively manage these corridors. The workshop will highlight lessons learned from past experience, including the identification of case studies which emphasise the benefits of corridors, the integration of nature-friendly land-use management with protected areas, and the special cultural and spiritual values of these lands. Collaborative partnerships between established and new conservation corridors will be established, and a capacity-building document for conservation practitioners will be produced.

Graeme L. Worboys

PHOTOS: (Left) Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, one of a complex of transboundary protected areas established along the Australian Alps, which form the border between many of the countrys states (Graeme L. Worboys). (Centre) In 1932, Waterton National Park, Canada and Glacier National Park, USA were formally designated as the first International Peace Park, and are now part of the Yukon-toYellowstone corridor running along the Rocky Mountains (Martin F. Price). (Right) The Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Area includes a number of protected areas in Lesotho and South Africa (Martin F. Price).

www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/biome/mountain/mountain.html

WCF Theme 1: Ecosystem Management Bridging Sustainability and Productivity

Himal Initiative for Landscape Management

Poor, marginalized and threatened
The Hindu Kush Karakorum Himalaya region, over 3,500 kilometers long, is home to 150 million people, mainly in poor mountain communities whose people, especially women, have little influence in decision-making. Pressures on land and water threaten the regions great biodiversity. Biological resources are fundamental to both the economy and the survival and wellbeing of local people; most local coping strategies depend on natural resources. The region is thought to be a world centre of wild relatives of cultivated plants but scientific knowledge is limited, about not only the biological wealth, but also the distribution and composition of natural communities and ecosystems. Protected areas are important in conserving the regions key ecosystems. However, the strict protection approach adopted by many governments has created conflicts with local communities, who perceive that protected areas reduce the land and resources available for their basic needs. Protected area categories recognizing the value of goods and services to local communities, and of local knowledge and management systems in protected area management, have been proposed. Yet few of these efforts have been translated in national policies and laws, and local communities do not perceive the benefits of protected areas, so conflicts and resistance continue. Conflicts between upstream and downstream users over water and land are also increasing, due to increased erosion and degradation and limited access to water, land, and development projects.

Creating a learning approach

These trends can be turned around. Traditional resource management systems can provide bases for policies and practices that improve natural resource use and cooperation. In Nepal and Pakistan, centuries-old systems of rotational grazing and water distribution have helped conserve pastures and ensure equitable sharing of resources. The challenge is to show local improvement and learn from this to find appropriate solutions at the regional scale. A learning loop of information gathering, experiments in management, policy dialogue, harmonization of markets, and biodiversity conservation is needed. The Himal Initiative for Landscape Management (HILM) is designed to work at regional, national and local levels, through: Informed and systemic decision making on natural resources management; Sustainable management of natural resources; Support to biodiversity-friendly trade and economic policies. As a pilot project to support informed planning, with financial assistance from the Government of Italy, IUCN is working with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and Italian partners to develop an interactive computer-based Decision Support System for governments in the region, including information on environments and natural resources. The HILM will also select demonstration sites in various countries to develop collaboration in water resource management and economic assessments. By documenting good practices, results will feed into the regional programme strategy to: Raise awareness about the wise use of water; Undertake research on economic constraints to protection and biodiversity conservation of upland catchments and design of financial incentives; Identify conservation threats and threatened species; Encourage cross-border dialogue and exchange of ideas.

Nikhat Sattar

PHOTOS: (Top right) Collecting fodder is central to subsistence livelihoods. (Left) Tengboche monastery, Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. (Right) Participatory Rural Appraisal: involving women in decision-making (photos by IUCN Nepal).

www.iucn.org/places/asia/et.htm

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WCF Theme 2: Health, Poverty and Conservation Responding to the Challenge of Human Well-being

Poverty in mountain areas

Mountain people are among the worlds poorest and most disadvantaged. According to FAO, 245 million rural mountain people in developing and transition countries may be at risk of, or actually experiencing, hunger. Living far from the centres of commerce and power, they have little influence over the policies and decisions that influence their lives and contribute to the deterioration of their mountain homelands. With few exceptions, the voices of mountain people generally go unheard. As a result, many mountain people live on the economic fringe as subsistence farmers and herders, traders and day labourers, with no authority over those who exploit their mountain homes. Mountains are rich in biodiversity, yet most mountain people live in poverty. This is often because the most valued mountain resources, such as forests, minerals, and water, are expropriated and exploited by outsiders and mountain people rarely profit from the resources being extracted. To make matters worse, economic activities in mountain areas are seldom managed sustainably, leaving mountain people to live in degraded or highly polluted environments. The specific needs of mountain regions are often not considered by central governments. Cultural, racial, ethnic and religious differences can be a source of conflict between mountain people and central authorities.

Increasing pressures on women

Mountains, which are among the worlds harshest environments in which to live, are often left to marginalized people, such as indigenous communities and cultural minorities. Pushed uphill to extreme altitudes, many mountain people can barely scratch out a living as they struggle to grow crops on steeply sloping, fields with fragile soils and short growing seasons. Some mountain people survive as herders, nomads and foragers. Others work as day labourers for commercial forestry and mining companies. However, a growing number of mountain men are migrating to cities in search of jobs, leaving women, children and the elderly to maintain the homestead. As a consequence, mountain poverty has increasingly characterised women. In many mountain communities, women have always taken charge of farm activities. But today, with fewer male family members present, womens burdens have increased substantially. Despite their additional responsibilities and dependence on farming income, few women are given title to mountain farmland, and fewer still have access to financial credit. In some mountain societies, womens movements and acquaintances are restricted, preventing them from benefiting from educational and extension opportunities. For example, mountain men often have opportunities to attend school and learn the national language, while mountain women become further marginalized because they speak nothing other than a little-known tribal dialect. Each of these factors places the greatest burden of poverty on mountain women.

Increasing access: positive and negative impacts

Roads, railways, and telecommunications systems have opened mountain communities to outside influences. These changes have been both good and bad for mountain people. Better transportation, for example, has made it easier for mountain people to move their goods to markets, while imported goods have become cheaper and more widely available in mountain communities. However, as access to mountain regions increases, so too does the potential for exploitation of mountain people and mountain resources. Putting power back into the hands of mountain people and advocating policies and practices that ensure equitable access to and distribution of the benefits from mountain rangeland, water, forests and mining are important steps towards alleviating poverty in mountain communities. Poverty is both a cause and a result of unsustainable development practices in mountain regions. Improved livelihood opportunities and poverty reduction are possible, but only if the underlying causes of poverty in mountains such as conflict, food insecurity and lack of infrastructure are seriously addressed.

Douglas McGuire

PHOTOS: (Left) In the Ethiopian highlands, Aselefech is an out-of-work single mother who cant feed her children because her culture forbids her from ploughing her own land. Instead, she must hire a man to plough for her and, in return, pay him half of her harvest. As a result, she has only enough food to feed her children for three months of the year (J. Heer/FAO). (Middle) In the Andes alone, more than two thirds of all people live in extreme poverty (A. Mihich/FAO). (Right) In 1999, 23 of the 27 major armed conflicts in the world were being fought in mountain regions, including Afghanistan (F. Botts, FAO).

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WCF Theme 2: Health, Poverty and Conservation Responding to the Challenge of Human Well-being

Peace Parks in Africas Great Lakes Region

Africas Great Lakes region hosts great biological diversity, including threatened endemic species such as mountain gorillas and high-altitude forest species. Several protected areas and parks, two with World Heritage status, have been established. Unfortunately, the region is also the stage for recurrent conflicts, often resulting in ecosystem destruction, short-term exploitation, and aggravated species extinction; especially in the Virunga National Park (DR Congo), Volcano Park (Rwanda), and Kibira Park (Burundi). These National Parks are linked with protected areas in adjacent countries; the two former parks are contiguous. The Peace Parks initiative of IUCNs Central African programme has developed a code of conduct for the management of protected areas during armed conflicts. Through this participatory process, the parties are now close to the adoption of a transboundary code in the Great Lakes region.

Local development initiatives

The effectiveness of nature conservation is to a large extent determined by local development. Local people require sustainable livelihoods through activities which substitute for their exploitation of natural resources. Their production can be reorganized, for instance by revitalising development committees in the villages, forming cooperatives, and providing micro-credit. These activities also fit with resolving post-conflict problems such as water abstraction, redeveloping tourism and ensuring that revenues are shared equitably. The needs of the local people are enormous and require additional financing from other sources. The mobilisation of public opinion against destruction of protected areas is only possible when the public is convinced of the importance of the conservation of biodiversity. Consequently, environmental education in village schools is vital for sustainable conservation; and the promotion of dialogue committees to manage conflicts is still required.

Cooperation for conservation

Cooperation between the different partners is needed to develop monitoring procedures and warning systems, not only to deal with the physical degradation such as forest clearcutting and park encroachment, but also against indirect threats: pollution and human activities in protected areas. It is essential that mining activities are monitored and that impact assessments are made before starting gold exploitation. The international community is currently focussing its effort on restoring peace in the Great Lakes Region. Although regional cooperation between governments remains modest due to the security situation, there is collaboration between conservation institutions in the concerned countries. The Central African Economic Community must be revitalised to put conservation-development issues on the regional agenda. The Peace Park initiative encourages the governments to be partners in development and conservation for a better future despite mutual hostilities. Adoption of the code will lead to improved synergies between the countries in managing the various transfrontier protected areas.

Bihini Won Wa Musiti

PHOTOS: (Top right) Local people require sustainable livelihoods if nature conservation is to be effective. (Left) The Great Lakes region has many volcanoes, with dense populations living from the fertile soil. (Right) Mountain gorillas: a threatened species (all photos by Alton Byers).

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WCF Theme 2: Health, Poverty and Conservation Responding to the Challenge of Human Well-being

Developing a Regional Strategy for Conserving High Andean Wetlands

The Andes cross diverse climate zones and are of global importance for their biodiversity. Most of the cities and a substantial proportion of the agricultural production in the Andes benefit from water from the high Andes. Their river basins include wetland systems with high biodiversity, that deliver water to households, agriculture and industry over a large part of South America: over 100 million people benefit from this environmental service. Other environmental services provided by wetlands include the reduction of flooding risks, forming a sustainable living environment for rural and indigenous communities, and providing habitat for threatened species. In spite of their environmental, social, cultural, and economic importance, the high Andean wetlands are threatened by a number of factors, including excessive water extraction, mining, intensive agriculture, invasive species and intensive tourism. The wetlands extreme vulnerability and fragility further reinforce an urgent need for action.

Cooperation for a new strategy

During the 8th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 2002, two resolutions on mountain wetlands were approved. One aims to improve the rational use and conservation of mountain wetlands world-wide. A second deals specifically with High Andean wetlands as strategic ecosystems, aiming to preserve their high levels of biodiversity, their water regulation function and their environment. Currently, the Ramsar Secretariat and the IUCN-SUR office are supporting governments in a process to build a strategy to conserve the high Andean Wetlands. Partners are the seven Andean countries and Costa Rica, which has similar wetlands; Ramsar; WWF; Wetlands International; Birdlife International; Grupo Pramo; and Grupo de Conservacin de Flamencos Altoandinos. The main objective of the strategy is to guarantee the conservation and rational use of the high Andean wetlands and associated ecosystems. Its main outline was determined in March 2004 at a workshop with all participating parties. The workshop was followed by an analysis of the current situation in each country and an analysis of related strategies, conventions and initiatives. In November 2004, the draft strategy will be presented at the Ramsar Pan-American meeting in Mexico. The final strategy will be presented to the 9th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention in November 2005 in Uganda. Support to the High Andean Wetlands Strategy is one of IUCN-SURs activities in South America that build on the principles of the ecosystem approach and follows the philosophy of IUCNs Water and Nature Initiative (WANI) (see page 6). The strategy has been improved through critical review by South-American expert-members of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). IUCN members in South America dealing with wetlands have also been consulted.

Otto de Keizer and Eduardo Guerrero

PHOTOS: (Left) The drinking water for Quito, the capital of Ecuador, come from Andean wetlands (Otto de Keizer). (Top right) Pramo vegetation and peatland at 3700 m in El Angel Ecological Reserve, Ecuador (Jerry Struik). (Right) 100 million people depend on water from the High Andes (Jerry Struik).

13

WCF Theme 2: Health, Poverty and Conservation Responding to the Challenge of Human Well-being

Conserving the cloud forests of Lombok, Indonesia

Rising from lowland rice paddies to 3,726m, Gunung Rinjani dominates the Indonesian island of Lombok. The upper slopes are clothed in cloud forest. Winds from the sea cool as they rise up the mountains slopes, moisture condenses onto the vegetation, and so the trees are permanently wet, festooned in epiphytic orchids, lichens, and mosses. The forests are home to rare birds, black ebony leaf monkeys, barking deer, leopard cats, and palm civets. Yet they are under intense pressure. Lombok is one of Indonesias poorest and most densely populated islands: 2.9 million people on 5,000 km2. Pressure for land has always been intense, but this has got much worse following the 1997 Asian economic crisis, when migrant workers were sent home; and the 2001 Bali bombing, which had a huge impact on tourism, which employed many people in hotels and restaurants and producing handicrafts. Lack of cash employment is forcing people back onto the land.

Pressures on the forests

In theory, Gunung Rinjanis cloud forests, the only ones left on Lombok, are legally protected. But the Forest Department finds it difficult to enforce laws when they cannot offer any alternative to poverty-stricken farmers. Much of the lower forest has become a patchwork of small fields, scattered trees, scrub, and grasses. Fires from these areas eat into the higher forests. This has implications for the entire island, as these forests act as water-collectors for all of Lombok, supplying water to towns and tourist resorts and providing irrigation water for rice on the plains. Lowland rice farmers are complaining: there is not enough water for crops in the dry season, and more floods when it rains.

