Membership rises

Update on the Cusco Conference

Governance of the Mountain Partnership

Workshops on Partnership Initiatives

Future workshops on Partnership Initiatives

International Mountain Day

Talking about mountains

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Romania sets an example

Romania's Mountain Law is now in the final stages of being passed, having successfully been approved by the Romanian Government and Parliament. This means that Romania is now moving ahead in its drive to develop and implement a broad-ranging mountain policy and sustainable mountain development programme that will address the urgent issues of land degradation, depopulation and the decline in mountain agriculture. The Romanian Mountain Forum (RMF), the lead institution in propelling this objective forward, hopes that the Romanian experience and the methodologies adopted can be shared with other countries keen to introduce a mountain policy. Read more on mountain policy and law issues.

UNEP's new office focuses on the Carpathians

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has opened a new office in Vienna that will focus on protecting the Carpathian mountain range while promoting environmental cooperation in Central and southeastern Europe. The Carpathian region — which spans the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Ukraine — is a vast tract of forested mountainous land that is exceptionally rich in biodiversity and home to many endangered animal and plant species. It also serves as an important link between Europe's northern forests and those to the south and west. The region is under threat from rising unemployment and poverty, which have worsened since the transition from Communism began over a decade ago, as well as unsustainable development patterns, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, deforestation, excessive hunting and habitat fragmentation.

Among its tasks, the new UNEP office will serve as the interim Secretariat of the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians, or the 'Carpathian Convention', which was adopted and signed by neighbouring countries of the Carpathians in May 2003. As an inter-regional agreement, the Carpathian Convention aims to encourage environmental conservation throughout the area while bringing benefits to the local population through sustainable development. For further information, visit www.unep.org.

Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains off Unesco's danger list

A conservation victory has been scored with the news that the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda has been removed from UNESCO's World Heritage List in Danger. Also known as the "Mountains of the Moon", the Rwenzori Mountains National Park was added to the prestigious UNESCO list of World Heritage Properties in 1994 because of its scenic qualities and its importance as habitat for an exceptional variety of species. The region's glaciers, waterfalls and lakes make it one of Africa's most beautiful alpine areas and the most reliable source of water for the River Nile. Furthermore, the Park's rich wildlife comprises over a quarter of Uganda's known bird species, globally threatened species of elephants and chimpanzees, and unusual flora such as the giant heather plant. However, in 1999 the site was listed as a World Heritage in Danger due to civil unrest, lack of funding, and subsequent poaching and encroachment. Since then, the security situation on the ground has improved. The park management has regained full control of the property and tourism is flourishing again. For more information contact: Pedro Rosabal or Carolin Karnath or visit: www.iucn.org.

Machu Picchu now declared an endangered zone

While Uganda's Rwenzori National Park is declared out of imminent danger by UNESCO, the UN organization has recently recommended that the ruined 'lost city of the Incas' at Machu Picchu in Peru's southern Andes, should be placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in Danger. Every day around 1,000 people arrive to visit the historic landmark, yet there is little or no city planning or provision for this vast influx of numbers arriving in the nearest town, Aguas Calientes. It is feared that heavy traffic will inevitably cause damage to the ancient stone structures unless steps are taken to protect the area. Further information on the UNESCO World Heritage List in Danger.

Alpine Peaks fracturing

A series of summer storms have caused around a thousand cubic metres of rock to loosen and break off from some of the highest peaks of the Dolomites in the north-eastern Italian Alps. And it looks likely that another thousand cubic metres in the same area will fracture in the near future. Fortunately, the area is isolated and there is no danger to the population. This phenomenon is considered by experts to be relatively normal, but can also be partly attributed to the extremes in weather that have been experienced in recent years.

Record-breaking season of K2 ascents continues

Italian climbers have now reached the summit of the notoriously treacherous K2, the world's second highest peak at 8 611 m. This is the most significant of the expeditions taking place this year to celebrate the 50 years since the first conquest of K2. The Italian group reached the summit on 26 July and were joined shortly afterwards by four Spaniards. K2 represents a far more challenging climb than Mount Everest; to date it has claimed the lives of 53 climbers and this is the first time since 2001 that the ascent has been made successfully. More remarkably, the climb was achieved without the use of oxygen masks. These climbs are the first of a wave of climbers heading for the mountain's peak, making this a record-breaking season for K2 ascents. For the latest information and to view the K2 2004 expedition photographic galleries, visit: www.montagna.org.

