
“Mountains cover around 27% of the Earth’s land surface and host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.”
Happy International Mountain Day! Just caught wind of this celebration of the world’s mountains and plants and animals that call them home…instant fan of the occasion. Great opportunity to reflect on your love and personal relationship with world’s high country and how best to protect these lands for future generations. Cheers!
“Restoring mountain ecosystems is the theme of this year’s International Mountain Day on 11 December.
This theme was selected to fully include mountains in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the UN Environment Programme. The Decade is an opportunity to draw together political support, scientific research and financial resources to significantly scale-up restoration and prevent further degradation of mountain ecosystems.
Mountains cover around 27 percent of the Earth’s land surface and host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. As the water towers of the world, they supply freshwater to an estimated half of humanity. Mountains are home to an extraordinary range of plants and animals, and to many culturally diverse communities with different languages and traditions. From climate regulation and water provisioning services, to soil maintenance and conservation, mountains are key to our lives and livelihoods.”
“The United Nations General Assembly designated 11 December “International Mountain Day”. As of 2003, it has been observed every year to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the coordinating agency for the preparation and animation of this celebration and is mandated to lead observance of it at the global level. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat in the FAO Forestry Division is responsible for coordinating this international process.”
Here’s a video from The Freeride World Tour celebrating the day: