Why we should celebrate mountains-our food baskets and water towers

Dec 15, 2014

December 11 was International Mountains Day (IMD). The IMD was designated by the United Nations General Assembly and since 2003, it has been observed every year on December 11.

trueBy Salome Alweny

December 11 was International Mountains Day (IMD). The IMD was designated by the United Nations General Assembly and since 2003, it has been observed every year on December 11.

IMD is celebrated with the - aim of creating awareness about the importance of mountains to livelihoods and the economies in general, highlighting the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and building alliances that bring positive change to mountain people and environments around the world.

This year’s theme - Mountain Farming - links to the International Year of Family Farming 2014 proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations, as well as to the FAO/Mountain Partnership publication ‘Mountain Farming is Family Farming’.

Mountains cover about 22% of the earth’s land area and an estimated three million km² of Africa’s surface area. They are a home to 14% of the world’s population and provide 70% of the world’s freshwater for renewable energy, domestic use, agricultural and industrial use.

They host about 25% of terrestrial biodiversity and half of the world’s biodiversity hence are hotspots for tourism and recreation currently attracting about 15-20% of global tourism. The Bakonjo and Baamba living in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains have over 100 sacred sites that can bring in lots of eco/cultural tourism potential.

African Mountains harbour a variety of ecosystems including forests, grasslands, dry lands, rivers and wetlands hence are a source of goods (drinking water, food, medicine and raw materials for making crafts and construction) for communities living in and around mountain areas.

Communities in the Elgon and Mount Rwenzori areas for example get bamboo and water from the mountains. In addition to the goods, they also provide important services including formation of rain, moderating local climate and absorbing Greenhouse Gasses like carbon dioxide.

Mountain soils (often of volcanic origin) and their location close to the equator, for majority of them, coupled with the high rainfall explains the high level of soil fertility on many mountain slopes. By ensuring higher and better quality yields, mountains are important breadbaskets contributing to regional and lowland food security.

With their dispersed patches of land at different altitudes, different climates and often highly fragmented landscapes, mountain farming is usually managed by family farms however family farming in mountain regions is undergoing rapid transformation and is under threat due to population growth, economic globalization, urbanization and migration of men and youth to urban areas.

Mountain farmers are also grappling with poverty, poor or no access to basic infrastructure such as health services, schools, roads, transport, markets and communication. They live far away from the centres of economic, political power and decision-making, and are often marginalized in political, social and economic terms. Adding to that, mountains are also extremely vulnerable to climate change, deforestation, land degradation and natural disasters.

Amidst all the setbacks for family farming, the key question is how to identify new and sustainable opportunities that can bring benefits to both highland and lowland communities and help to eradicate poverty without contributing to the degradation of fragile mountain ecosystems.

One possible way of helping mountain communities is having them diversify their incomes by engaging in activities such as tourism, high value mountain products and handcrafts.

From a political point of view, creating an enabling policy environment that includes tailored investments could improve farmers’ access to resources and increase their capacity to generate incomes and this is one of the core activities for the Albertine Rift Conservations Society (ARCOS).

With financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and in collaboration with a number of partners, ARCOS is leading the Sustainable Mountain Development for Global Change (SMD4GC) programme, whose main goal is to contribute to Sustainable Mountain Development under uncertain changes in climatic, environmental and socio-economic conditions, focussing on poverty and risk reduction.

The writer is African Mountains programme manager, Abertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS)

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