A model for solutions

Lomboks provincial government has linked up with WWF and the UK Department for International Development to protect the forests and their watershed functions, and still provide land and employment. A simple computer model has been developed with local stakeholders to try and unravel the complexity of the social-ecological system. One of the best options to emerge has been to cease trying to retain government protection of the watershed forests and to parcel out the land to poor people, who must plant trees on it. Farmers are given 0.1 ha of land and allowed to grow field crops such as chilli peppers which they can sell for four years, until the trees grow. Both fruit and timber trees are being planted. Mangoes, papayas, durians, jackfruit, custard apples, rambutans and salak fruit are all being produced. Jackfruit and macadamia are especially popular as they produce both valuable fruit and nuts, and timber in high demand from curio carvers. The land remains under forest department ownership, and the farmers have to pay a small rent for the right to cultivate it. On a pilot scale, this programme has been a success. Yet the market for fruit and timber is limited and, unless the general economy picks up, it will be difficult to extend the scheme to all the degraded areas of protection forest. The agroforestry trees protect the soils and water supplies, and the people earn a good living. While these artificial forests do not have the same biodiversity values as the former natural forests of the Protection Forests, they are better than the degraded scrub and farmland that covered the sites when the programme began. They also offer the hope of providing stable and secure land use around the lower boundary of the forests. The success of the agroforestry approach will be very sensitive to the incomes obtained by farmers for their fruit and timber. The computer model will provide a data base and monitoring tool for local stakeholders to help understand how livelihoods and land cover change, and how these are linked. A national park cannot be protected if thousands of poverty stricken, land-hungry people live around it. Giving people rights to some areas of degraded natural forest may help save such vital areas.

Jeffrey Sayer and Tri Agung Rooswiadjie

PHOTOS: (Top right) Selling garlic and shallots provides much-needed income. (Agni Klintuni Boedhihartono). (Bottom right) Cloud forests trap moisture but are under threat. (Agni Klintuni Boedhihartono). (Left) Local communities have been provided with land on the edge of the forests, where they grow crops and have established plantations to provide long-term income. (Widodo Prayitno).

14

Mountains: 24% of the

LEGEND
Altitude > 4500m Altitude 3500 - 4500m Altitude 2500 - 3500m Altitude 1500 - 2500m, slope >2 Altitude 1000 -1500m and slope >5 or local elevation range > 300m Altitude 300 - 1000m and local elevation range > 300m Non-mountainous land

This classification of mountain areas was developed in 2000 by the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in consultation with scientists, policy-makers, and mountaineers. It has since been used as the basis for further work by other organisations such as the European Commission, FAO, and UNESCO.

15

e Earths Land Surface

Map UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, revised from 'Mountains' by Martin F. Price, published by Colin Baxter Photography Ltd., Grantown-on-Spey, UK, 2002.

16

WCF Theme 3: Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction - Managing Risk in a Changing World

Coping with climate change in the mountains

Climate change is among the principal environmental issues of the 21st century. Climate sets the environmental stage for virtually all human enterprise. Consequently, significant changes in average and extreme weather cannot fail to challenge the success of our species, our cultures, and all that we hold dear. Climate change is accentuated in mountain environments. Global Circulation Models project more pronounced climate change at high elevations, as well as high latitudes. While climate data for most mountain areas are quite limited - a major gap to be filled - analyses of available data and cores of ice from glaciers verify model projections: climate change is proceeding faster at higher elevations. Over coming decades, mountain regions will generally experience greater changes in climate than adjacent lowlands.

Addressing impacts in the mountains and lowlands

A changing climate is already affecting, and will continue to affect, values important to both mountain inhabitants and all who benefit from mountain resources. Climate change will affect on-site values within mountain regions, such as biodiversity, agriculture, forests and other sources of livelihood. It will also change the nature and severity of hazards faced by mountain peoples, and affect the principal exports of water, sediment, recreation, and hydro power to lowland industry, agriculture and cities. The concern of people in lowland areas to protect the benefits they have come to expect from mountain regions will become an even greater influence on mountain environments. Forward-looking policy and management must incorporate climate change into the list of major system drivers, along with population, markets and land use change. Ascertaining likely trajectories of climate change in mountain regions is itself a significant challenge, as mountainous topography is second only to global circulation as a creator of weather. It is critical to understand climate as not just average trends but also as a generator of extreme temperature, precipitation and wind events, as extreme events often lead to profound environmental and economic system transformations. Adapting to these challenges is essential. While climate change and energy policy are closely linked, the inertia in the climate system ensures on-going change regardless of what we decide today regarding emissions of greenhouse gases. Thus a balanced approach to climate change must involve not only emissions reduction but also adaptation to unavoidable changes. A focus on adaptation is particularly important in mountain regions where climate change is likely to be accentuated and disproportionately costly.

The Mountain Research Initiative

Climate change and its impacts in the worlds mountainous regions are the central focus of the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), funded by the Swiss federal government and co-located with the Swiss Academy of Sciences in Bern, Switzerland. MRI facilitated the development of Global Change and Mountain Regions: A State of Knowledge Overview, to be published in 2005. This is an important benchmark for conservation planning. In addition, through the Global Change in Mountain Regions (GLOCHAMORE) project funded by the European Union, MRI, UNESCO, the University of Vienna and a consortium of researchers are developing a research programme to be implemented in mountain Biosphere Reserves worldwide to reduce uncertainties and increase scientific support for sustainable management in the face of a changing climate.

Gregory B. Greenwood
PHOTOS (Top right) Mountain biosphere reserves, such as Berchtesgaden, Germany, are the focus of the GLOCHAMORE project, funded by the European Commission (Martin Price). (Right middle and bottom) The retreat of glaciers provides some of the clearest evidence of climate change. Grinnell Glacier, in Glacier National Park, USA, in 1910 and 1998 (Glacier National Park Archives, by Kiser; US Geological Survey, by Karen Holzer). (Left) Long-term data are vital to understand and predict climate change. Since 1824, climatic data have been collected at the summit of Snieszka, the highest peak on the Czech-Polish border, in the Karkonosze/Krkonose Biosphere Reserve (Martin Price).

mri.scnatweb.ch

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WCF Theme 3: Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction - Managing Risk in a Changing World

Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment

The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) of DIVERSITAS deals with the biological richness of high-elevation biota, including all groups of organisms and all hierarchical levels of biodiversity - from gene to landscape. The main goals of GMBA are to synthesise often hidden and fragmented results of research and to provide a platform for an international research community, actively exploring and explaining the great biological richness of the worlds mountains and how this may respond to global change. A central paradigm is that functional insight and theory will only emerge from large-scale comparisons. Mountains provide an excellent opportunity for such a global research network, as they exist in every climatic zone.

Alpine richness
The uppermost montane and alpine zone together cover nearly 5% of the Earths land surface, with the treeless alpine zone accounting for c. 3%. Often considered barren, it hosts a vast biological richness, exceeding that of many lower elevation zones. The overall global plant species richness of the alpine life zone - above the treeline - is estimated to be around 10,000 species, 4% of the global number of higher plant species. No such global estimates exist for animals but, based on vascular plants, high elevations have more species than might be expected from the area they cover. The causes of high biological diversity are manifold. Mountain terrain is highly fragmented and topographically diverse, and this high geodiversity is strongly related with biological diversity, as it reflects the multitude of living conditions in a given area. Other causes of high biological richness in mountains are the small size of organisms, geographical isolation, and moderate disturbance.

