16 July 2018: On Monday, 16 July 2018, on the sidelines of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a side event advocated for pro-mountain policies and actions to increase the visibility of mountain issues in international and national processes implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Government of Andorra, with the Mountain Partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the Governments of Argentina, Chile, Italy and Switzerland organized the event.

Silvia Calvó Armengol, Minister for the Environment, Agriculture and Sustainability, Andorra, noted her country’s efforts to implement the SDGs, particularly SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 15 (life on land). She highlighted a 75% renewable energy target by 2050, and energy efficiency efforts in the construction and building sectors.

Speakers lamented the lack of discussion on mountains in international processes, stressing that the SDGs cannot be achieved without increased attention to sustainable mountain development.

Sustainable mountain development will help avoid jeopardizing food security and economic development of mountain peoples and downstream communities.

They called for, inter alia:

• integrating sustainable mountain development into the 2030 Agenda to avoid jeopardizing food security and economic development of mountain peoples and downstream communities;
• considering innovative ways to embed mountains in regional policies;
• emphasizing the need for regional and international support in securing accurate data, especially across borders;
• increasing dialogue between mountain communities and governments; and
• ensuring targeted support for mountain communities to enable effective interventions.

Speakers also: outlined a national policy in Chile on sustainable mountain development implemented through collaboration with the private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs); highlighted UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grant Programme (SGP) projects on sustainable mountains; and described challenges related to such projects, including lack of access to investment and technologies for sustainable energy, farming and water management, weak environmental enforcement by national institutions and lack of recognition of traditional knowledge. [IISD RS Coverage of Side Event on Sustainable Mountain Development] [Mountain Partnership Website]