Key issues for mountain areas [electronic resource] / edited by Martin F. Price, Libor F. Jansky, and Andrei A. Iastenia.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Price, Martin F.

Jansky, Libor.

Iatsenia, Andrei A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sustainable development.

Mountains.

Physical Description:

xiv, 273 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Tokyo ; New York : United Nations University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The world’s mountains are vital regions for all of humanity, providing a wide range of goods and services to their inhabitants, to those living nearby or downstream, and to the hundreds of millions who visit them or for whom they have spiritual significance. How to preserve fragile mountain ecosystems that provide critical goods and services while improving the lives of those who live in the mountains? This and other key issues of sustainable mountain development are examined in a series of papers prepared by globally-recognised experts.While mountain areas have long been on the periphery of national and global policy debates, their importance is underlined by the fact that they cover 24% of the Earth’s land surface and 26% of the global population lives on them or very close by. They are sources of water, food, timber, minerals and other natural resources; they provide many opportunities for recreation and tourism; and they are centres of biological and cultural diversity and religious significance. At the same time, mountain people and mountain environments are particularly threatened by global environmental change and global economic and political forces. Unfortunately, a disproportionate number of conflicts occur in mountain regions, and their inhabitants include many of the poorest and most vulnerable in the world.This book explores many of these issues, with particular emphases on appropriate institutions and policies for sustainable mountain development. It is thus a key reference for scholars, policymakers and others interested in the future of the world’s mountain areas.

Contents:

Intro

CONTENTS

List of tables and figures

Note on measurements

Preface

1 Introduction: Sustainable mountain development from Rio to Bishkek and beyond

2 The challenges of mountain environments: Water, natural resources, hazards, desertification, and the implications of climate change

3 Mountain infrastructure: Access, communications, and energy

4 Legal, economic, and compensation mechanisms in support of sustainable mountain development

5 Sustaining mountain economies: Poverty reduction and livelihood opportunities

6 Mountain tourism and the conservation of biological and cultural diversity

7 Democratic and decentralized institutions for sustainability in mountains

8 Conflict and peace in mountain societies

9 National policies and institutions for sustainable mountain development

10 Prospective international agreements for mountain regions

11 The role of culture, education, and science for sustainable mountain development

Appendix (A) The Bishkek Mountain Platform

Appendix (B) UN Resolution UN GA A/Res/57/245 from 20 December 2002

Appendix (C) The International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions

Acronyms

Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-280-91567-6

9786610915675

92-808-7067-X

1-4175-6420-2

OCLC:

70773793