Sustainable Mountain Development

A/RES/71/234No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 19jSustainable mountain development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

9 versions · 2006–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/144

2025A/RES/80/144Sustainable mountain developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/172Sustainable mountain developmentCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/227Sustainable mountain developmentCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/234Sustainable mountain developmentCompare with previous version
2014A/RES/68/217Sustainable mountain developmentCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Mountain Areas Mountain Ecosystems Sustainable Development

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2019.

2019A/74/209Sustainable 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?

21 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on sustainable mountain development;8

Encourages States to adopt a long-term vision and holistic approaches, including through incorporating mountain-specific policies into national sustainable development strategies, increase efforts to end poverty in all its forms and dimensions and address food insecurity and malnutrition, social exclusion, environmental degradation and disaster risk in mountain areas, taking into account that an integrated landscape approach which addresses natural resources management, including watershed and sustainable forest management as well as climate change resilience through multi-stakeholder approaches, can lead to the sustainable development of highland areas, the improvement of the livelihood of the local mountain communities and the sustainable use of mountain resources;

Stresses the special vulnerability of people living in mountain environments, often with limited access to health, education and economic systems and particularly at risk because of the negative impact of extreme natural phenomena, and invites States to strengthen cooperative action, with the effective involvement and sharing of knowledge and experience of all relevant stakeholders, including traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples living in mountain areas and knowledge of local mountain communities, by strengthening existing arrangements, agreements and centres of excellence for sustainable mountain development, as well as exploring new arrangements and agreements, as appropriate;

Also stresses the importance of innovative solutions for the diversification of livelihoods and income enhancement opportunities for local mountain communities, and in this regard encourages the promotion of innovative solutions and entrepreneurship within local mountain communities, as appropriate, to end poverty and hunger;

Further stresses that the traditions and knowledge of indigenous peoples living in mountain areas and the knowledge of local mountain communities, particularly in the fields of agriculture and medicine, should be fully considered, respected and promoted in development policy, strategies and programmes in mountain regions, and underlines the need to promote the full participation and involvement of local mountain communities in decisions that affect them and to integrate indigenous and local knowledge, heritage and values in all development initiatives, in consultation with and with the consent of the concerned indigenous peoples and local mountain communities, as appropriate;

Notes that women are often the primary managers of mountain resources and the main actors in agriculture, underlines the need for improved access to resources, including land and economic and financial services, for women in mountain regions, as well as the need to strengthen the role of women in mountain regions in decision-making processes that affect their communities, cultures and environments, and encourages Governments and intergovernmental organizations to integrate the gender dimension, including data disaggregated by sex, in mountain development activities, programmes and projects;

Recognizes that mountains provide sensitive indications of climate change through phenomena such as modifications to biological diversity, the retreat of mountain glaciers, flash floods and changes in seasonal runoff, which are having an impact on major sources of freshwater in the world, and stresses the need to undertake actions to minimize the negative effects of these phenomena, promote adaptation measures and prevent the loss of biological diversity;

Encourages Member States to collect at the local, national and regional levels, as appropriate, disaggregated scientific data on mountain areas through systematic monitoring, including of trends of progress and change, based on relevant criteria, to support interdisciplinary research programmes and projects and to enhance an integrated and inclusive approach to decision-making and planning, and in this regard takes note of the consideration of the Mountain Green Cover Index in the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets;

Encourages Member States and all relevant stakeholders to continue to increase public awareness with respect to the economic benefits that mountains provide, not only to highland communities but also to a large portion of the world’s population living in lowland areas;

Welcomes, in this regard, the contribution of sustainable tourism initiatives in mountain regions as a way to enhance environmental protection and generate socioeconomic benefits for local communities, including opportunities for productive employment, economic growth and the promotion of local culture and products;

Expresses its deep concern at the number and scale of natural and man-made disasters and their increasing impact in recent years, which have resulted in massive loss of life and long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences for societies throughout the world, and recognizes that disaster risk reduction requires a broader and more people-centred preventive approach and an all-of-society engagement and partnership, empowerment and inclusive, accessible and non-discriminatory participation, paying special attention to people disproportionately affected by disasters, especially the poorest, and also taking into account the vulnerability of people living in mountain environments, especially those in developing countries;

Encourages States to strengthen disaster risk governance, to invest in disaster risk reduction for resilience and to develop and improve disaster risk strategies in mountain regions, including a forward-looking perspective, in order to cope with such extreme events as rockfalls, avalanches, glacial lake outburst floods and landslides, which can be exacerbated by climate change and deforestation, consistent with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;9

Encourages, in this regard, the increased involvement of local authorities, as well as other relevant stakeholders, in particular the rural population, indigenous peoples, civil society and the private sector, in the development and implementation of programmes, land-use planning and land tenure arrangements, and in other relevant activities related to sustainable development in mountains;

Notes the importance of ensuring the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for human well-being, economic activity and sustainable development, and of developing innovative means of implementation for their protection, recognizes in this regard the launching of the Mountain Facility of the Mountain Partnership, and encourages States and other relevant stakeholders to financially support it on a voluntary basis;

Encourages greater efforts by States, all stakeholders and the international community towards the conservation of mountain ecosystems and the enhancement of the well-being of their local populations, including by promoting investment in infrastructure in mountain areas, such as transport and information and communication technologies, and supporting education, extension and capacity-building programmes, especially among local mountain communities and other relevant stakeholders, taking into account the extent of the current challenges they face and bearing in mind the increased economic, social and environmental costs that inaction might represent for countries and societies;

Underlines the fact that action at the national level is a key factor in achieving progress in sustainable mountain development, welcomes its steady increase in recent years with a multitude of events, activities and initiatives, and invites the international community to support the efforts of developing countries to develop and implement strategies and programmes, including, where required, enabling policies and laws for the sustainable development of mountains, within the framework of national sustainable development plans, including by building and strengthening institutional capacities, as appropriate;

Encourages the further undertaking of multi-stakeholder and transboundary initiatives at the national, regional and global levels, where appropriate, such as those supported by all relevant international and regional organizations, to enhance sustainable development in mountain regions, and notes in this regard the numerous initiatives undertaken, including the second World Mountain Forum, held in Cusco, Peru, in May 2014, the third World Mountain Forum, held in Mbale, Uganda, in October 2016, the Mountain Partnership Event on nutrition and mountain products held in Turin, Italy, in September 2016, and the United Nations Environment Programme-led project entitled “Climate change action in developing countries with fragile mountainous ecosystems from a subregional perspective”;

Encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to further enhance their constructive efforts to strengthen inter-agency collaboration to promote sustainable mountain development;

Recognizes that mountain ranges are usually shared among several countries, and in this context encourages transboundary cooperation approaches where the States concerned agree to the sustainable development of mountain ranges and information-sharing in this regard;

Notes with appreciation, in this context, the Convention on the Protection of the Alps10 and the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians, which promote constructive new approaches to integrated, sustainable mountain development and provide a forum for dialogue among stakeholders, as well as other transboundary approaches and initiatives such as the Mountain Partnership Andean Initiative, the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region, the African Mountains Regional Forum, the European Union Strategy for the Alpine Region and the Zurich process and the Hindu Kush Himalayan Partnership for Sustainable Mountain Development;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution under the sub-item entitled “Sustainable mountain development” of the item entitled “Sustainable development”, unless otherwise agreed.

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What does this mandate say?

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