Representatives from Argentina, Italy, Kyrgyzstan and Peru called for including mountains in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during an event on the margins of the seventh session of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs. Also at the event, which took place on 8 January 2014, in New York, US, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat introduced two policy briefs highlighting sustainable mountain development as a priority.
The first brief, titled “Why Mountains Matter for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction”, calls for increased global awareness and for the recognition of mountains as «early warning indicators.» A second brief, titled “Mountains and the Sustainable Development Goals: Call for Action”, advocates for the inclusion of mountains in the SDGs, citing that mountains require specific strategies and policies to achieve development.
The side event, titled “Building resilience to climate change in mountain areas”, was organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Ambassadors from members of the Mountain Partnership called for: means to increase the resilience of mountain regions to climate change; consideration of mountains in the post-2015 development agenda; and greater international cooperation on this topic.
Thomas Hofer, MPS Coordinator and Chair of the meeting, noted that the side event was part of the Mountain Partnership’s efforts to advocate sustainable mountain development.
More information:Web Sustainable Development Policy & Practice – Daily News Links of interest:
Publication: Why Mountains Matter for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction
Publication: Mountains and the Sustainable Development Goals: Call for Action