The International Conference on Mountain Biodiversity, held from 16-18 November 2008 in Khumalatar, Lalitpur, in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, was hosted by the regional centre International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in cooperation with IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, WWF-Nepal, Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment and UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme.

The Conference discussed ways to fill the lack of systematic data regarding change in the Himalayan region, in order to develop a reliable picture of the present situation, and formulate approaches to respond. Participants also tackled the problems of biodiversity conservation by looking at how climate change is affecting mountain biodiversity, how biodiversity can best be managed for economic goods and ecosystem services from the mountains, and how to achieve long-term continuity in mountain research programmes from the many different organizations involved. The Conference was accompanied by two pre-conference workshops on Mountain Transboundary Protected Areas (10-14 November 2008), and Linking Geodata with Biodiversity Information (15-16 November 2008), and a post-conference workshop on a Research Strategy on Global Change in Mountain Biosphere Reserves (19 November 2008).
Links to further information
ICIMOD press release, 16 November 2008
ICIMOD press release, 17 November 2008
ICIMOD press release, 19 November 2008
ICIMOD press release, 20 November 2008
Message by the CBD Executive Secretary