A very successful International Mountain Day

For International Mountain Day (IMD), 67 events were organized worldwide in which mountaineers, mountain lovers, governments and institutions gathered on 11 December 2015 to celebrate mountain environments and inhabitants. Celebrations took place in more than 30 countries, including Algeria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, France, Iran, Italy, Macedonia, Mali, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States, Venezuela and many others. Festivities took the form of conferences, seminars, exhibitions, hikes, climbs, workshops, dinners and readings.

As the lead coordinating UN agency for the preparation of this annual celebration, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – decentralized offices and headquarters – partnered with governments and civil society organizations to hold awareness-raising events showing the importance of mountains to sustainable development. IMD also brought about governmental action and heightened cooperation at national and regional level.

This year’s theme, “Promoting mountain products for better livelihoods,” was the focus of many Mountain Partnership members’ seminars and conferences. Globalization offers opportunities for mountain producers to market their high quality mountain products, such as coffee, cocoa, honey, herbs, spices and handicrafts as well as tourism-related services such as skiing, climbing, cultural heritage tours or nature walks at the national, regional and international levels. IMD 2015 was an occasion to highlight how mountain communities are protecting biodiversity by producing a large variety of local products and providing crucial goods and services to all of us.

At global level, the day was also an opportunity to make strong calls for action. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) co-organized international events with MP members at three venues. 

• In Paris, France, alongside the UN climate change conference, the MPS worked with a number of mountain institutions and organizations (such as the governments of Italy, Kyrgyz Republic, Lesotho, Morocco, Switzerland and Tajikistan as well as Colorado State University, IUCN, FAO, OIKOS and The Mountain Institute) to bring delegates’ attention to the severe impact climate change is having on mountains dwellers and areas to have mountains adequately included in the negotiations.

• In New Delhi, India, the MPS, the FAO Representation Office in India and the Pan Himalayan Grassroots Development Foundation organized a mountain products exhibition and workshop, in line with this year’s theme and for producers to give further visibility to their high quality products as a way to boost livelihoods.

• In Rome, Italy, FAO and the MPS presented the new publication “Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity” revealing an increase in hunger in mountains at an exhibition opening coordinated with the Permanent Representations to FAO of Bolivia, Italy and Switzerland and the Museo Nazionale della Montagna “Duca degli Abruzzi” and Ministry of Environment of Italy. 
  
  

IMD was also featured virtually – a big hit on the web and social media. Tweets using the hashtag #MountainsMatter reached 34 378 people. Facebook has grown as a platform for the visibility of IMD, in fact, during the period of December 2015, the Mountain Partnership Facebook page received an average of 18 likes, 6 shares, reaching 815 readers per post and on 11 December reached a record 3 783 people. The news media in several countries, including Ecuador, India, Italy, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Spain and Tajikistan, covered IMD – making this year a great success.

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Photo: Alma Karsymbek