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GENERAL
A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. II)
13 August 1992
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)
Chapter 13
MANAGING FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN
DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION
13.1. Mountains are an important source of water, energy and
biological diversity. Furthermore, they are a source of such key
resources as minerals, forest products and agricultural products and of
recreation. As a major ecosystem representing the complex and
interrelated ecology of our planet, mountain environments are essential
to the survival of the global ecosystem. Mountain ecosystems are,
however, rapidly changing. They are susceptible to accelerated soil
erosion, landslides and rapid loss of habitat and genetic diversity.
On the human side, there is widespread poverty among mountain
inhabitants and loss of indigenous knowledge. As a result, most global
mountain areas are experiencing environmental degradation. Hence, the
proper management of mountain resources and socio-economic development
of the people deserves immediate action.
13.2. About 10 per cent of the world's population depends on mountain
resources. A much larger percentage draws on other mountain resources,
including and especially water. Mountains are a storehouse of
biological diversity and endangered species.
13.3. Two programme areas are included in this chapter to further
elaborate the problem of fragile ecosystems with regard to all
mountains of the world. These are:
(a) Generating and strengthening knowledge about the ecology and
sustainable development of mountain ecosystems;
(b) Promoting integrated watershed development and alternative
livelihood opportunities.
PROGRAMME AREAS
A. Generating and strengthening knowledge about the ecology and
sustainable development of mountain ecosystems
Basis for action
13.4. Mountains are highly vulnerable to human and natural ecological
imbalance. Mountains are the areas most sensitive to all climatic
changes in the atmosphere. Specific information on ecology, natural
resource potential and socio-economic activities is essential.
Mountain and hillside areas hold a rich variety of ecological systems.
Because of their vertical dimensions, mountains create gradients of
temperature, precipitation and insolation. A given mountain slope may
include several climatic systems - such as tropical, subtropical,
temperate and alpine - each of which represents a microcosm of a larger
habitat diversity. There is, however, a lack of knowledge of mountain
ecosystems. The creation of a global mountain database is therefore
vital for launching programmes that contribute to the sustainable
development of mountain ecosystems.
Objectives
13.5. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To undertake a survey of the different forms of soils,
forest, water use, crop, plant and animal resources of mountain
ecosystems, taking into account the work of existing international and
regional organizations;
(b) To maintain and generate database and information systems to
facilitate the integrated management and environmental assessment of
mountain ecosystems, taking into account the work of existing
international and regional organizations;
(c) To improve and build the existing land/water ecological
knowledge base regarding technologies and agricultural and conservation
practices in the mountain regions of the world, with the participation
of local communities;
(d) To create and strengthen the communications network and
information clearing-house for existing organizations concerned with
mountain issues;
(e) To improve coordination of regional efforts to protect
fragile mountain ecosystems through the consideration of appropriate
mechanisms, including regional legal and other instruments;
(f) To generate information to establish databases and
information systems to facilitate an evaluation of environmental risks
and natural disasters in mountain ecosystems.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
13.6. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Strengthen existing institutions or establish new ones at
local, national and regional levels to generate a multidisciplinary
land/water ecological knowledge base on mountain ecosystems;
(b) Promote national policies that would provide incentives to
local people for the use and transfer of environment-friendly
technologies and farming and conservation practices;
(c) Build up the knowledge base and understanding by creating
mechanisms for cooperation and information exchange among national and
regional institutions working on fragile ecosystems;
(d) Encourage policies that would provide incentives to farmers
and local people to undertake conservation and regenerative measures;
(e) Diversify mountain economies, inter alia, by creating and/or
strengthening tourism, in accordance with integrated management of
mountain areas;
(f) Integrate all forest, rangeland and wildlife activities in
such a way that specific mountain ecosystems are maintained;
(g) Establish appropriate natural reserves in representative
species-rich sites and areas.
