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Key Issues for Mountain Areas

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Key Issues for Mountain Areas United Nations University Press is the publishing arm of the United Na- tions University. UNU Press publishes scholarly and policy-oriented books and periodicals on the issues facing the United Nations and its people and member states, with particular emphasis upon international, regional, and transboundary policies. The United Nations University is an organ of the United Nations es- tablished by the General Assembly in 1972 to be an international com- munity of scholars engaged in research, advanced training, and the dis- semination of knowledge related to the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare. Its activities focus mainly on the areas of peace and governance, environment and sustainable devel- opment, and science and technology in relation to human welfare. The University operates through a worldwide network of research and post- graduate training centres, with its planning and coordinating headquar- ters in Tokyo. Key issues for mountain areas Key issues for mountain areas Edited by Martin F. Price, Libor F. Jansky, and Andrei A. Iatsenia United Nations a University Press TOKYO u NEW YORK u PARIS 6 United Nations University, 2004 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations University. United Nations University Press United Nations University, 53–70, Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8925, Japan Tel: þ81-3-3499-2811 Fax: þ81-3-3406-7345 E-mail: [email protected] general enquiries: [email protected] http://www.unu.edu United Nations University Office at the United Nations, New York 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-2062, New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: þ1-212-963-6387 Fax: þ1-212-371-9454 E-mail: [email protected] United Nations University Press is the publishing division of the United Nations University. Cover design by Mea Rhee Printed in the United States of America UNUP-1102 ISBN 92-808-1102-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Key issues for mountain areas / edited by Martin F. Price, Libor F. Jansky, and Andrei A. Iatsenia. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 92-808-1102-9 (pbk.) 1. Sustainable development. 2. Mountains. I. Price, Martin F. II. Jansky, Libor. III. Iatsenia, Andrei A. IV. Title. HC79.E5K434 2004 338.9027 009143—dc22 2004015893 Contents Listoftablesandfigures.............................................. vii Noteonmeasurements................................................ ix Preface................................................................. xi 1 Introduction: Sustainable mountain development from Rio to Bishkekandbeyond.............................................. 1 Martin F. Price 2 The challenges of mountain environments: Water, natural resources, hazards, desertification, and the implications of climatechange.................................................... 18 Mylvakanam Iyngararasan, Li Tianchi, Surendra Shrestha, P.K. Mool, Masatoshi Yoshino, and Teiji Watanabe 3 Mountain infrastructure: Access, communications, and energy............................................................. 38 Thomas Kohler, Hans Hurni, Urs Wiesmann, and Andreas Kla¨y 4 Legal, economic, and compensation mechanisms in support of sustainable mountain development . ........................ 63 Maritta R.v. Bieberstein Koch-Weser and Walter Kahlenborn v vi CONTENTS 5 Sustaining mountain economies: Poverty reduction and livelihood opportunities . ...................................... 86 Safdar Parvez and Stephen F. Rasmussen 6 Mountain tourism and the conservation of biological and culturaldiversity.................................................. 111 Wendy Brewer Lama and Nikhat Sattar 7 Democratic and decentralized institutions for sustainability in mountains . ....................................................... 149 D. Jane Pratt 8 Conflict and peace in mountain societies ........................ 169 S. Frederick Starr 9 National policies and institutions for sustainable mountain development ...................................................... 181 Annie Villeneuve, Thomas Hofer, Douglas McGuire, Maho Sato, and Ali Mekouar 10 Prospective international agreements for mountain regions . 200 Wolfgang E. Burhenne 11 The role of culture, education, and science for sustainable mountain development . ...................................... 210 Bruno Messerli and Edwin Bernbaum Appendix(A)TheBishkekMountainPlatform..................... 235 Appendix (B) UN Resolution UN GA A/Res/57/245 from 20December2002..................................................... 245 Appendix (C) The International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions . ................................ 251 Acronyms.............................................................. 257 Contributors........................................................... 260 Index................................................................... 263 List of tables and figures Table 1.1 Global meetings associated with the International YearofMountains(IYM) ............................. 10 Table2.1 Climatechangeimpactsbyregion..................... 22 Table4.1 Summaryofthevariouscases.......................... 76 Table 5.1 Comparison of selected economic and social indicators................................................ 95 Table5.2 GDPgrowth-ratecomparisons......................... 96 Table5.3 HumanDevelopmentIndexcomparisons............. 97 Table 5.4 Economic data for mountain states in India . 99 Table5.5 IncomecomparisonsforNorthernPakistan........... 100 Table 5.6 Poverty comparisons for Northern Pakistan . 100 Table 6.1 Planning and managing sustainable mountain tourism.................................................. 132 Figure 2.1 Estimated man-made (a) CO2 and (b) SO2 emissions................................................ 20 Figure 2.2 Total number of people reported killed by various naturaldisasters,bycontinent......................... 28 Figure 2.3 Total amount of estimated damage caused by variousnaturaldisasters,bycontinent ................ 28 Figure 5.1 Sensitivity of Poverty Head Count Index to changes inincomesforNorthernPakistan...................... 101 vii viii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 5.2 Sustainable-livelihoods framework . ................. 107 Figure 6.1 Roles and relationships of stakeholders in sustainable mountain tourism . ........................ 125 Figure 11.1 Understanding the complexity of mountain sustainabledevelopment.............................. 228 Figure 11.2 For a better dialogue between science and policy . 230 Note on measurements In this volume: 1 billion ¼ one thousand million $1 ¼ 1 US dollar ix Preface The degradation of mountain ecosystems – home to 600 million people and the source of water for more than half the world’s population – threatens to seriously worsen already existing global environmental prob- lems, including floods, landslides, and famine. Climate change, pollution, armed conflict, population growth, deforestation, and exploitative agri- cultural, mining, and tourism practices, are among a growing list of prob- lems confronting the ‘‘water towers of the world,’’ prompting warnings that catastrophic flooding, landslides, avalanches, fires, and famines will become more frequent and that many unique animals and plants will disappear. Although several of the world’s mountain areas are in rela- tively good ecological shape, many face accelerating environmental and cultural decline brought on, in part, by government and multilateral agency policies too often founded on inadequate research. We know that the environment has steadily worsened in the last 30 years, despite the many actions society has taken since the first serious discussions took place in the 1970s. In addition, the impact of globaliza- tion is increasing the strain on the use of our natural resources. Sustain- able development has slipped down the political totem pole and has be- come overshadowed by concerns for security and economic globalization. As a result, such issues as ‘‘trade and environment’’ or ‘‘how to manage globalization’’ have become seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achiev- ing sustainable development. The International Year of Mountains was an opportunity and invita- xi xii PREFACE tion to the scientific community to foster better, more effective, support and development policies by improving the world’s understanding of en- vironmental and other problems facing mountain regions. ‘‘Cooperation’’ and ‘‘partnership’’ are the tools for developing, promoting, and im- plementing programmes, policies, and approaches towards (realistic) sustainable mountain development. In Johannesburg, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) advanced a sense of how to actu- ally implement sustainable development – not an easy task, but one essential to the ultimate well-being of both high- and lowlanders. The International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Re- gions, launched at the WSSD, will have a crucial role in this. The following immediate and long-term policy suggestions have re- sulted from the UN agencies’ long involvement in mountain issues and its networking with the world’s mountain scholars: 0 Strengthening of knowledge about the ecology and sustainable devel- opment of mountain ecosystems – more research and monitoring to identify knowledge gaps, needs, and constraints; 0 Capacity development for mountain populations and minorities to counteract marginalization; 0 Maintenance and development of cultural diversity; 0 Holistic and interdisciplinary
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