WMF Bulletin 2016

Author: 

ARCOS | CONDESAN | COSUDE | FDDM | Mountain Partnership | UCA | University of Bern | University of Zurich

Year: 
2016
Publisher: 
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Place: 
New York, USA.

The 2016 World Mountain Forum (WMF) took place from 17-20 October 2016 in Mbale, Uganda. The Forum was preceded by the Special Africa Mountains Event that highlighted key issues affecting mountain ecosystems and communities in Africa, including poverty, climate change, food insecurity and land degradation. Gathering over 250 participants under the theme “Mountains for our Future,” the Forum provided a platform to discuss sustainable mountain development (SMD) in the context of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Forum convened sessions on four key themes: mountains and climate change; mountain communities and livelihoods; mountain ecosystem services; and sustainable mountain agriculture. Following the Forum, participants took part in local field trips.

This meeting of the WMF was jointly organized by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) and the Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda, with financial and technical support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety through the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UNDP, the Embassy of France, and as well as diverse partners involved in the SDC-funded Sustainable Mountain Development for Global Change (SMD4GC) programme, including Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN) from Latin America, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) from Asia, the University of Central Asia, the University of Bern and Foundation for the Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions (FDDM). Other supporters include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Africa Mountains Partnership Champions Committee, the Mountain Partnership (MP) Secretariat and East African Community (EAC).

The WMF aims to bring together SMD stakeholders from around the world to foster political dialogue and promote collaborative action to protect mountain ecosystems and communities.Throughout the Forum, participants showcased and discussed local, regional and global experiences in SMD, and explored how to effectively implement the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. The WMF 2016 resulted in a Mbale Call for Scaling Up Action, themed “Don’t leave the mountains behind,” which is expected to galvanize work on the ground and guide mountain- related interventions in ongoing international policy processes, including the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the SDGs, some targets of which explicitly mention mountains.

Work regions: 
Publication Type: 
Publication language: 
English
Files: 
PreviewAttachmentSize
WMF Bulletin1.24 MB