Sustainable Societies

Mountains

The unique land formations of mountain regions result in complex, often isolated, ecosystems with unique environmental and cultural characteristics. These special regions are critical as fresh water sources for an increasing world population. Additionally, they are focal points of global biological diversity and indicators of global environmental and climatic change. Natural disasters and man-induced stress on mountain ecosystems have resulted in poor, even life-threatening, conditions for human communities. Economic development in most of the world's mountain regions remains unacceptably low as abject poverty, political disenfranchisement, isolation, cultural erosion, armed conflict, natural disasters and other threats afflict many living in these fragile ecosystems. These realities often impede efforts to improve opportunities for mountain dwellers through environmentally sound strategies.