Side event at the 3rd intersessional meeting: The water-energy-food nexus: why mountains matter

The side event on "The water-energy-food nexus: why mountains matter" took place on 26 March 2012 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, back to back with the 3rd Intersessional meeting.

Key for renewable energy, safe and reliable water, food security - but also sustainable tourism and green jobs, as already highlighted in the "Call for Action" launched at the Lucerne World Mountain Conference, mountains are crucial for "the future we want".

As Chair of the meeting, Ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya, Nepalese Permanent Representative to the UN, emphasized the need to take up the issue of mountains in a holistic manner from the perspectives of the people living there. High-level representatives from Switzerland, Italy, Peru and Kyrgyzstan intervened on the various benefits of what Executive Coordinator for Rio+20 Brice Lalonde defined as "the mountain package".

ICIMOD's Director General Dr David Molden underscored the need for transboundary cooperation and international partnership for mountains as a global resource. In his closing remarks, Olman Serrano, Coordinator of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, presented communication materials aiming to support the process of having mountains included in the Rio+20 outcome.

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