Chapter 1 - Preamble

Section 1 - Social & Economic Dimensions

Section 2 - Conservation and Management of Resources
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22

Section 3 - Strengthening the Role of Major Groups

Section 4 - Means of Implementation

Complete text of Agenda 21: Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Sustainable Mountain Development Mountains are important sources of water, energy, minerals, forest and agricultural products and areas of recreation. They are storehouses of biological diversity, home to endangered species and an essential part of the global ecosystem.

The fate of mountain ecosystems affects half the world’s people. About 10 per cent of the Earth’s population lives in mountain areas, while about 40 per cent occupies watershed areas below. From the Andes to the Himalayas, and from Southeast Asia to East and Central Africa, there is serious ecological deterioration in these watersheds. Causes include deforestation, excessive livestock grazing and cultivation of marginal soils.

Mountain ecosystems are susceptible to soil erosion, landslides and the rapid loss of habitat and genetic diversity. Among mountain dwellers, there is widespread unemployment, poverty, poor health and bad sanitation. Most mountain areas are experiencing environmental degradation.

The proper management of mountain resources, and the socio-economic development of the people needs immediate action. There is a need to develop land-use planning and management for mountain-fed watersheds by the year 2000. It should aim at preventing soil erosion, increasing the amount of tree and plant life, and maintaining the ecological balance in mountains.

There is also a need to provide services, such as education, health care and energy for local communities and indigenous people. The people also need more opportunities to earn livelihoods from such activities as sustainable tourism, fisheries, environmentally sound mining and cottage industries, such as the processing of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Governments should:

• Promote erosion control measures that are low-cost, simple and easily used.
• Offer people incentives to conserve resources and use environment-friendly technologies, help them to understand what kind of development is environmentally sustainable in mountains and involve them in resource management.
• Produce information on alternative livelihoods involving, for example, crops, livestock, poultry, beekeeping, fisheries, village industries, markets and transport.
• Create protected areas to save wild genetic material.
• Identify hazardous areas that are most vulnerable to erosion, floods, landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches and other natural hazards and develop early-warning systems and disaster-response teams.
• Identify mountain areas threatened by air pollution from neighbouring industrial and urban areas.
• Create centres of information on mountain ecosystems, including expertise on sustainable agriculture and conservation practices where people can turn for help in learning about sustainable mountain development.

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