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A-21: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT
Distr.
GENERAL
A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. II)
13 August 1992
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)
Chapter 13
MANAGING FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION
13.1. Mountains are an important source of water, energy and biological
diversity. Furthermore, they are a source of such key resources as minerals,
forest products and agricultural products and of recreation. As a major
ecosystem representing the complex and interrelated ecology of our planet,
mountain environments are essential to the survival of the global ecosystem.
Mountain ecosystems are, however, rapidly changing. They are susceptible to
accelerated soil erosion, landslides and rapid loss of habitat and genetic
diversity. On the human side, there is widespread poverty among mountain
inhabitants and loss of indigenous knowledge. As a result, most global
mountain areas are experiencing environmental degradation. Hence, the proper
management of mountain resources and socio-economic development of the people
deserves immediate action.
13.2. About 10 per cent of the world's population depends on mountain
resources. A much larger percentage draws on other mountain resources,
including and especially water. Mountains are a storehouse of biological
diversity and endangered species.
13.3. Two programmed areas are included in this chapter to further elaborate
the problem of fragile ecosystems with regard to all mountains of the world.
These are:
(a) Generating and strengthening knowledge about the ecology and
sustainable development of mountain ecosystems;
(b) Promoting integrated watershed development and alternative
livelihood opportunities.
PROGRAMMED AREAS
A. Generating and strengthening knowledge about the ecology and
sustainable development of mountain ecosystems
Basis for action
13.4. Mountains are highly vulnerable to human and natural ecological
imbalance. Mountains are the areas most sensitive to all climatic changes in
the atmosphere. Specific information on ecology, natural resource potential
and socio-economic activities is essential. Mountain and hillside areas hold
a rich variety of ecological systems. Because of their vertical dimensions,
mountains create gradients of temperature, precipitation and isolation. A
given mountain slope may include several climatic systems - such as tropical,
subtropical, temperate and alpine - each of which represents a microcosm of
a larger habitat diversity. There is, however, a lack of knowledge of
mountain ecosystems. The creation of a global mountain database is therefore
vital for launching programs that contribute to the sustainable development
of mountain ecosystems.
Objectives
13.5. The objectives of this program area are:
(a) To undertake a survey of the different forms of soils, forest, water
use, crop, plant and animal resources of mountain ecosystems, taking into
account the work of existing international and regional organizations;
(b) To maintain and generate database and information systems to
facilitate the integrated management and environmental assessment of mountain
ecosystems, taking into account the work of existing international and
regional organizations;
(c) To improve and build the existing land/water ecological knowledge
base regarding technologies and agricultural and conservation practices in the
mountain regions of the world, with the participation of local communities;
(d) To create and strengthen the communications network and information
clearing-house for existing organizations concerned with mountain issues;
(e) To improve coordination of regional efforts to protect fragile
mountain ecosystems through the consideration of appropriate mechanisms,
including regional legal and other instruments;
(f) To generate information to establish databases and information
systems to facilitate an evaluation of environmental risks and natural
disasters in mountain ecosystems.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
13.6. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Strengthen existing institutions or establish new ones at local,
national and regional levels to generate a multidisciplinary land/water
ecological knowledge base on mountain ecosystems;
(b) Promote national policies that would provide incentives to local
people for the use and transfer of environment-friendly technologies and
farming and conservation practices;
(c) Build up the knowledge base and understanding by creating mechanisms
for cooperation and information exchange among national and regional
institutions working on fragile ecosystems;
(d) Encourage policies that would provide incentives to farmers and
local people to undertake conservation and regenerative measures;
(e) Diversify mountain economies, inter alia, by creating and/or
strengthening tourism, in accordance with integrated management of mountain
areas;
(f) Integrate all forest, rangeland and wildlife activities in such a
way that specific mountain ecosystems are maintained;
(g) Establish appropriate natural reserves in representative
species-rich sites and areas.
