18 May 2015
Tibetan Leader Appointed Mountain Partnership Ambassador
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His Holiness (HH) the Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang has been appointed as Mountain Partnership Ambassador in order to “inspire goodwill toward improving the quality of life and sustaining healthy environments in the world's mountain regions.” Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General for Forestry of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), announced the appointment on 6 May 2015 at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, US.

Mountain Partnership15 May 2015: His Holiness (HH) the Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang has been appointed as Mountain Partnership Ambassador in order to “inspire goodwill toward improving the quality of life and sustaining healthy environments in the world’s mountain regions.” Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General for Forestry of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), announced the appointment on 6 May 2015, at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, US.

Based in Ladakh, India, the Tibetan Buddhist leader is known for his commitment to education, historical research, cultural preservation and pragmatic approach to sustainable development projects. In accepting the appointment, His Holiness pledged to be not only a goodwill ambassador of the mountain region in which he lives, but also to give voice to the common issues and challenges faced by mountain communities all over the world.

On the occasion of the appointment, The Mountain Institute (TMI) and the Stimson Center organized an event, titled ‘Greening the World’s Highest Mountain Valleys,’ to explore global mountain issues. The event featured innovative sustainable development projects His Holiness leads in the remote Hindu Kush Himalayan communities of India (Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh), Bhutan and Nepal, including an initiative that promotes sustainable forest and agricultural practices in remote mountain areas. Also discussed were the impacts of current environmental challenges in mountainous regions, and the role of climate change, which is driving glacial retreat, precipitation shifts and increased natural hazards that degrade habitat, threaten species and waste water resources. Participants emphasized that these problems have moved beyond remote mountain villages to the people downstream who rely on the mountains’ rivers for their livelihoods.

The Mountain Partnership is a UN voluntary alliance of 56 governments, 13 inter-governmental organizations and 178 major groups from civil society, NGOs and the private sector, whose members undertake initiatives at all levels to improve the lives of mountain peoples and protect mountain environments. TMI, which was founded in 1972, is dedicated to protecting the world’s mountains by conserving mountain ecosystems, preserving traditional cultures and working with mountain communities; and has programs in the Andes, Himalayas and Appalachians. The Stimson Center is a US-based think tank that focuses on “pragmatic solutions for global security.” [Mountain Partnership Press Release] [Drikung Kagyu Official Website News Story]

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