Global Change and Mountains: Consequences, Responses and Opportunities - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 123

aesthetic, recreational and spiritual signifi cance of mountains need to be
fully addressed (Sonesson and Messerli 2002).
The Second UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio+20)
did not adequately and satisfactorily address the critical issues related to
sustainable mountain development. However, mountains have been as
one of the important thematic areas under the framework for action and
follow-up under Para 210, 211 and 212 which are appended as follows
(United Nations 2012):
210. We recognize that the benefi ts derived from mountain regions are
essential for sustainable development. Mountain ecosystems play a
crucial role in providing water resources to a large portion of the world's
population; fragile mountain ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the
adverse impacts of climate change, deforestation and forest degradation,
land use change, land degradation and natural disasters; and mountain
glaciers around the world are retreating and getting thinner, with increasing
impacts on the environment and human well-being.
211. We further recognize that mountains are often home to communities,
including indigenous peoples and local communities, who have developed
sustainable uses of mountain resources. These communities are, however,
often marginalized, and we therefore stress that continued effort will be
required to address poverty, food security and nutrition, social exclusion
and environmental degradation in these areas. We invite States to strengthen
cooperative action with effective involvement and sharing of experience
of all relevant stakeholders, by strengthening existing arrangements,
agreements and centres of excellence for sustainable mountain development,
as well as exploring new arrangements and agreements, as appropriate.
212. We call for greater efforts towards the conservation of mountain
ecosystems, including their biodiversity. We encourage States to adopt a
long-term vision and holistic approaches, including through incorporating
mountain-specifi c policies into national sustainable development strategies,
which could include, inter alia, poverty reduction plans and programmes
for mountain areas, particularly in developing countries. In this regard,
we call for international support for sustainable mountain development
in developing countries.
It is therefore highly imperative to place sustainable mountain
development in developing countries and the increasing socio-economic
vulnerability of their population at the centre of climate change mitigation
and adaptation strategy. Further, in view of increasing demands for
freshwater and hydro-power and other mountains ecosystem services,
it would also necessary to realize the need of integrated framework for
addressing upstream-downstream interlink-ages, as well as comprehensive