International Mountain Day: December 11

Every year International Mountain Day is celebrated on December 11 by United Nations and several other international organisations. It is important to conserve mountains as they are home to 15% of world population. They also host more than half of world biodiversity hotspots. Also, conserving mountains is a key part of Goal 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This year, the International Mountain Day is being celebrated under the theme

Theme: Mountain Biodiversity

History

The first International Mountain Day was celebrated in 2003. The increasing attention gained by the mountains and their conservatory measures forced the United Nations to declare 2002 as the UN International Year of Mountains.

In 1992, the Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development was adopted by the United Nations was adopted. This was a part of the action plan Agenda 21 of the Conference on Environment and Development.

Sustainable Development Goals

The target four of the Sustainable Development Goal 15 is dedicated to the conservation of mountains biodiversity. Also, the decade 2021 to 2030 was declared as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This includes mountain ecosystem as well. The Governments have to prepare post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to be adopted at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. These measures help to conserve mountains.

Importance of Mountains

According to the United Nations, out of the 20 plant species that supply 80% of the world food, six are diversified in the mountains. They are potatoes, barley, tomatoes, barley, sorghum and apples. More than half of the humanity rely on mountain fresh water for every day life. More than 30% of the key biodiversity areas in the world are located in the mountains.

Need

Mountains are under high threat from climate change and overexploitation. Mountain glaciers are melting are faster rates. Therefore, it becomes essential to reduce the carbon foot print and conserve these mountains and their biodiversities.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2020