Mountains: Our Life, Our Future. Progress and perspectives on sustainable mountain development: From Rio 1992 to Rio 2012 and beyond

The present report draws on a wide range of recent sources and in particular attempts to compile in a simple and concise manner the information presented in regional and global reports and policy briefs prepared by multiple partners for the Lucerne World Mountain Conference in 2011 and the United Nations Rio+20 conference in 2012.

One of the biggest global supporters of sustainable mountain development of the past 20 years, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has commissioned a series of reports assessing progress and perspectives in selected mountain regions, including key regions in Central Asia, the Hindu Kush Himalayas, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, the European Alps, South America and Meso-America. In addition, the Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) commissioned a report on the European Alps, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) commissioned reports on mountain areas in Africa as well as in central, eastern and southeastern Europe. Thanks to an independent effort by committed partners in sustainable mountain development, a report on North American mountain areas was also prepared recently.

Finally, the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) has compiled a global report examining institutional framework conditions at various levels and the scope for a “green economy” in the context of sustainable mountain development.