International Mountain Day
Yesterday. December 11th, was International Mountain Day.
If that caught you by surprise, don’t worry about it … it seems to have gone almost unnoticed, even here in Kyrgyzstan where something like 94% of the country is classified as mountainous and the demarcation of December 11th as International Mountain Day is actually the result of a Kyrgyz initiative.
Back in the 1990’s it was the Kyrgyz delegation at the Earth Summit that raised the question of the economic and social difficulties facing mountain communities and the fragility of mountain environments.
Now, it may seem odd that the Mountains are thought to be in need of protection, but it should be noted that mountains are home to one tenth of the world’s population, (the Mountain Partnership puts the figure at 12% but some research suggests that 26% of the world’s population lives within 50km of the mountains), most of whom live in poverty and isolation, and yet are these communities are also holders of a wealth of indigenous knowledge and traditions.
The mountains also provide vital natural resources which are under increasing risks, and are the source of water, (providing water for more than half of the world), energy and biodiversity, much of which is under threat from one source or another, economic exploitation, (mining, deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices, pollution); climate change, natural disasters and even armed conflict .
It was noted that there was a need for effective cross-sector cooperation in order to achieve a balance between development and preservation
In November 1998, the UN General Assembly declared 2002 as the International Year of Mountains (IYM), with the aim of raising international awareness about mountains, their global importance, the fragility of their resources, and the necessity of developing and adopting sustainable approaches to mountain development, and on 11 December 2001, nearly 100 people gathered at the UN Headquarters in New York to launch the International Year of Mountains.
(Interestingly, the Kyrgyz delegation was led by one Kurmanbek Bakiev, who held the post of Prime Minister at that time.)
The Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO), became the lead institution of the UN for organizing activities and events.
The year saw a number of conferences, seminars and workshops, reports and feature articles in the media, and some “nine major global events” dedicated to the International Year of the Mountains. One of the main outcomes of the year was when the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg launched the International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions. In December 2002 the year culminated when Bishkek hosted the United Nations Global Mountain Summit.
From 2003, December 11th was declared as International Mountains Day and each year events are organized according to a theme:
- 2004 – Peace: Key to Sustainable mountain development
- 2005 – Mountain Tourism: Making it work for the poor
- 2006 – Managing Mountain Biodiversity for Better Lives
- 2007 – Facing Change: Climate Change in Mountain Areas
- 2008 – Food Security in Mountains
- 2009 – Disaster Risk Management in Mountains
- 2010 – Mountain Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
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For the record: The day is one of the special commemorative days declared by the United Nations to mark and commemorate issues on which they have an interest and commitment. Some of the days are better known than others, here’s a list:
- 21 February – International Mother Language Day
- 8 March – United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace (International Women’s Day)
- 21 March – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- 22 March – World Day for Water
- 23 March – World Meteorological Day
- 7 April – World Health Day
- 23 April – World Book and Copyright Day
- 3 May – World Press Freedom Day
- 15 May – International Day of Families
- 17 May – World Telecommunication Day
- 21 May – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
- 22 May – International Day for Biological Diversity
- 25 May – Beginning of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories
- 29 May – International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
- 31 May – World No-Tobacco Day
- 4 June – International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
- 5 June – World Environment Day
- 17 June – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
- 20 June – World Refugee Day
- 23 June – United Nations Public Service Day
- 26 June – International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
- 26 June – International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
- (first Saturday of July) – International Day of Cooperatives
- 11 July – World Population Day
- 9 August – International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
- 12 August – International Youth Day
- 23 August – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
- 8 September – International Literacy Day
- 16 September – International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
- 21 September – International Day of Peace
- during last week of September – World Maritime Day
- 1 October – International Day of Older Persons
- 5 October – World Teachers’ Day
- first Monday in October – World Habitat Day
- 9 October – World Post Day
- 10 October – World Mental Health Day
- second Wednesday in October – International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
- 16 October – World Food Day
- 17 October – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
- 24 October – United Nations Day
- 24 October – World Development Information Day
- 6 November – International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
- 16 November – International Day for Tolerance
- 20 November – Africa Industrialization Day
- 20 November – Universal Children’s Day
- 21 November – World Television Day
- 25 November – International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
- 29 November – International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
- 1 December – World AIDS Day
- 2 December – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
- 3 December – International Day of Disabled Persons
- 5 December – International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
- 7 December – International Civil Aviation Day
- 10 December – Human Rights Day
- 11 December – International Mountain Day
- 18 December – International Migrants Day
Bishkek