Lucerne World Mountain Conference

Lucerne, 11 October 2011 – More than 100 participants representing governments, non-governmental organizations, academia, civil society, politics, business and the United Nations system will look to sharpen the profile of mountains on the international agenda during the Lucerne World Mountain Conference, a two-day meeting starting today in Lucerne (Switzerland).

Featuring open space discussions with international leading experts on the environment and sustainable development, the Conference will directly link mountains to green economy and institutional frameworks, namely the two key themes of the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio+20.

“This Conference is an excellent opportunity to help mountains stand tall on the Rio+20 agenda” said Dr Daniel Maselli from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. “It’s time to increase and secure political commitment for Sustainable Mountain Development”, he added.

The Lucerne Conference aims to produce insights on how to better integrate mountain ecosystem services, which largely correspond to the criteria of a low-carbon or green economy, into a new paradigm of sustainability.

“The diversity of life engendered in the mountains forms the basis of many of our cultivars, medicinal plants and material resources” remarked Dr Ashok Khosla, Chairman of Development Alternatives, who was awarded the Sasakawa environment prize (“the Nobel Prize of the environment world”) in 2002. Dr Khosla went on to add: “Their role in regulating our climate and water systems is fundamental to the sustenance of our life on this planet.”

One key challenge addressed at the Lucerne Conference will be the need to regenerate and conserve mountain ecosystems, equally vital for densely populated downstream areas, at the same time as ensuring poverty reduction.

“Mountain economy is largely green. However, mountains still have a high incidence of poverty”, admitted Dr Andreas Schild, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Just as new opportunities for investment are emerging in renewable energy, agriculture and ecosystem goods and services, “green economy has to recognize, value and compensate mountain ecosystem goods and services. This requires the promotion of market driven instruments, government policies and international regulations for carbon sequestration”.
The Lucerne Conference is being held within the framework of the Mountain Partnership, a United Nations alliance of diverse stakeholders including governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

“The increasing demand globally and regionally for mountain products and services” said Mr Olman Serrano, Coordinator of the Mountain Partnership “calls for new governance safeguards: access and benefit sharing, ownership of natural resources and the participation of mountain and rural communities in the decision making process.”

As tangible outcome of the discussions and multistakeholder partnerships taking place today and tomorrow in Lucerne, Conference participants will develop a Call for Action, to promote renewed political commitment for sustainable mountain development, in particular in view of the Rio+20 process.

“Healthy mountain ecosystems are the foundation of healthy people, both in the mountains above and in the plains below” affirmed Dr Khosla, concluding: “To save civilization, there is no greater urgency today than to regenerate and conserve our mountains.”