27 August 2019
Mountain Partnership Secretariat Presents Achievements, Plans
UN Photo/Mark Garten
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The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) published its 'Annual Report 2018,' highlighting its work in the areas of advocacy, communication and knowledge management, mainstreaming mountains, brokering joint action, and leading capacity development initiatives.

The Secretariat is working with members to conduct outreach beyond the traditional constituency, forge strategic alliances, and connect with friends of mountains who can convey key messages into new arenas.

15 August 2019: The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) published its ‘Annual Report 2018,’ highlighting its work in the areas of advocacy, communication and knowledge management, mainstreaming mountains, brokering joint action, and leading capacity development initiatives. The publication also presents plans for 2019 and beyond.

The report underscores achievements such as celebrating International Mountain Day with more than 100 events in over 35 countries and training participants of the International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas on topics such as bio-economy. Although it is not a comprehensive report of all members’ activities, the publication provides a sampling of the work of Mountain Partnership members in 2018, which ranged from introducing a national law for organic agriculture in Kyrgyzstan to safeguarding indigenous food systems in mountains and training young guides in the mountainous Swat region of Pakistan.

By the text, in 2018 the Mountain Partnership’s constituency grew to 353 members, with 60 governments, 16 intergovernmental organizations, and 277 major group organizations committed to achieving sustainable mountain development around the world. Together with member governments, the Secretariat worked on implementing the Framework for Action to mainstream mountains in the 2030 Agenda, with events at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York, US, and at the World Mountain Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The Secretariat also organized courses on sustainable mountain development and agro-biodiversity, and held a workshop on the Mountain Green Cover Index to strengthen members’ expertise.

The #MountainsMatter campaign triggered over 13,000 tweets.

Going forward, Yuka Makino, MPS Coordinator, explains that the MPS’ vision is to strengthen the engagement and ownership of the Partnership for all members. To this end, she mentions that the Secretariat is working with members to conduct outreach beyond the traditional constituency, forge strategic alliances, and connect with friends of mountains who can convey key messages into new arenas. Towards these goals, in 2018, the MPS also launched the #MountainsMatter campaign, a social media movement to rally support for mountains and mountain peoples, engage a greater and more diverse global audience, and speak to policy-makers. To date, the campaign triggered over 13,000 tweets using the hashtag #MountainsMatter.

The reports highlights that 2019 “will be a crucial year for highlighting climate change action,” adding that mountains need to be part of the discussion. As key opportunities for that, the publication identifies the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit to take place on 23 September 2019 in New York, as well as the report on sustainable mountain development that he will present at the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly. These opportunities, the report explains, will provide the Mountain Partnership’s members a chance to highlight what has been achieved and provide recommendations to UN Member States. [The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN News] [Publication: Mountain Partnership Secretariat 2018 Annual Report]

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