Tackling the challenges of global change

Global warming will reduce available land area for cold-adapted organisms and be a threat to the richness of mountain plant species, especially in isolated ranges where high alpine plants are often restricted to small summits. These changes will most likely be superseded by heavy anthropogenic impacts, such as overgrazing, abandonment, and inappropriate short-term land management. Of all global change impacts on mountain biodiversity, land use is the most important and therefore a specific GMBA theme is the assessment of the consequences of land management on mountain biodiversity. Upland grazing, often facilitated by fire management, is the most widespread use of mountain terrain, often followed by erosion and enhanced risk for valley and foreland environments. The cultivation of formerly pristine areas and the intensification of agriculture in montane areas are often associated with a loss of mountain biodiversity; both problems are most severe in the tropics and subtropics. A main GMBA project over the last two years was therefore on High mountain biodiversity and sustainable land use in the tropics/subtropics with two thematic workshops in Africa and the Andes, financed by Swiss Agency , for Development and Cooperation, FAO, and SERNAP (Bolivia). Insights from these two symposia will be synthesized in a book to be published in 2005. Other recent achievements of GMBA include a synthesis book, Mountain Biodiversity. A global assessment published in 2002; becoming a major partner , of the Convention on Biological Diversity for the Work Programme on Mountain Biodiversity; and coordinating the Mountain Chapter of the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. The network office in Switzerland organizes projects and meetings on a continental scale with members of the scientific steering committee, and communicates findings and engages in dialogues with national and international policy forums.

Eva Spehn

PHOTOS: (Top) Alpine meadows are very rich in plant species. (Bottom) Grazing animals are a major factor influencing alpine plant diversity. (photos by Christian Koerner).

www.unibas.ch/gmba/

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WCF Theme 3: Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction - Managing Risk in a Changing World

Global monitoring in alpine environments

Many alpine regions are among the remaining most pristine environments on Earth. Direct human land use has affected most alpine areas relatively little. However, climate change, especially warming, may result in the reduction of their current extent, and in some cases, their disappearance. Accelerating climate change can force plants and animals to migrate to higher elevations where cold-adapted alpine species will come under increasing pressure. Plant diversity in the alpine zone is estimated to be higher than the global average; for example, while alpine environments cover only 3% of Europes area, about 20% of all native European vascular plants are found there. Hence, climate change-induced threats to alpine plant diversity may impact on a significant part of our natural heritage.

Changes are already apparent

Evidence of climate-induced upward migration of mountain plants has been detected around the globe. Advances of altitudinal treelines have been reported from several mountain ranges in North America, New Zealand, and Europe - where upward shifts of natural treelines have been documented from Scandinavia, the Urals, and Bulgaria. Over decades, alpine plants have been shown to be migrating to higher sites in the Alps and in Scandinavia. These observations indicate that climate warming has now reached a level where substantial ecological impacts can be easily detected in high mountain environments around the world.

A need for long-term monitoring: the GLORIA network

Despite numerous studies on alpine ecosystems, there is no comprehensive information about the rate of the retreat of the alpine world. The scarcity of information about species range extensions and species displacements probably reflects the lack of historical baseline records rather than a lack of actual change. Large-scale migration processes induced by climate change can only be assessed and documented by direct ground-based and standardised long-term monitoring - increasingly seen as indispensable to ecological climate impact research. The urgent demand for such a monitoring strategy led to the initiation of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA). Its purpose is to establish and to maintain a world-wide long-term monitoring network in alpine environments. Vegetation and temperature data are collected at the GLORIA sites to identify trends in species diversity and temperature. The data will be used to assess and predict climate change-induced threats to the fragile alpine ecosystems, including losses in biodiversity. With support from the European Commission, the Austrian government, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 71 long-term observation sites in 18 alpine target regions across Europe were established in 2001 and 2002. Five regions have since been added in Europe. The establishment of the global GLORIA network has started, with two target regions in New Zealand, and one each in Australia and southern Peru. A North American chapter of GLORIA is emerging, with sites in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and the Californian Sierra Nevada and White Mountains. Future GLORIA target regions will be established in the Americas, Asia, and Africa, especially in UNESCO biosphere reserves. The GLORIA sites and data sets are an investment for future generations, providing an extensive baseline for future monitoring at decadal intervals. Besides this future benefit, standardised data sets are available for the analysis of large-scale comparisons and for the development of risk assessments for biodiversity losses.

Harald Pauli and Georg Grabherr

PHOTOS: (Top right) In this uniform-looking but extremely species-rich alpine grassland, in Austrias Limestone Alps 39 to 47 vascular plant species were found in each quadrat. (Harald Pauli). ( Right) A GLORIA summit site is divided into 8 sections for detecting species migration. A permanent plot cluster is also established in each main direction for species cover and frequency recording and continuous temperature measurements. (Harald Pauli).

www.gloria.ac.at/res/gloria_home/

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WCF Theme 3: Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction - Managing Risk in a Changing World

Top 50 Mediterranean Plants

The worlds plant biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate. Not only are entire species going extinct, but important plant populations are being greatly depleted. In 1997, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants identified nearly 34,000 species, 12.5% of the worlds flora, as facing extinction. This was probably only the tip of the iceberg; many species suspected to be threatened were not included due to strict conditions for listing. This loss of botanical biodiversity is extremely serious. Wild plants not only provide habitats and form the basis of the food chain on which many species depend, but also provide timber, food, non-timber forest products, genes for breeding new crop varieties, and many other products; some are sources of new medicines.

Mediterranean pilot project

Plant species facing extinction do usually not receive the same level of attention as other more charismatic species, like whales or gorillas. To raise the profile, IUCNs Species Survival Commission (SSC) is developing communications tools for a Top 50 plants campaign. The focus is on 50 of the most critically threatened plants unique to the Mediterranean Islands, in a pilot project to popularise their plight and increase conservation action. The Mediterranean has one of the worlds largest groups of islands: almost 5,000 islands and islets, most of which are mountainous. The region is of high value to global biodiversity due to its wealth of species, relatively high rate of endemism, long history, tolerance of all kinds of disruptions, and role as a natural laboratory for evolutionary studies. It was identified by IUCN and WWF as a major Centre of Plant Diversity; Conservation International recognised it as one of the 25 Hotspots the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth. Booklets, CD-ROMs and a website will alert the general public to the plight of the Top 50 Mediterranean plants. The content is not limited to information about the plants, but also explains the main threats, to raise awareness on necessary conservation measures. More technical information will be published separately to assist conservation professionals in taking on-the-ground action. As well as highlighting species close to extinction, field projects will ensure these Top 50 species do not go extinct, beginning with projects in Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and Crete supported by the MAVA Foundation. Although primarily aimed at conserving four Top 50 species, it is hoped these will catalyze projects for other high-priority species. The Mediterranean Top 50 project will serve as a model and catalyst for other SSC Plant Specialist Groups to implement similar campaigns in other regions. These lists can serve as scorecards or indicators of how well conservation goals are achieved.