Issue 3
August 2004

The Mountain Partnership Newsletter

The Mountain Partnership newsletter, 'Peak to Peak', is an opportunity to keep you up-to-date with the latest news, activities and events related to the Mountain Partnership. This newsletter is prepared by the Interim Secretariat for the Mountain Partnership and will be sent by e-mail to all members and other interested partners on a monthly basis.

'Peak to Peak' has already attracted a positive response and the Interim Secretariat has received contributions and suggestions from Partnership members across the world. Please continue to write to us. We are particularly interested to hear what is happening in your country or organization and look forward to receiving your input at: info@mountainpartnership.org.

Membership rises

Two organizations have recently joined the Mountain Partnership which brings the membership to 40 countries, 14 intergovernmental organizations and 48 major groups. PlaNet Finance brings together a network of non-governmental and non- profit organizations to help develop sustainable microfinance initiatives worldwide, while CAMBIAR (Centro Ambiental Argentino/Argentine Environmental Centre) focuses on environmental politics, education and management.

Update on the Cusco Conference

At the end of July, the organizing committee selected the Palacio Municipal (Town Hall) in the historic centre of Cusco as the venue for the Second Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership, or the 'Cusco Conference'. Members of the organizing committee are currently preparing key information on the Conference which will shortly be available on a dedicated event Web site developed by the Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN). Members of the committee are also developing communication materials and resources (in English, French and Spanish) and plans are underway to create a themed exhibit for the courtyard of the Palacio Municipal. More details on all these communication elements will be sent to Partnership members this month.

Governance of the Mountain Partnership

The structure, governance and membership criteria of the Mountain Partnership have now been defined in the 'Governance Paper'. This document, now finalized, was developed through a consultative process with the founding members of the Mountain Partnership and recently approved at a meeting of the Task Force on 9 July in FAO Headquarters, Rome. The Governance Paper is to be made available in English, French and Spanish at the Cusco Conference, where it will be formally adopted by members.

Workshops on Partnership Initiatives

As reported in the previous issue of 'Peak to Peak', the Interim Secretariat for the Mountain Partnership brought together leading members and key resource members of some Partnership Initiatives for a series of meetings and workshops in July at FAO Headquarters, Rome. The outputs of these workshops will be the basis for the drafting of workplans for each Initiative. Once these workplans are discussed by all members of a given Initiative, they will become an integral part of the Cusco Plan of Action and serve as the basis for further collaborative activities.

The Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative was the topic of the workshop on 1-2 July, which attracted representatives from government agencies, NGOs and the private sector. Quality mountain products were identified as viable sources of income for mountain communities, and a number of strategies for the successful promotion of mountain products were discussed. Direct payment for hydrological services was proposed by some members as a way to increase the income of mountain people, while at the same time maintaining water quality and the mountain environment. Attention was also focussed on organic production and fair trade. A concrete project proposal was made by Dean Cycon, of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company (a member of the Mountain Partnership) to assist Kenyan small coffee growers take advantage of organic certification not only to differentiate their products, but also to create a meaningful organic price premium within the market while at the same time improving the natural environment. At the end of the two-day workshop, participants had identified priority areas of action and specific issues related to sustainable livelihoods in mountain areas, developed a set of suggested strategies for improving mountain livelihoods and had began an inventory of existing programmes on sustainable livelihoods in mountain areas.

The workshop on the Gender Initiative (7-8 July), provided an opportunity for leading members of this Initiative to get together to define concrete priority areas, activities and mechanisms for collaboration. The workshop achieved many results including the identification of members' views on the specificities of gender issues in mountain development, the pooling of information on current gender-related activities at different levels (and for different purposes) in mountain areas, and the drafting of an organizational structure and workplan for the Initiative which included proposals for joint activities. One notable core activity is a survey among members on the current activities, expertise and challenges in gender mainstreaming. This collected knowledge is set to form the basis of a proposed database of gender which will help to identify where experience can be tapped and gaps need to be addressed. This Gender Initiative database, in preliminary development by the Interim Secretariat and the Mountain Forum, will also be the foundation for more content-oriented activities of the Gender Initiative in future.

