Mountain ecosystems, with their rich biodiversity, provide critical goods and services that are essential for sustaining the local, regional, and global environment and economy. Economic growth and sustainability in the lowlands rely in large part, directly or indirectly, on environmental resources and services from mountains. However, mountain communities do not receive the full benefits from the goods and services they provide to society at large. This side event to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) will provide examples from different mountain regions of the world to showcase successful ways to facilitate green economy in the mountains, create more sustainable livelihoods, and reduce poverty.  

date: 19 June 2012   venue: Mountain Pavilion   location: Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro), Brazil   additional: 11:00-13:00   contact: Madhav Karki   e-mail: mkarki@icimod.org   www: www.icimod.org/rio20