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on comprehensive climate change impact scenario it is clear that mountains
ecosystems will be essential building blocks for long term sustainable global
development. Now it is the responsibility of mountain-countries and those
countries with sizeable areas under mountain eco-system to build and
improve their respective individual capabilities to take up the challenge to
collaborate in order to benefi t from these opportunities of global change.
Mountains in International Sustainable Development Agenda
Mountains have long been marginalized from the view point of sustainable
development of their resources and inhabitants. However, our understanding
about the problems of mountain regions and approach to their development
has undergone drastic changes, during the recent years (ICIMOD 2010).
The fi rst UN Conference on the 'Human Environment' held in Stockholm
in June 1972 fi gured the subsequent international mountain conferences.
This was followed by the pioneering publication of famous report 'The
Limits to Growth' by Club of Rome's (Meadows et al. 1972) which initiated
research in globalization through bringing into focus the projections of
high populations increase and growth of economy and technology in the
world. Over the next years a large number of international conferences
took place in different mountain regions of the world which was followed
by the establishment of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) involving all eight countries of the Hindu Kush-
Himalaya (HKH) in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1983, the African Mountain
Association in Ethiopia in 1986, and Andean Mountain Association in 1991
in Chile. This facilitated developing countries to support the proposal of
a mountain chapter in the Agenda 21 at the third preparatory conference
for Rio in 1991, and consequently, 'increased awareness and improved
understanding of the effects of climate change and globalization on world'
mountains (Borsdorf et al. 2010).
The significance of mountain social-ecological systems was
acknowledged for the fi rst time on a global scale in Agenda 21 of the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),
held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Chapter 13 titled 'Managing Fragile
Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development' of Agenda 21 recommends
two priority programmes for the sustainable development of the world
mountains. These include: (i) generating and strengthening knowledge
about the ecology and sustainable development of mountain ecosystems;
and (ii) promoting integrated watershed development and livelihood
opportunities in mountains. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
of the United Nations was assigned with the responsibility of facilitating
and reporting of the implementation of these two programmes.
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