Future workshops on Partnership Initiatives

A workshop on the Education Initiative is to be held on 24 September at FAO Headquarters to develop a draft workplan, to explore potential synergies among partners and with other Initiatives, and to strengthen existing communication and information channels. One of the key areas for discussion will be the proposal by the Kyrgyz Republic for an Education Network for Mountains.

A one-day workshop on the Mountain Partnership's Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Mountains (SARD-M) Initiative will be held on 6 October at FAO Headquarters. It will aim to assist members of the Mountain Partnership and the SARD-M Project to identify common priority areas and produce draft workplans and strategies for promoting concrete action for change.

International Mountain Day

International Mountain Day is being celebrated on 11 December this year with the theme ‘Peace: key to sustainable mountain development’. Without peace, people cannot take steps to reduce their poverty, to secure food supplies and improve their livelihood opportunities. Conflicts in mountains have increased in the last 50 years, with serious violent conflicts now almost twice as likely to occur at high altitude. With mountains covering one-quarter of the earth's land surface and home to 12 percent of the world's population, mountain people are affected by conflict which is out of all proportion to their numbers and the land they occupy.

The UN General Assembly declared 11 December as International Mountain Day as a result of the successful observance of the UN International Year of Mountains in 2002, which increased global awareness of the importance of mountains, stimulated the establishment of national committees in 78 countries, and strengthened alliances through promoting the creation of the Mountain Partnership. FAO, the designated lead coordinating agency for the International Year of Mountains, is the Organization mandated to lead observance of International Mountain Day. FAO is currently developing information and communication materials to help partners celebrate International Mountain Day 2004 at the national level. A new dedicated Web site will be prepared and serve as the main channel for the distribution of materials, tools and resources. More details on these preparations will be made available to members of the Mountain Partnership, and the mountain community as a whole, in the coming weeks. In the meantime, find out how partners celebrated International Mountain Day in 2003.

Talking about mountains

Mountain tourism. The Andean highland grasslands. The gender aspect of mountain policies and laws. These are just some of the topics that have been covered in the series of thematic and regional email discussion lists managed and moderated by the Mountain Forum.

To keep users up-to-date on the latest postings, the Forum has recently re-launched the Mountain Forum Summary List. This fortnightly list features read-only summaries of mountain-related topics included in all the discussion lists throughout the regions - Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. Click for a sample posting and for details on how to subscribe to the Mountain Forum discussion lists.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

This section features a short list of some important forthcoming events and meetings organized by members of the Mountain Partnership, or related to it. For more detailed information on future mountain-related events, we would encourage you to view the Mountain Calendar managed by the Mountain Forum.

Interdisciplinary Research and Management in Mountain Areas (IRMMA) Banff, Canada, 22 - 27 September 2004

Wildlife-related problems in mountain areas are rooted in a series of factors that range from biophysical conditions to human practices. The International Conference, 'Interdisciplinary Research and Management in Mountain Areas (IRMMA)', taking place in Banff from 22 to 27 September, will bring together distinguished scholars and researchers of different disciplines, ranging from history to anthropology, ecological sciences, biology and climatology, to discuss the need for an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to address the threats posed to mountain ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Case studies and field experiences will also be presented. For further information, visit the Web site or contact: mountainculture@banffcentre.ca.

Banff Mountain Film Festival, October 30 - November 7, 2004

Climbing, mountain expeditions, remote cultures, and the world's last great wild places will all be brought to the screen at the forthcoming Banff Mountain Film Festival (October 30 to November 7, 2004). This is the 29^th year of the internationally acclaimed festival which attracts the world's leading mountain films, videos and speakers. Immediately after the close of the event, some 40 of the festival films will be screened across North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia and Australia. For further information, visit the Web site.