20 October 2014: The Mountain Partnership Secretariat and Ev-K2-CNR will launch a Federation of Mountain Protected Areas (FMPA) to support mountain protected areas (PAs) globally. The FMPA will facilitate the exchange of experiences, information, knowledge and management practices on mountain PAs.

Mountain Partnership Secretariat Coordinator, Thomas Hofer, explained that the FMPA developed from “a need to share approaches, research, methodologies and results among different geographic and social realities…to ensure the sustainable management of mountain protected areas.”

The FMPA is expected, through use of an online tool, to facilitate an exchange of experiences and knowledge among a network of mountain PAs experts and managers in different environmental and socio-economic contexts and to serve as an advocacy platform to support mountain PAs’ institutional needs. It will also provide information on management publications; events concerning mountain PAs; and funding opportunities for mountain PAs’ activities.

The FMPA will be launched at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress, which is taking place in Sydney, Australia, in November 2014.

The Ev-K2-CNR Committee promotes scientific and technological research in mountain areas, with an emphasis on work in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, with the aim of supporting sustainable development, environmental conservation and improved quality of life for local populations. [Mountain Partnership Press Release] [Ev-K2-CNR Website]