(b) Data and information
13.7. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Maintain and establish meteorological, hydrological and physical
monitoring analysis and capabilities that would encompass the climatic
diversity as well as water distribution of various mountain regions of the
world;
(b) Build an inventory of different forms of soils, forests, water use,
and crop, plant and animal genetic resources, giving priority to those under
threat of extinction. Genetic resources should be protected in situ by
maintaining and establishing protected areas and improving traditional farming
and animal husbandry activities and establishing programs for evaluating the
potential value of the resources;
(c) Identify hazardous areas that are most vulnerable to erosion,
floods, landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches and other natural hazards;
(d) Identify mountain areas threatened by air pollution from
neighboring industrial and urban areas.
(c) International and regional cooperation
13.8. National Governments and intergovernmental organizations should:
(a) Coordinate regional and international cooperation and facilitate an
exchange of information and experience among the specialized agencies, the
World Bank, IFAD and other international and regional organizations, national
Governments, research institutions and non-governmental organizations working
on mountain development;
(b) Encourage regional, national and international networking of
people's initiatives and the activities of international, regional and local
non-governmental organizations working on mountain development, such as the
United Nations University (UNU), the Woodland Mountain Institutes (WMI), the
International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the
International Mountain Society (IMS), the African Mountain Association and the
Andean Mountain Association, besides supporting those organizations in
exchange of information and experience;
(c) Protect Fragile Mountain Ecosystem through the consideration of
appropriate mechanisms including regional legal and other instruments.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
13.9. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost
(1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this program to be about
$50 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms.
These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that
are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies
and programs Governments decide upon for implementation.
(b) Scientific and technological means
13.10. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should strengthen scientific
research and technological development programs, including diffusion through
national and regional institutions, particularly in meteorology, hydrology,
forestry, soil sciences and plant sciences.
(c) Human resource development
13.11. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Launch training and extension programs in environmentally
appropriate technologies and practices that would be suitable to mountain
ecosystems;
(b) Support higher education through fellowships and research grants for
environmental studies in mountains and hill areas, particularly for candidates
from indigenous mountain populations;
(c) Undertake environmental education for farmers, in particular for
women, to help the rural population better understand the ecological issues
regarding the sustainable development of mountain ecosystems.
(d) Capacity-building
13.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should build up national and
regional institutional bases that could carry out research, training and
dissemination of information on the sustainable development of the economies
of fragile ecosystems.
B. Promoting integrated watershed development and alternative
livelihood opportunities
Basis for action
13.13. Nearly half of the world's population is affected in various ways by
mountain ecology and the degradation of watershed areas. About 10 per cent
of the Earth's population lives in mountain areas with higher slopes, while
about 40 per cent occupies the adjacent medium- and lower-watershed areas.
There are serious problems of ecological deterioration in these watershed
areas. For example, in the hillside areas of the Andean countries of South
America a large portion of the farming population is now faced with a rapid
deterioration of land resources. Similarly, the mountain and upland areas of
the Himalayas, South-East Asia and East and Central Africa, which make vital
contributions to agricultural production, are threatened by cultivation of
marginal lands due to expanding population. In many areas this is accompanied
by excessive livestock grazing, deforestation and loss of biomass cover.
13.14. Soil erosion can have a devastating impact on the vast numbers of
rural people who depend on rain fed agriculture in the mountain and hillside
areas. Poverty, unemployment, poor health and bad sanitation are widespread.
Promoting integrated watershed development programs through effective
participation of local people is a key to preventing further ecological
imbalance. An integrated approach is needed for conserving, upgrading and
using the natural resource base of land, water, plant, animal and human
resources. In addition, promoting alternative livelihood opportunities,
particularly through development of employment schemes that increase the
productive base, will have a significant role in improving the standard of
living among the large rural population living in mountain ecosystems.
