Global Change and Mountains: Consequences, Responses and Opportunities - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 81

2010). Further, these changes are likely to undermine the inherent capacity
of indigenous mountain communities to respond and adapt to changing
environmental conditions including climate change. Besides, the recent
food crisis followed by global economic recession has adversely affected
the food and livelihood security of mountain communities because of their
subsistence economies, constraints of terrain and climate and resultant
physical isolation and low productivity, vulnerability to natural risks, poor
infrastructure, limited access to markets, higher cost of production and poor
employment and livelihood opportunities. It has been estimated that a large
proportion of food insecure population now live in mountain regions of
the world (Huddleston et al. 2003, FAO 2008a, 2008b).
It is therefore high time that national as well as international policy and
decision-making agencies and organizations must realize the signifi cance
of mountain ecosystems is sustaining world population, and evolve a
framework for the sustainable development of mountain regions and well
being of their inhabitants. The world community should come forward
to compensate mountain people for the value of the ecosystem services
provided by the mountain regions, and facilitate them in the protection of
their fragile environment and conservation of natural resources and take
benefi t from emerging opportunities of globalization. This is particularly
imperative in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) for providing monetary benefi ts to mountain
inhabitants for their contribution towards mitigating climate change
through conservation of forests. The developed countries should line up
to act as important resource centres for capacity building of developing
countries by providing knowledge, technology and expertise to mountain
regions.
The Mountains
Although mountains constitute very significant phenomena on the
Earth's land surface with varying altitudinal ranges and heterogeneity of
landscape and terrain characteristics and diversity ecosystems, but so far,
the mountains of the planet have not been defi ned very vividly and in a well
acceptable manner (Mahat 2006). However, mountains can be characterized
by their altitudinal progression across different climatic and vegetation
zones, physiographic characteristics and landforms types. “Mountains
include all areas of a marked relief with signifi cant ecological differences
and slopes which are susceptible to natural hazards and human activities”
(Mahat 2006). The mountains and highlands constitute a large part of the
planet as nearly 46.7% of the total area of all the continents is above 500 m;
26.9% above 1000 m; and 11.1% is over 2000 m (Mountain Agenda 1997).