Wendy Strahm

PHOTOS: (Above) The mountains of Crete, one of the locations of a Top 50 field project (Harald Pauli). (Top right) Astragalus macrocarpus subsp. lefkarensis is endemic to the mountains of Cyprus (Christodoulou Mekris). (Right) Euphorbia margalidiana is endemic to the Balearic Islands (Josep Lluis Gradaille).

www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/plants/top50.html

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WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening Corporate Responsibility

Mountain products improving livelihoods

There is great potential to improve the lives and livelihoods of mountain people through the promotion of the wide variety of unique products and services that mountain communities can offer from foods and beverages to medicines, cosmetics, crafts and tourism. But mountain people face many obstacles producing and trading these products, including the lack of wider market access and information on new agricultural technologies, inadequate infrastructure, poor communication, high transport costs and poor marketing skills. The challenge is to overcome these constraints by promoting an integrated approach that recognizes and builds on the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental assets of mountain regions. In September 2003, FAO launched a six-month project, funded by the Government of France, to gather information on the economic, socio-institutional, and environmental aspects of a broad range of mountain products from across the world. Products that had made a substantial difference to community livelihoods, as well as contributing to the conservation of mountain environments, were analysed through all stages of the production chain, in order to identify successful processing techniques or marketing strategies. The most promising of the products analysed were then developed into regional case studies (see box), with an emphasis on their potential to be replicated in other mountain locations around the world. The project is now moving into its follow-up phase, and has become a core activity within the Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative of the Mountain Partnership. A Resource Kit will be developed, targeted at organizations (government agencies, NGOs, and private sector companies) involved in small-scale enterprise development in mountain communities. It will be designed through a participatory and consultative process that takes into account the needs of organizations directly working with mountain producers. A number of these organizations, including ICIMOD, Euromontana, CIP, African Highlands Initiative/ICRAF, the Banff Centre, and Deans Beans Organic Coffee Company, actively participated in the 2003 research project and will constitute the basis on which to build a wider network for cooperation.

Alexia Baldascini

Promising mountain products

Africa: new tree crops were introduced in the Mount Kenya area where income from traditional cash crops such as coffee and tea was declining. The fruits from these trees are now regularly processed for sale and also provide a valuable source of nutrients for local people. Asia: the highly nutritious berries and leaves of the seabuckthorn plant can be processed into various foods, beverages, medicines and skin care items. The plant also flourishes on the most difficult terrain, helping to combat erosion and provide nutrients to soil. Europe: the successful promotion of Tome des Bauges cheese, made in the French Alps, shows the importance of working collectively within a legal framework to obtain recognition for a quality mountain product. Latin America: the successful promotion of the little-known Andean root vegetable, arracacha, has encouraged local communities to explore the versatility of this nutritious tuber. Communities in Peru have learned how to improve processing techniques for rallado, a traditional sweet made from arracacha. North America: the Community Co-operative in the Canadian town of Harrop Procter manages local forests according to ecosystem-based principles, and supports two companies, one producing timber and wood products and another producing certified organic dried herbs and teas. Inter-regional: Deans Beans Organic Coffee Company is a flourishing business, based in the USA, that imports only organic coffees certified as fair trade from 11 different countries around the world. The company also helps to develop community projects in each of these different locations.

PHOTOS: (Top right) Coffee is the worlds second largest legally traded commodity after petroleum. Over 60% of coffee production comes from family farms of less than 10 hectares; about 25 million farmers depend on incomes from coffee (A.Conti/FAO) Left) Mountains have many raw materials that can be used to make high-quality items, such as pottery (R. Gizzolia/FAO). (Right) The great agrobiodiversity of mountain areas is important for both the livelihoods and health of mountain people: a market in Guatemala (A. Odoul/FAO).

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WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening Corporate Responsibility

Non-timber forest products in the mountains of Lao PDR and Vietnam

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play an important role in rural livelihoods in many mountain regions which are highly dependent on forest biodiversity. Improved NTFP management is thus a key entry point for forest biodiversity conservation.

The livelihoods and ecosystems approach

The emphasis of many research organisations has been to look at appropriate NTFP species. But since issues and interventions are so locally specific, projects may be more successful when they focus on developing and testing methods for improved NTFP management. In the mountains of Lao PDR and Vietnam, IUCN has worked with local communities to improve livelihoods and forest conservation through increasing the value of NTFPs. Improved marketing strategies were identified through analysing existing products, markets, and market chains. In Lao PDR, people can now earn more by doing initial processing and thereby capturing more of the added value. Traders are willing to pay more for products sold in a common marketplace, instead of individually at different places along the road, as this reduces their collection costs. By selling in one location, communities also have better access to local market information and can bargain for better prices. The villages in Vietnam are located close to protected areas. Complementary to the marketing strategy, the project also initiated reforestation and community forest management to ensure sustainability of the marketed products and conserve protected areas close to the villages. Pressure on the forests was further reduced by domesticating and cultivating wild species.

Impacts on poverty and biodiversity

When there is no specific strategy to provide benefits to the poorest households, the relatively less poor often benefit most from NTFP-related opportunities, such as new markets. In general, in both Lao PDR and Vietnam, families with a middle wealth ranking benefit most, since they have enough labour for harvesting and processing. Poor people may be more dependent on NTFPs for lack of other opportunities, but often do not have the resources to invest. As illustrated by the spectacular decrease of poor households over the six-year project (see graph), IUCNs project in Lao PDR successfully targeted the poorest families, through careful selection of NTFP development opportunities that were appropriate for these families. Commercialisation has not led to increased degradation of forests but, instead, to better management, in at least some cases. Experiments with regeneration of highly degraded forest and shrub land are promising. However, part of the farmers enthusiasm to participate comes from anticipated future timber revenues. Observations indicate that these projects are having positive impacts on forest resources. For example, in Lao PDR, bamboo in the forest is better managed because of improved prices and better collaboration between harvesters. In Vietnam, the cultivation of NTFP species in homegardens took pressure off the wild resources. However, most information on the impacts of the project on NTFP species so far is anecdotal, based on ad hoc observations by project staff and community members. A more systematic data set and analysis would be very useful.

Guido Broekhoven and Jason Morris

TABLE: (Above) Changes in wealth ranking for households in 1996 (beginning of the project) and in 2002 (end of the project) in a pilot village in Lao PDR. PHOTOS: (Top) A rattan handicraft operation supported by the NTFP project produces baskets used to keep rice (Bottom) A nursery of rattan, bamboo and orchids in Champasak, Lao PDR, supported by the NTFP project. (Photos by IUCN NTFP Project Lao PDR). This article is based on a number of case studies conducted for IUCN.

22

WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening Corporate Responsibility

Benefiting from medicinal and aromatic plants in the Hindu Kush - Himalaya
Over 35,000 medicinal plant species play vital roles in maintaining human health, especially in remote mountain areas. Despite long traditions of using medicinal plants and their proven efficacy, their uses and benefits are limited to very small groups. Knowledge of their harvesting and marketing is being lost; and poor communities, the custodians of this knowledge, are often the last to benefit from it.

