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Mountain Partnership
Sustainable Livelihoods
Members of the Sustainable Livelihoods initiative
Mountains are rich in resources, yet many mountain people live in poverty. Creating new income-generating activities and enhancing traditional or alternative employment opportunities will help conserve mountain environments and improve the livelihoods of mountain people.
The Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative will explore and identify alternative routes to community development, including: the opportunities offered by the natural resource base, strategies for poverty reduction and the promotion of well-being, the potential of fair trade markets, and the promotion of quality mountain products.
In 2004, leading members of the Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative, along with other key resource people, met at a workshop in Rome to identify priority issues and actions for the Initiative. The output of the workshop was further refined during the breakaway session dedicated to the Initiative at the Second Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership, or ‘Cusco Conference’ (Peru, 28-29 October).
Key recommendations and selected strategies for action include: developing a “lessons learning” framework on best practices in sustainable livelihoods, promoting alternative, creative income-generating activities and value-added niche products, promoting product diversification to ensure natural resource conservation, increasing markets for organic products, integrating products into local production systems, promoting responsible mountain tourism and ecotourism, and increasing the value and marketability of community-based products.
A core activity within the Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative of the Mountain Partnership is a project on mountain products.
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