Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions

A/RES/58/216No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 94gSustainable mountain development, published in 2004.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2005.

2005A/60/309Sustainable mountain development report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report transmitted by the Secretary-General on the International Year of Mountains, 2002;

Welcomes the significant results achieved during the Year, which substantially increased awareness of and strengthened interest in sustainable development and poverty eradication in mountain regions, as well as acting as a catalyst for long-term effective action to implement chapter 13 of Agenda 211 and paragraph 42 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation;2

Notes with appreciation that a growing network of Governments, organizations, major groups and individuals around the world know that mountains are globally important as the source of most of the Earth’s freshwater, as repositories of rich biological diversity, as popular destinations for recreation and tourism and as areas of important cultural diversity, knowledge and heritage;

Also notes with appreciation the effective role played by Governments, as well as major groups, academic institutions and international organizations and agencies, in the activities related to the Year, including the establishment of seventy-eight national committees or similar mechanisms;

Appreciates the work undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as the lead agency for the Year, as well as the valuable contributions made by the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations University, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund;

Underlines the fact that there remain key challenges to implementing sustainable development and eradicating poverty in mountain regions as well as challenges in the areas of national involvement, international cooperation, support for partnerships and mobilization of financial resources, and against this background:

Encourages the United Nations system to enhance efforts to strengthen inter-agency collaboration to achieve more effective implementation of chapter 13 of Agenda 21 and paragraph 42 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation;

Also encourages the continued establishment and development of mountain-related national committees, focal points and other multi-stakeholder mechanisms at the national level for sustainable development in mountain regions;

Supports national efforts, within the framework of national development plans, to develop goals and strategic plans for the sustainable development of mountains, as well as enabling policies and laws, programmes and projects;

Encourages transboundary approaches, where the States concerned agree, to the sustainable development of mountain ranges and information-sharing in this regard;

Also encourages Member States to collect and produce information and to establish databases devoted to mountains so as to capitalize on knowledge to support interdisciplinary research, programmes and projects and to improve decision-making and planning;

Supports the development and implementation of global, regional and national communication programmes to build on the awareness and momentum for change established by the Year;

Stresses the importance of capacity-building and educational programmes to enhance awareness of good practices in sustainable development in mountain regions and the nature of relationships between highland and lowland areas;

Calls for the improvement of mountain women’s access to resources and the strengthening of their role in their communities and cultures, and in this context takes note of the recommendations of the Thimpu Declaration adopted at the Celebrating Mountain Women conference, held at Thimpu from 1 to 4 October 2002;

Notes the entry into force of the nine Protocols to the Convention on the Protection of the Alps as a contribution to regional cooperation for sustainable development in that mountain region;

Notes also the adoption and signing of the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians by the countries of the region;

Notes further that a consultative process has been conducted with all Mountain Partnership stakeholders, in particular donor countries, with a view to determining the best options for further assisting all stakeholders in the implementation of the Partnership;

Takes note of the conclusions of the first global meeting of the members of the Mountain Partnership, held in Merano, Italy, on 5 and 6 October 2003, at the invitation of the Government of Italy;

Notes that the next global meeting of the members of the Mountain Partnership will be organized during the second half of 2004, and welcomes in this context the offer of the Government of Peru to host the meeting;

Also notes in this context that the Mountain Partnership is a cooperation mechanism that is dynamic, transparent, flexible and participatory in nature and that it is open to all Governments, including local and regional authorities, as well as to intergovernmental, non-governmental and other organizations whose objectives and activities are consistent with the vision and mission of the Partnership;

Further notes that Mountain Partnership members committed themselves to implement the Partnership in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 2003/61 of 25 July 2003, and calls upon them to comply with the criteria and guidelines agreed in the decision taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its eleventh session;

Invites the international community and other relevant partners to consider joining the Mountain Partnership;

Encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to continue their constructive collaboration in the context of the follow-up to the Year, taking into account the inter-agency group on mountains and the need for the further involvement of the United Nations system, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations University, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, international financial institutions and other relevant international organizations, taking into account the recommendations formulated in the Bishkek Mountain Platform;3

Encourages Governments, the United Nations system, the international financial institutions, the Global Environment Facility and other relevant United Nations funding mechanisms, such as the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, as well as all relevant stakeholders from civil society organizations and the private sector, to provide support, including through voluntary financial contributions, to local, national and international programmes and projects for sustainable development in mountain regions;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session on the status of sustainable development in mountain regions, including an overall analysis of the challenges that lie ahead and appropriate policy recommendations, under a sub-item entitled “Sustainable development in mountain regions” of the item entitled “Environment and sustainable development”.

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Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions

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