Benefits to the poor

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) contribute significantly to the livelihoods, health, and income of Nepals people. Perhaps 1,700 species of MAPs occur in Nepal; over 100 are widely traded and exported. High mountain MAPs are known for their high quality, fetching high prices. MAPs are estimated to contribute 5% of Nepals GDP and have huge economic potential, but constitute only 10% of the revenue from the forestry sector. Yet neither communities dependent on MAPs nor the state have been able to make the most of MAPs, and there is a risk of great losses in their abundance and diversity. IUCN Nepal works with mountain communities lacking alternative livelihood options, to assess the necessary measures for them to get a fair share of the sector. A key issue is to adequately tap the potential of MAPs in national and community forests. Traditionally considered as common property resources, MAPs are collected from the wild by villagers and traded by multiple actors via many market channels, mainly to India. Poor people, often largely dependent on harvesting MAPs, experience increasing competition due to the growing market and interest of newcomers in collecting MAPs. As a pro-poor livelihood strategy and to reduce pressures on forests, IUCN is promoting the cultivation of MAPs by poor and landless people within community forests. This requires amendments to community forestry rules and guidelines to favour these disadvantaged people. Legal recognition of the tenure of those who collect and cultivate MAPs is central to addressing their long-term livelihood security to reduce threats to the conservation of these species. IUCNs work has had social, ecological, and economic benefits at a project scale, but these need to be replicated for greater impact. Social benefits derive especially from training in technical and organisational skills. Several hundred villagers, including many dalits (the lowest caste) have gained new capacity, essential for their groups to function well, stand up for their rights, and recognise and resolve conflicts. Before the project, the abundance of MAPs had greatly declined due to unsustainable harvesting. This should reverse as hundreds of people have been trained in sustainable harvesting, and plots of land have been brought under MAP cultivation. Economic benefits from these plantations have not yet been realised because of the time needed for plants to be ready to harvest. IUCN wants to ensure that these benefits are sustained after the project, and to replicate successful elements locally and nationally. Yet perverse incentives often encourage unsustainable actions. For example, while people may be aware of the benefits of sustainably harvesting MAPs, the extra time required is not always compensated economically. The new practices are unlikely to be regularly adopted until prices for sustainably harvested MAPs are sufficiently higher than for MAPs harvested using quicker methods, driven by competition among local traders. Overall, better local governance mechanisms are vital parts of the solution; collectors, traders and regulators need to be better coordinated for the desired social, economic and ecological outcomes.

Sagendra Tiwari, Julia Robinson, Giridhar Amatya and Nikhat Sattar

PHOTOS: (Left) Planting chiraita, a medicinal plant widely grown and used in unani and ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years in India, Nepal and Pakistan IUCN Nepal. (Right) Medicinal plants remain an untapped potential in Chitral, Pakistan (Aziz Ali).

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WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening Corporate Responsibility

Rewarding Tanzanias upland poor for providing ecosystem water services

Conventionally, investments in the water sector focus on constructing and maintaining infrastructure to abstract, store, and distribute water. This ignores the fact that upland ecosystems are a vital part of water infrastructure, providing ecosystem services: protecting watersheds and ensuring downstream water flow and quality. Maintaining clean, regular water supplies depends on keeping upland environments in good condition, so they continue to provide these services. Kilimanjaro, Meru, Pare and the Usambara mountains make a significant contribution to the Pangani River, which runs 500 km through northeast Tanzania. Its basin is home to almost 4 million people including over 2.5 million pastoralists and small-scale farmers, and nearly half a million city dwellers with 55,000 ha of irrigated agriculture and three hydropower schemes, producing nearly a fifth of Tanzanias electricity. Clean, adequate, regular water flows require the maintenance of the mosaic of forests and farmlands protecting the Panganis upper catchment. Such conservation generates huge benefits to the downstream hydropower, agricultural and urban sectors, but upland people gain little and actually incur appreciable costs from providing ecosystem water services. Struggling to supply their daily income and subsistence needs, they are in a weak position to bear opportunity costs to forego land and resource uses incompatible with ecosystem conservation. The government Forest and Beekeeping Division lacks funds to effectively manage the forests designated to protect water sources and catchments. As the provision of ecosystem services remains largely unrewarded, and few costs are compensated, these montane ecosystems have become seriously degraded. Downstream water scarcity has become critical. Faced by growing land pressure, rising populations, and widespread poverty, local landholders often engage in land-use options with higher and more immediate returns, rather than limiting their activities to conserve ecosystems. The economic and financial gap between the providers and recipients of water services hinders both upstream environmental conservation and downstream water security. Within IUCNs Water and Nature Initiative (see page 6), IUCNs Eastern Africa Regional Programme is working with the Pangani Basin Water Office to develop integrated river basin management, including mechanisms to generate sustainable and equitable finance to support ecosystem conservation. Tanzanias 2002 Water Policy provides an important opportunity to develop such mechanisms. It specifies that a catchment conservation charge will be introduced to raise funds to cover the costs of managing ecosystems as part of water infrastructure. In the Pangani Basin, a key aim is to generate sufficient rewards and incentives for the under-funded government departments and poor and land-scarce farmers managing the upper slopes, recognising the costs they bear and the ecosystem services they provide. This involves ensuring that some of the existing charges and royalties paid by large-scale and commercial water users are retained, earmarked for an environmental services fund, and transferred as direct cash payments and development benefits to catchment forest reserves, village natural resource committees, and farming households. This alone will not be enough to overcome water scarcity in the Pangani Basin, or conserve its upland ecosystems. Yet it is an essential part of integrated river basin management, recognizing that land managers providing economically valuable ecosystem services must be assured a fair reward if they are to be expected to provide such benefits.

Lucy Emerton, Kelly West, and Julius Sarmett

PHOTOS: (Top) Kilimanjaro, Africas highest mountain: the source of much of the flow to the Pangani River. (Bottom) There are many conflicts between urban (downstream) and rural (upstream) water users (Photos by Kelly West).

www.waterandnature.org/projects.html

24

WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening Corporate Responsibility

The Gran Ruta Inca initiative

The Great Inca Highland Road Gran Ruta Inca (GRI) in Spanish, Capac an in Quechua once ran for 7,000 km from the extreme south of Colombia to central Chile and western Argentina, passing through the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Some sections of the road retain their original characteristics; others have deteriorated but are still identifiable; some have been lost completely. IUCNs Gran Ruta Inca Initiative tries to revitalize this ancient masterwork as a unique opportunity to catalyze sustainable development.

Cultural and natural resources

The GRI corridor includes both archaeological sites and living manifestations of Andean cultures. The living cultural elements are little known or studied, but include customs and traditions such as story telling and oral history, dress, music, dance, festivals, arts, and crafts. The GRI also presents a legacy of the ancient Andean cosmology that grasps nature (the Pachamama in Quechua) giving it a sense of the sacred. Its revitalization could lead to a re-valuation of local Andean culture, enabling a holistic form of sustainable development based on human potential in the broadest sense. The GRI corridor is home to many charismatic fauna including the vicua, guanaco, spectacled Andean bear, condor, vizcacha, and flamingos. A total of 460 km of the GRI crosses protected areas, including a World Heritage Site, three Biosphere Reserves, and three Ramsar Sites. Yet there are major threats to the GRI corridor: the construction of roads, and the degradation of both natural and cultural resources.

