Mountain Partnership

The Mountain Partnership is a voluntary alliance of partners dedicated to improving the lives of mountain people and protecting mountain environments around the world. Launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, the Mountain Partnership taps the wealth and diversity of resources, information, knowledge, and expertise of its members to support positive change in mountain areas. Presently, 50 countries, 16 intergovernmental organizations and 112 major groups (e.g. civil society, NGOs and the private sector) are members.

The Mountain Partnership is a mechanism for networking, communication and information-sharing and functions as a clearing house for members. It complements, supports and strengthens on-going initiatives in sustainable mountain development. The Mountain Partnership also functions as a broker for joint initiatives; facilitating contact between countries and institutions in view of joint activities and creating conditions for cooperation and resource mobilization at the national, regional and global level. The dynamic core of the Mountain Partnership is action and initiatives on the ground. These initiatives are guided by the recommendations of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (2002). They cover specific themes - like policy and law, sustainable livelihoods, watershed management, research, gender, education, sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountains (SARD-M) - and different geographic areas such as the Andes, Central America and the Caribbean, Central Asia, East Africa, Europe and the Hindu Kush Himalaya.