For International Mountain Day (IMD), 67 events were organized worldwide in which mountaineers, mountain lovers, governments and institutions gathered on 11 December 2015 to celebrate mountain environments and inhabitants. Celebrations took place in more than 30 countries, including Algeria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, France, Iran, Italy, Macedonia, Mali, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States, Venezuela and many others. Festivities took the form of conferences, seminars, exhibitions, hikes, climbs, workshops, dinners and readings.
As the lead coordinating UN agency for the preparation of this annual celebration, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – decentralized offices and headquarters – partnered with governments and civil society organizations to hold awareness-raising events showing the importance of mountains to sustainable development. IMD also brought about governmental action and heightened cooperation at national and regional level.
This year’s theme, “Promoting mountain products for better livelihoods”, was the focus of many Mountain Partnership members’ seminars and conferences. Globalization offers opportunities for mountain producers to market their high quality mountain products, such as coffee, cocoa, honey, herbs, spices and handicrafts as well as tourism-related services such as skiing, climbing, cultural heritage tours or nature walks at the national, regional and international levels.
IMD 2015 was an occasion to highlight how mountain communities are protecting biodiversity by producing a large variety of local products and providing crucial goods and services to all of us. At global level, the day was also an opportunity to make strong calls for action.
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