The initiative
The Gran Ruta Inca initiative was launched by IUCNs World Commission on Protected Areas with a grant from the Ford Foundation, and is supported by the IUCN Regional Office and National Committees in South America, together with Conservation International, PROFONANPE, Carlos Augusto Dammert, The Mountain Institute, the Antamina Mine, the Programa Andes Tropicales Foundation, and the Instituto para la Investigacin y Conservacin de la Biodiversidad (ICIB), Bolivia. It is developing regional strategies for conservation and management and promotes the implementation of projects. Projects worth almost US$21 million over the next five years to assure the conservation and development of the GRI and its associated natural and cultural resources have already been identified. If these are successful, new ones will be undertaken to complement them. Over the long run, fees paid by visitors will have to cover the costs of maintaining and managing the GRI and associated protected areas.

Examples of National Projects

Argentina: Establishment and operation of a Committee of Stakeholders for the conservation and development of the GRI in the Laguna de los Pozuelos National Monument/ Biosphere Reserve (BR) and San Guillermo National Park/BR Bolivia: Protection of critical natural and cultural resources associated with the Lago Poop and Tupiza segments of the GRI Chile: Implementation of the GRI restoration and tourism plan in the Ascotan San Pedro de Atacama and Llullaillaco areas Ecuador: Development of conservation strategies for the Achupallas-Ingapirca and Vilcabama-San Antonio de las Aradas sections of the GRI Peru: Promotion of the GRI for reestablishing the interchange of seeds and plant varieties among communities in the Conchucos to Huarautambo Corridor, contributing to the strengthening of traditional agriculture and its place in Andean culture

Allen Putney, Ricardo Espinosa, Miriam Torres, and Stephen N. Edwards

PHOTOS: (Left) The GRI passes through Ecuadors Sangay National Park, a World Heritage Site (Marina Cracco). (Middle) Llamas, a traditional means of transport in the Andes (Ricardo Espinosa). (Right) Incan ruins at Huanuco el Viejo, Peru (Ricardo Espinosa).

www.sur.iucn.org/gri/gri.htm

25

WCF Theme 4: Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening Corporate Responsibility

Encouraging good practice and corporate responsibility

The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) is the global expert in climbing and mountaineering, and links responsible access with protection of the environment. Climbers and mountaineers were pioneers for the protection of cliffs and mountain ranges, and the oldest national mountaineering clubs were also some of the first influential conservation bodies. IUCN and UIAA and their member organisations have long worked together on projects that protect cliff and mountain environments; promote sustainable development for mountain communities; and protect the freedom to enjoy nature and outdoor recreation. Climbing and mountaineering are an important part of the worldwide multi-billion dollar tourism and outdoor equipment industries. So, can nature withstand the pressure of commercial interests that make outdoor equipment and sell package holidays to Everest? It would be easy just to see the outdoor industry as a part of the problem - but the UIAA sees collaboration with outdoor businesses as an important part of the solution. These businesses realise that protecting nature and the right to enjoy responsible access is of direct benefit to their long-term economic success. So, if recreation and conservation bodies support and recognise good practice and corporate responsibility, it is possible to create valuable virtuous cycles.

UIAA initiatives
In January 2004 the UIAA introduced an Environment Label for climbing schools and commercial trekking and expedition companies. So far, 18 organisations in Asia, North and South America and Europe have applied to use the Label to demonstrate they are committed to supporting the UIAA and following our Environmental Objectives and Guidelines. Because of this initiative, the UIAAs good practice advice is being followed by companies and actively promoted to clients. This also creates a broader evolution: some tour operators in the Himalayas are now keen to cooperate regionally to develop more specific best practice measures with the UIAA, based on the general guidelines. The UIAA has also created an opportunity for outdoor manufacturers to become Partners, showing their support for the UIAAs international work. One of the first Partners was Grivel, an Italian company that has manufactured crampons and ice axes in the Alps since 1818. Grivel has a history of demonstrating its commitment to environmental awareness and responsibility; for example, supporting the campaign to achieve protected status for Mont Blanc and helping with environment projects in the surrounding region. In 2003, Grivel achieved ISO14001 Environment Certification, giving credibility to their claim to be an environmentally friendly company. Grivels environmental commitment forms a core part of their marketing message; further reinforcing awareness and good practice advice to consumers. Both initiatives show the strong common interests shared by participants, commercial enterprises providing goods and services, and national and international outdoor recreation and conservation bodies. By working together, they can make a much bigger step towards achieving adequate protection for mountain environments, sustainable development for mountain communities, and the freedom to enjoy nature.

Roger Payne

PHOTOS: (Above) The UIAA Environment Label is used by companies on four continents to show their commitment to UIAAs Environmental Objectives and Guidelines. (Top Right) High standards are essential not only in the production of climbing equipment, but also in protecting mountain environments (Vlado Linek). (Right) The summit of the Matterhorn, a goal for many mountaineers from around the world; but also affected by climate change, with increasing numbers of rockfalls. (Roger Payne).

www.uiaa.ch

26 The Mountain Partnership

The Mountain Partnership

The International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions, or Mountain Partnership, is a voluntary alliance of partners dedicated to improving the lives of mountain people and protecting mountain environments around the world. Launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, the Partnership taps the wealth and diversity of resources, knowledge, and expertise of its members to support positive change in mountain areas. By September 2004, 42 countries, 14 intergovernmental organizations and 49 major groups (civil society, NGOs and the private sector) had joined the Mountain Partnership and the numbers are growing. An Interim Partnership Secretariat, with financial support from the governments of Italy and Switzerland, is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and also has the direct involvement of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Building on strong foundations

The Mountain Partnership is not creating a new entity. It builds on the global alliance of individuals and organizations involved in mountain issues that has grown up since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, or Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It captures the momentum created during the International Year of Mountains in 2002, when national committees were formed in 78 countries to raise awareness about mountain issues and initiated concrete activities to improve mountain livelihoods and environments. The Partnership improves the impact and effectiveness of these joint efforts in mountain development and strives to forge new, more innovative alliances among public sector, private sector, and civil society groups which have committed to work together on a wide variety of mountain issues. It breaks the challenges into smaller pieces and allows members to contribute what they have and do best. It brings people together often for the first time to bridge gaps in knowledge and expertise, identify opportunities for collaboration and connect those who need assistance with those who can provide it.

Partnership Initiatives
The dynamic core of the Mountain Partnership is initiatives on the ground in mountain communities. These activities are guided by the recommendations of the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development. During 2004, a preliminary set of twelve Partnership Initiatives were identified (see box), based on members needs, priorities, and concerns. These Initiatives cover different geographic areas the Andes, East Africa, Central Asia, Europe and the Hindu Kush-Himalaya and cover specific themes such as policy and law, sustainable livelihoods, watershed management, research, gender, education, sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountains (SARD-M). The Mountain Partnership aims to encourage linkages between these Initiatives at the local, national, regional and global levels. Under the Mountain Partnership umbrella, members can enter into specific Initiatives according to their interests, needs and capacities. Partnership members have now begun drawing up workplans and strategies for collaborative activities in selected Partnership Initiatives. These plans are being developed by electronic networking and, in some cases, face-to-face workshops organized by the Interim Secretariat for the Mountain Partnership, and will be further refined in October 2004 at the Second Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership, or the Cusco Conference in Cusco, Peru.

Partnership Initiatives what are the issues?

