UNU Update: International Year of Mountains

	UNU Update
	The newsletter of United Nations University and its network of research and training centres and programmes
		Issue 13: December 2001

UNU schedules three events for start
of International Year of Mountains

United Nations University will mark the start of the International Year of Mountains (IYM 2002) with three events at UNU Center, Tokyo. The aim of IYM is to ensure the well-being of mountain and lowland communities by promoting the conservation and sustainable development of mountain regions.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the lead agency for IYM, is working closely with UNU and other organizations to ensure that the broadest possible range of expertise is focused on reaching the goals of sustainable mountain development.

UNU activities will begin January 31 with a public forum entitled Mountains: Environment and Human Activities featuring lectures by Prof. Jack D. Ives, Ms. Junko Tabei, Prof. Yugo Ono. They are among a growing legion of environmental experts who recognize mountain ecosystems as among the world's most vulnerable bio-geographical areas, susceptible to land degradation, with variable climates and heterogeneous habitats often with the unique fauna and flora.

Many global and regional strategies identify mountains as a priority ecosystem within the overall theme of biodiversity. Mountain ecosystems are very distinct from lowlands, being particularly fragile and highly susceptible to erosive land degradation with rapid loss of indigenous culture, traditions, knowledge and livelihoods.

The public forum will be followed on February 1 by the UNU International Symposium on Conservation of Mountain Ecosystems. This symposium aims to contribute to improved understanding of the status of
different mountain systems in relation to global change, the pressures these mountains are exposed to, including their consequences on human, natural, economic resources, and the responses created by different social groups and mountain societies.

Running in conjunction with these events at UNU Centre from January to March is the UNU mountain photography exhibit: Mountain Prospects -- Images for the International Year of Mountains 2002.

For more information on these events or other aspects of UNU activities during IYM, contact Libor Jansky or Kumi Furuyashiki.

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