Happy International Mountain Day!

Facts & Figures

• Mountains cover around 22 percent of the earth's land surface.
• Mountains provide 60-80 percent of the world's freshwater - without which sustainable development that aims to eliminate poverty and hunger would not be possible.
• Mountains host 25 percent of terrestrial biodiversity and 28 percent of earth’s forests.
• 6 of the 20 most important food crops originate in mountains (potatoes, maize, barley, sorghum, apples, tomatoes).
• Mountains attract 15-20 percent of global tourism.

Mountains are vital for our lives
Almost one billion people live in mountain areas, and over half the human population depends on mountains for water, food and clean energy. Yet mountains are under threat from climate change, land degradation, over exploitation and natural disasters, with potentially far-reaching and devastating consequences, both for mountain communities and the rest of the world.

2018 theme: “#MountainsMatter”
#MountainsMatter for

• Water as mountains are the world’s ‘water towers’, providing between 60 and 80 percent of all freshwater resources for our planet.
• Disaster Risk Reduction as climatic variations are triggering disasters.
• Tourism as mountain destinations attract around 15-20 percent of global tourism and are areas of important cultural diversity, knowledge and heritage.
• Food as they are important centres of agricultural biodiversity and are home to many of the foods that come to our table, such as rice, potatoes, quinoa, tomatoes and barley.
• Youth as despite the beautiful landscapes, life in the mountains can be tough, particularly for rural youth.
• Indigenous Peoples as many mountain areas host ancient indigenous communities that possess and maintain precious knowledge, traditions and languages.
• Biodiversity as half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots are concentrated in mountains and mountains support approximately one-quarter of terrestrial biological diversity

International Mountain Day 2018 will be an occasion to create a large social movement that can bring mountain issues on the tables of politicians.