Mountain Partnership

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Mexico

More than 50% of Mexico is mountainous and around 12 million people live at high altitude, including 56 distinct ethnic communities. Mexico's highest and most famous mountain is Mt. Orizaba in the state of Veracruz. The mountains of Mexico contain one of the richest varieties of temperate forest in the world and are home to 10% of the world's biodiversity. Water resources are also extremely valuable; the mountain sources feed more than 1.2 million hectares of lakes.

Yet, the mountain regions of Mexico show signs of severe degradation of soils and ecosystems. Forests have been cut back and otherwise allowed to deteriorate and deforestation is now a major problem. Mountain communities suffer from the impact of conflicts fought out in mountain regions, as well as from poverty (sometimes extreme), loss of their own natural heritage and marginalization.

The International Year of Mountains (2002) gave fresh impetus to the implementation of a plan for the sustainable management of mountainous regions of Mexico which had been formulated in 1999 alongside a long-term strategic forestry programme, a National Crusade for water and forests, and a National Hydrological Programme (2001-2006).

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