Watershed management: More than half of the worlds population depends directly on mountain watersheds for water to grow food, generate energy and, most importantly, to drink. But mountain watersheds are being degraded at an alarming rate. The need for the careful management and use of watersheds has never been greater. Sustainable livelihoods: Mountain people are often among a countrys poorest and most disadvantaged. Promoting the wide variety of unique products, resources and skills that mountain communities can offer from foods and beverages, to medicines, cosmetics, textiles and crafts can improve lives. Education: Many mountain people in developing countries have little or no access to educational opportunities that could improve their livelihoods and quality of life. Investing in education is one of the most effective means of reducing poverty in mountain areas because it builds the capacity of local people to solve mountain problems.

Policy and Law: Mountains may constitute about one-quarter of the worlds landmass, but few countries have developed specific policies to address the needs of these unique regions and their peoples. Good policies are mountain-specific because mountains are different from lowlands. Gender: Mountain women face many of the same challenges faced by women throughout the developing world, but their work is intensified by altitude, steep terrain and isolation. Gender equity is key to sustainable mountain development. Research: Specific research priorities vary in the different mountain areas of the world, but water, climate change, biodiversity, tourism, economy, cultural heritage and highland-lowland linkages are overarching themes. Sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountains (SARD-M): As many as 245 million rural mountain people in developing and transition countries may be at risk of, or actually experiencing, hunger. An integrated approach to mountain development that includes not only agriculture, but also water, energy, health and biodiversity issues is vital.

www.mountainpartnership.org

27
An evolving framework

The Mountain Partnership

Organized by the Government of Peru, the Cusco Conference will offer members the opportunity to discuss the future course of the Mountain Partnership, highlight best practices, explore new approaches and define Initiatives that will better lives and environments in the worlds mountain regions. Importantly, the two-day Conference will officially endorse the governance of the Mountain Partnership and adopt the Cusco Plan of Action, a framework for future action. In 2005, a small multi-stakeholder Secretariat will support the Mountain Partnership, working in close collaboration with the Mountain Forum, to provide information and communication services and acting as a central point of reference for networking and liaison. The main challenge facing the Mountain Partnership in the near future will be to demonstrate that these new collaborative arrangements to solve mountain problems are actually contributing to positive change in mountain communities and environments and adding real value to existing institutional arrangements. There is great potential for this unique partnership to do just that, but the level of commitment and active involvement of each member will be the key to making it a truly successful partnership.

Douglas McGuire

PHOTOS: (Top left) Partnership Initiatives must often consider the needs of people living not only in the mountains, but also adjacent lowlands (Edmund Barrow). (Top right) The introduction of modern technologies has led to the rejuvenation of the economy of the valley of Beaufort, France, based on the production of high-quality cheese (M.F. Price). (Bottom left) Sustainable development requires the sharing of information and knowledge, and the involvement of all stakeholders (F. McDougall/FAO). (Bottom right) Regional Partnership Initiatives are targeting the needs of people in many regions, including the high plateau of Tibet (A. Mihich/FAO).

www.mountainpartnership.org

28 Editors and authors

This brochure was edited by Martin F. Price with assistance from Martin van der Schans. Authors and editors contact details Giridhar Amatya, IUCN Nepal, [email protected] Alexia Baldascini, Forestry Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, [email protected] Elroy Bos, Wetlands and Water Resources Programme - IUCN Global Programme, [email protected] Guido Broekhoven, IUCN Asia Regional Office, [email protected] Communications Unit of IUCN-Mesoamerica, [email protected]; Coordinator for Tacan-Mexico: [email protected]; Coordinator for Tacan-Guatemala: [email protected]; Coordinator of Water, Wetlands and Coastal Zones Programme for Mesoamerica: [email protected] Stephen N. Edwards, Conservation International, [email protected] Lucy Emerton, Ecosystems and Livelihoods Group Asia, [email protected] Ricardo Espinosa, IUCN Consultant, [email protected] Georg Grabherr, Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Vienna, [email protected] Gregory B. Greenwood, Mountain Research Initiative, [email protected] Eduardo Guerrero, IUCN Regional Office for South America, [email protected] Thomas Hofer, Forestry Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, [email protected] Otto de Keizer, IUCN Regional Office for South America, [email protected] Douglas McGuire, Forestry Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, [email protected] Jason Morris, consultant, [email protected] Laurent Ntahuga, IUCN Eastern African Regional Office, [email protected] Harald Pauli, Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Vienna, [email protected] Roger Payne, International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA), [email protected] Martin F. Price, IUCN Mountains Initiative Task Force, [email protected] Allen Putney, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, [email protected] Julia Robinson, IUCN Nepal, [email protected] Tri Agung Rooswiadji, WWF Indonesia, [email protected] Nikhat Sattar, IUCN Asia Regional Office, [email protected], [email protected] Julius Sarmett, Pangani Basin Water Office, [email protected] Jeff Sayer, WWF International, [email protected] Martin van der Schans, IUCN Ecosystem Management Programme, [email protected] Eva Spehn, Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment, [email protected] Wendy Strahm, IUCN Species Programme, [email protected] Sagendra Tiwari, IUCN Nepal, [email protected] Miriam Torres, The Mountain Institute, [email protected] Kelly West, IUCN Eastern African Regional Office, [email protected] Bihini Won wa Musiti, UICN-Afrique Centrale, [email protected] Graeme L. Worboys, IUCN WCPA Deputy Vice Chair Mountains, [email protected] Maja Zitkovic, IUCN Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe, [email protected]

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Credits
The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN, FAO or UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, FAO, or UNESCO.

This publication has been made possible in part by funding from FAO and UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK Copyright: 2004 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: Martin F. Price (editor) (2004). Conservation and Sustainable Development in Mountain Areas. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 29 pp. ISBN: 2-8317-0827-3 Cover design by: Cover photo: Layout by: Produced by: Printed by: Gordon Low, Marketing Unit, Perth College, Perth, UK. A. Mihich/FAO Gordon Low, Marketing Unit, Perth College, Perth, UK. Gordon Low, Marketing Unit, Perth College, Perth, UK. Thanet Press Limited, Margate, Kent, UK

Available from: Ecosystem Management Programme, IUCN Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland Tel: +44-22-999-0215, Fax: +41-22-999-0020 E-mail: [email protected] www.iucn.org/themes/cem/cem/mit.htm IUCN Publications Services Unit 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, United Kingdom Tel: +44 1223 277894, Fax: +44 1223 277175 E-mail: info@[email protected] www.iucn.org/bookstore A catalogue of IUCN publications is also available

The Mountain Initiative Task Force of IUCN The World Conservation Union was established in 2003 by the chairs of two of IUCNs Commissions: the Commission on Ecosystem Management and the World Commission on Protected Areas. The Task Force includes representatives from IUCNs Commissions and Secretariat, international mountain research initiatives, and key UN organisations with mountain interests. The objectives of the Task Force are to promote and facilitate: The sharing of lessons learned from experience with mountain-related policy and practice among IUCN component programmes as well as between IUCN and other institutions; The establishment and consolidation of improved linkages between mountain-related science and policy, as a contribution to the global Mountain Partnership. Mountain Initiative Task Force IUCN The World Conservation Union Rue Mauverney 28 CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 999 0215 Fax: +41 22 999 0020 www.iucn.org/themes/cem/cem/mit.htm