Objectives
13.15. The objectives of this program area are:
(a) By the year 2000, to develop appropriate land-use planning and
management for both arable and non-arable land in mountain-fed watershed areas
to prevent soil erosion, increase biomass production and maintain the
ecological balance;
(b) To promote income-generating activities, such as sustainable
tourism, fisheries and environmentally sound mining, and to improve
infrastructure and social services, in particular to protect the livelihoods
of local communities and indigenous people;
(c) To develop technical and institutional arrangements for affected
countries to mitigate the effects of natural disasters through
hazard-prevention measures, risk zoning, early-warning systems, evacuation
plans and emergency supplies.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
13.16. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Undertake measures to prevent soil erosion and promote
erosion-control activities in all sectors;
(b) Establish task forces or watershed development committees,
complementing existing institutions, to coordinate integrated services to
support local initiatives in animal husbandry, forestry, horticulture and
rural development at all administrative levels;
(c) Enhance popular participation in the management of local resources
through appropriate legislation;
(d) Support non-governmental organizations and other private groups
assisting local organizations and communities in the preparation of projects
that would enhance participatory development of local people;
(e) Provide mechanisms to preserve threatened areas that could protect
wildlife, conserve biological diversity or serve as national parks;
(f) Develop national policies that would provide incentives to farmers
and local people to undertake conservation measures and to use
environment-friendly technologies;
(g) Undertake income-generating activities in cottage and
agro-processing industries, such as the cultivation and processing of
medicinal and aromatic plants;
(h) Undertake the above activities, taking into account the need for
full participation of women, including indigenous people and local
communities, in development.
(b) Data and information
13.17. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Maintain and establish systematic observation and evaluation
capacities at the national, state or provincial level to generate information
for daily operations and to assess the environmental and socio-economic
impacts of projects;
(b) Generate data on alternative livelihoods and diversified production
systems at the village level on annual and tree crops, livestock, poultry,
beekeeping, fisheries, village industries, markets, transport and
income-earning opportunities, taking fully into account the role of women and
integrating them into the planning and implementation process.
(c) International and regional cooperation
13.18. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Strengthen the role of appropriate international research and
training institutes such as the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) and the International Board for Soil
Research and Management (IBSRAM), as well as regional research centers, such
as the Woodland Mountain Institutes and the International Center for
Integrated Mountain Development, in undertaking applied research relevant to
watershed development;
(b) Promote regional cooperation and exchange of data and information
among countries sharing the same mountain ranges and river basins,
particularly those affected by mountain disasters and floods;
(c) Maintain and establish partnerships with non-governmental
organizations and other private groups working in watershed development.
Means of implementation
(a) Financial and cost evaluation
13.19. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost
(1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this program to be about
$13 billion, including about $1.9 billion from the international community on
grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude
estimates only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and
financial terms, including any that are non-concessional, will depend upon,
inter alia, the specific strategies and programs Governments decide upon for
implementation.
13.20. Financing for the promotion of alternative livelihoods in mountain
ecosystems should be viewed as part of a country's anti-poverty or alternative
livelihoods program, which is also discussed in chapter 3 (Combating
poverty) and chapter 14 (Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural
development) of Agenda 21.
(b) Scientific and technical means
13.21. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Consider undertaking pilot projects that combine environmental
protection and development functions with particular emphasis on some of the
traditional environmental management practices or systems that have a good
impact on the environment;
(b) Generate technologies for specific watershed and farm conditions
through a participatory approach involving local men and women, researchers
and extension agents who will carry out experiments and trials on farm
conditions;
(c) Promote technologies of vegetative conservation measures for erosion
prevention, in situ moisture management, improved cropping technology, fodder
production and agroforestry that are low-cost, simple and easily adopted by
local people.
(c) Human resource development
13.22. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Promote a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach in training
and the dissemination of knowledge to local people on a wide range of issues,
such as household production systems, conservation and utilization of arable
and non-arable land, treatment of drainage lines and recharging of
groundwater, livestock management, fisheries, agroforestry and horticulture;
(b) Develop human resources by providing access to education, health,
energy and infrastructure;
(c) Promote local awareness and preparedness for disaster prevention and
mitigation, combined with the latest available technology for early warning
and forecasting.
(d) Capacity-building
13.23. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the relevant
international and regional organizations, should develop and strengthen
national centers for watershed management to encourage a comprehensive
approach to the environmental, socio-economic, technological, legislative,
financial and administrative aspects and provide support to policy makers,
administrators, field staff and farmers for watershed development.
13.24. The private sector and local communities, in cooperation with national
Governments, should promote local infrastructure development, including
communication networks, mini- or micro-hydro development to support cottage
industries, and access to markets.