(b) Data and information
13.7. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Maintain and establish meteorological, hydrological and
physical monitoring analysis and capabilities that would encompass the
climatic diversity as well as water distribution of various mountain
regions of the world;
(b) Build an inventory of different forms of soils, forests,
water use, and crop, plant and animal genetic resources, giving
priority to those under threat of extinction. Genetic resources should
be protected in situ by maintaining and establishing protected areas
and improving traditional farming and animal husbandry activities and
establishing programmes for evaluating the potential value of the
resources;
(c) Identify hazardous areas that are most vulnerable to erosion,
floods, landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches and other natural
hazards;
(d) Identify mountain areas threatened by air pollution from
neighbouring industrial and urban areas.
(c) International and regional cooperation
13.8. National Governments and intergovernmental organizations should:
(a) Coordinate regional and international cooperation and
facilitate an exchange of information and experience among the
specialized agencies, the World Bank, IFAD and other international and
regional organizations, national Governments, research institutions and
non-governmental organizations working on mountain development;
(b) Encourage regional, national and international networking of
people's initiatives and the activities of international, regional and
local non-governmental organizations working on mountain development,
such as the United Nations University (UNU), the Woodland Mountain
Institutes (WMI), the International Center for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD), the International Mountain Society (IMS), the
African Mountain Association and the Andean Mountain Association,
besides supporting those organizations in exchange of information and
experience;
(c) Protect Fragile Mountain Ecosystem through the consideration
of appropriate mechanisms including regional legal and other
instruments.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
13.9. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this
programme to be about $50 million from the international community on
grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and
order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by
Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are
non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies
and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
(b) Scientific and technological means
13.10. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should strengthen
scientific research and technological development programmes, including
diffusion through national and regional institutions, particularly in
meteorology, hydrology, forestry, soil sciences and plant sciences.
(c) Human resource development
13.11. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Launch training and extension programmes in environmentally
appropriate technologies and practices that would be suitable to
mountain ecosystems;
(b) Support higher education through fellowships and research
grants for environmental studies in mountains and hill areas,
particularly for candidates from indigenous mountain populations;
(c) Undertake environmental education for farmers, in particular
for women, to help the rural population better understand the
ecological issues regarding the sustainable development of mountain
ecosystems.
(d) Capacity-building
13.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should build up
national and regional institutional bases that could carry out
research, training and dissemination of information on the sustainable
development of the economies of fragile ecosystems.
B. Promoting integrated watershed development and alternative
livelihood opportunities
Basis for action
13.13. Nearly half of the world's population is affected in various
ways by mountain ecology and the degradation of watershed areas. About
10 per cent of the Earth's population lives in mountain areas with
higher slopes, while about 40 per cent occupies the adjacent medium-
and lower-watershed areas. There are serious problems of ecological
deterioration in these watershed areas. For example, in the hillside
areas of the Andean countries of South America a large portion of the
farming population is now faced with a rapid deterioration of land
resources. Similarly, the mountain and upland areas of the Himalayas,
South-East Asia and East and Central Africa, which make vital
contributions to agricultural production, are threatened by cultivation
of marginal lands due to expanding population. In many areas this is
accompanied by excessive livestock grazing, deforestation and loss of
biomass cover.
13.14. Soil erosion can have a devastating impact on the vast numbers
of rural people who depend on rainfed agriculture in the mountain and
hillside areas. Poverty, unemployment, poor health and bad sanitation
are widespread. Promoting integrated watershed development programmes
through effective participation of local people is a key to preventing
further ecological imbalance. An integrated approach is needed for
conserving, upgrading and using the natural resource base of land,
water, plant, animal and human resources. In addition, promoting
alternative livelihood opportunities, particularly through development
of employment schemes that increase the productive base, will have a
significant role in improving the standard of living among the large
rural population living in mountain ecosystems.
