Mountain Biodiversity and global change

Mountains offer vertical environmental gradients for life otherwise only seen over several thousands of kilometers of latitudinal distance. A gravity shaped extremely diverse topography provides opportunities for additional diversification of life, leading to unbeaten biodiversity. Mountains are cradles and refuges of organismic diversity and given their coverage of such a wide spectrum of environmental conditions they are key to conservation in a changing world. Over thousands of years people have modified parts of these natural mountain landscapes and created a multitude of cultural landscapes, especially in mountain regions. Mountain people have adapted and have taken advantage of the different climatic and thus ecological belts. Striving for a secured and better livelihood, mountain populations have contributed to the creation of thousands of plant varieties and animal breeds as a result of genetic selection efforts. Similarly, various land use management practices such as irrigated agriculture using sophisticated water transport systems, agro-silvopastoralism and seasonal transhumance further enhancing the multitude of small-scale habitats with a highly diversified and locally adapted flora and fauna.

Ongoing socio-economic changes cause a dramatic reduction in traditional landcare and overexploitation of easily accessible terrain. In many regions of the world traditional mountain landscapes disappear, and with these the associated wild and domesticated species and breeds. From a  development perspective, where poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods are core concerns, efforts thus need to be undertaken to preserve biological diversity as an important asset of mountain populations. These are often characterised by a multitude of distinct societies and cultures that belong to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable rural communities to be found on our globe. In this sense the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the United Nations requires the support of development cooperation. Maintaining biodiversity by empowering mountain communities to act as custodians of cultural and natural landscapes as mankind’s heritage, serves both the needs of the CBD as well as of development cooperation.  Such an aim recognizes the value of the efforts of hundreds of generations who have shaped a fascinating environment under harsh natural conditions, also bearing attraction for tourists. This objective also provides mountain inhabitants with the option of remaining where their roots are and thus not surrendering to urban migration. Their continued presence and activity is vital given the importance of the ecosystem services provided by mountains, such as the provision of fresh water that depends upon appropriate natural resource management in the highlands.

The present brochure has been prepared as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity IYB 2010 and the Conference of Parties of the CBD (COP10) in Japan in October 2010. It aims to highlight the role and importance of mountain biodiversity for the whole of humanity. With its attractive photographs, the publication also intends to sensitize its readers to the beauty of diversity. The ultimate goal and hope, however, is that it may contribute to trigger the necessary changes both in attitude and behaviour that will be required to secure mountain biodiversity and its genetic resources for future generations.