Mountain GIS: Promoting geographic information and earth observation application for the sustainable development of the Hindu Kush - Himalayan region

Mountains are dynamic in nature compare to the plains and thus they posses some distinct temporal and spatial characteristics in a unique socio-cultural setting. There is also an ever increasing need for spatial and temporal data in planning and management activities for which GIS is being recognised more and more as a common platform for integrating social, economic and environmental data and information from different sources. To address these issues, the Mountain GIS e-Conference was divided in three sub-themes on: i) Capacity Building and Networking, ii) Mountain Databases, Tools and Methods and, iii) Thematic Applications and Decision Support Systems. Altogether, 752 individuals registered their participation in this e-conference from 71 different countries. 163 participants from 34 countries posted at least once during this e-conference that had been slated from 14th to 25th January 2008 but later extended till 28th January. A total of 39 papers/presentations were submitted along with 43 showcases for this e-conference.