Objectives
13.15. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) By the year 2000, to develop appropriate land-use planning
and management for both arable and non-arable land in mountain-fed
watershed areas to prevent soil erosion, increase biomass production
and maintain the ecological balance;
(b) To promote income-generating activities, such as sustainable
tourism, fisheries and environmentally sound mining, and to improve
infrastructure and social services, in particular to protect the
livelihoods of local communities and indigenous people;
(c) To develop technical and institutional arrangements for
affected countries to mitigate the effects of natural disasters through
hazard-prevention measures, risk zoning, early-warning systems,
evacuation plans and emergency supplies.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
13.16. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Undertake measures to prevent soil erosion and promote
erosion-control activities in all sectors;
(b) Establish task forces or watershed development committees,
complementing existing institutions, to coordinate integrated services
to support local initiatives in animal husbandry, forestry,
horticulture and rural development at all administrative levels;
(c) Enhance popular participation in the management of local
resources through appropriate legislation;
(d) Support non-governmental organizations and other private
groups assisting local organizations and communities in the preparation
of projects that would enhance participatory development of local
people;
(e) Provide mechanisms to preserve threatened areas that could
protect wildlife, conserve biological diversity or serve as national
parks;
(f) Develop national policies that would provide incentives to
farmers and local people to undertake conservation measures and to use
environment-friendly technologies;
(g) Undertake income-generating activities in cottage and
agro-processing industries, such as the cultivation and processing of
medicinal and aromatic plants;
(h) Undertake the above activities, taking into account the need
for full participation of women, including indigenous people and local
communities, in development.
(b) Data and information
13.17. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Maintain and establish systematic observation and evaluation
capacities at the national, state or provincial level to generate
information for daily operations and to assess the environmental and
socio-economic impacts of projects;
(b) Generate data on alternative livelihoods and diversified
production systems at the village level on annual and tree crops,
livestock, poultry, beekeeping, fisheries, village industries, markets,
transport and income-earning opportunities, taking fully into account
the role of women and integrating them into the planning and
implementation process.
(c) International and regional cooperation
13.18. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Strengthen the role of appropriate international research and
training institutes such as the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) and the International Board for
Soil Research and Management (IBSRAM), as well as regional research
centres, such as the Woodland Mountain Institutes and the International
Center for Integrated Mountain Development, in undertaking applied
research relevant to watershed development;
(b) Promote regional cooperation and exchange of data and
information among countries sharing the same mountain ranges and river
basins, particularly those affected by mountain disasters and floods;
(c) Maintain and establish partnerships with non-governmental
organizations and other private groups working in watershed
development.
Means of implementation
(a) Financial and cost evaluation
13.19. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this
programme to be about $13 billion, including about $1.9 billion from
the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are
indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including
any that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the
specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for
implementation.
13.20. Financing for the promotion of alternative livelihoods in
mountain ecosystems should be viewed as part of a country's
anti-poverty or alternative livelihoods programme, which is also
discussed in chapter 3 (Combating poverty) and chapter 14 (Promoting
sustainable agriculture and rural development) of Agenda 21.
(b) Scientific and technical means
13.21. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Consider undertaking pilot projects that combine
environmental protection and development functions with particular
emphasis on some of the traditional environmental management practices
or systems that have a good impact on the environment;
(b) Generate technologies for specific watershed and farm
conditions through a participatory approach involving local men and
women, researchers and extension agents who will carry out experiments
and trials on farm conditions;
(c) Promote technologies of vegetative conservation measures for
erosion prevention, in situ moisture management, improved cropping
technology, fodder production and agroforestry that are low-cost,
simple and easily adopted by local people.
(c) Human resource development
13.22. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Promote a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach in
training and the dissemination of knowledge to local people on a wide
range of issues, such as household production systems, conservation and
utilization of arable and non-arable land, treatment of drainage lines
and recharging of groundwater, livestock management, fisheries,
agroforestry and horticulture;
(b) Develop human resources by providing access to education,
health, energy and infrastructure;
(c) Promote local awareness and preparedness for disaster
prevention and mitigation, combined with the latest available
technology for early warning and forecasting.
(d) Capacity-building
13.23. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should develop and
strengthen national centres for watershed management to encourage a
comprehensive approach to the environmental, socio-economic,
technological, legislative,
financial and administrative aspects and provide support to policy
makers, administrators, field staff and farmers for watershed
development.
13.24. The private sector and local communities, in cooperation with
national Governments, should promote local infrastructure development,
including communication networks, mini- or micro-hydro development to
support cottage industries, and access to markets.
END OF CHAPTER 13