Category: Mountain Regions

These initiatives include the Central Asian Mountain Partnership CAMP (present in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan), which was instrumental in the creation of the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities, and the Pamir-Alai Land Management project (Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). While the Swiss-funded CAMP programme ended in 2009, successor organizations emerged to continue supporting sustainable development in the mountain regions of Central Asia. The most important one of these is CAMP Alatoo, founded in Kyrgyzstan in 200. Together with partner organizations in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, CAMP Alatoo forms the CAMP Network.

Science-policy interface

The University of Central Asia, founded in 2000 as a private, not for profit, secular university through a treaty between the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan, is a focal point for knowledge generation.

2000

Central Asian Mountain Partnership (CAMP) aims to promote sustainable mountain development by encouraging a more economically, ecologically and socially sustainable use of mountain resources. It is active in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, mainly through local development projects. Funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) until 2008, the organization continues as three independent national NGOs since then.

The University of Central Asia (UCA) is established as a secular and private university by an international treaty and charter signed by the Presidents of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan, ratified by the respective parliaments, and registered with the United Nations.

2002

The Bishkek Global Mountain Summit is held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, as the main event of the International Year of Mountains.

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan sign the Central Asia Mountain Charter, an international agreement aiming to promoting sustainable mountain development in the region.

2003

Establishment of the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities (AGOCA) as a community network in the field of sustainable development in mountain communities and knowledge-sharing at the community level. With a programme of mutual visits, excursions and information sharing, the organisation becomes a platform for good practice and successful projects. The alpine network “Alliance in the Alps” served as a model.

2007

The Regional Mountain Centre for Central Asia (RMCCA) is created by the Decision of the Inter-State Sustainable Development Commission of the Central Asian States (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). According to its Charter, the goal of the RMCCA is to foster cooperation of the states of Central Asia on conservation of the mountain ecosystems, sustainable use of their natural resources and improving social and economic conditions of the population living in mountain regions including provision of scientific and informational support and training of specialists.

The PALM project (“Sustainable Land Management in the High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountains”) is launched as a transboundary initiative of the governments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It aims to restore, sustain, and enhance the productive and protective functions of the trans-boundary ecosystems of the High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountains. The PALM project ended in 2012

2011

Establishment of the Mountain Societies Research Institute at the University of Central Asia.

2015

The Mountain Partnership Central Asia Hub, in collaboration with the State Committee of Environmental Protection, Government of Tajikistan, organizes the Dushanbe Forum of Mountain Countries. The Forum brought together government representatives at various levels, civil society groups, development agencies and researchers to explore the links between mountains and water and the contextual issues for sustainable mountain development including: climate change and its impacts on mountain agriculture, nutrition and health, the role of women in mountain ecosystem stewardship, integrated watershed management and disaster risk mitigation.

2021

At the initiative of the Kyrgyzstan, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopts a resolution on declaring 2022 as the “International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development”, co-sponsored by 93 states.

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The CTP is made up of the French regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie; the Principality of Andorra; and the Spanish Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country. Since November 2019, Catalonia Region has the Presidency of the Working Community of the Pyrenees. Cooperation has been formalized since 1990 in the context of the European Union INTERREG programme. The Pyrenees Observatory of Climate Change (OPCC) provides data and information at the regional level.

There are three different delimitations: an overall delimitation of the territory of the seven administrative bodies that go beyond the mountains; one perimeter of the territory that only includes the area covered by the European funding programme, which makes it a bit more restrictive; and lastly, an understanding of territory that focuses exclusively on the mountain area that is used when talking about natural systems and climate change. In the case of climate change impact analysis, the Pyrenean Strategy for 2018-2024 focuses on the bioregion approach that includes hydrographic basins, forests, habitats of different species of flora and fauna and considers the specific territory of mountains. However, when it comes to action plans and respective budgets for implementation, the seven administrative bodies of the territory remain responsible authorities.

Institutional formality

The Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) is an ideal platform to address complex issues because it brings together key actors and has a large capacity to mobilize others at all levels of governance. It is a loose structure with a broad territorial and thematic scope, with a transversal and cross-border vision. It combines almost 40 years of experience in territorial cooperation and, in addition, since 2007 acts as the managing authority of one of the Interreg programs financed with ERDF [European Regional Development Fund] funds from the European Union: the Territorial Cooperation Program Spain France Andorra (POCTEFA). The presidency of the Working Community of the Pyrenees is a rotating position that changes every two years. The aim of the presidency is to promote, in close collaboration with the member territories of the CTP, the implementation of structural projects aimed at promoting the economic and social development of the Pyrenean area and the coastal areas that form part of the territory of the Working Community of the Pyrenees. The President represents the CTP and convenes and chairs the Plenary which meets once a year.

Science-policy interface

The Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) has been created in 2010 under the Pyrenees Working Community (CTP), to monitor and understand climate change in the Pyrenees. It also functions as a permanent platform for exchanging information between scientists, politicians and other actors in the Pyrenees mountain range. The observatory was originally formed in the context of an INTERREG programme but has become independent data and information provider with diverse project portfolios and funding sources. This scientific collective informs mountain range governance processes but does not formally participate in them.

Funding arrangements

The Interreg Program V-A Spain-France-Andorra (POCTEFA) is a European program for cross-border cooperation in the Spain-France-Andorra frontier. The program’s aim is to give financial support to European projects thanks to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This support allows to reinforce the economic and social integration of the area and to promote sustainable development. The program improves the life of the population living in the cross-border area. One of the stakes is to enhance local, regional or interregional strategies to a cross-border scale by fostering exchanges and common knowledge. The financed projects are acting on both sides of the frontier and are preserving the territory resources. The program’s managing authority is the Working Community of the Pyrenees and includes 7 members: two French regions (Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie), four Spanish communities (Aragon, Navarra, Catalunya, Euskadi) and Andorra. The surface of the territory is 115.583 km2 with more than 15 million inhabitants.

1993

The CTP obtains formal organizational status through an Interadministrative Convention between the CTP’s constitutive member regions.

1995

France and Spain sign the Treaty of Bayonne to promote transboundary cooperation in according to the 1980 Council of Europe Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities.

2005

Establishment of the CTP Consorcio, a legal entity under Spanish law, to facilitate participation in European Union funded programmes.

2007

Launch of the 1st Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA) with the CTP as Management Authority.

2010

Establishment of the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory as a CTP flagship project.

Andorra signs the Treaty of Bayonne.

2014

Launch of the 2nd Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA) with the CTP as Management Authority.

2017

The CTP is formally attached to the Spanish autonomous region of Aragon.

2018

Adoption of the 2018-2024 CTP Pyrenees Strategy and Action Plan with the following focus: climate action; territorial initiatives and attraction; mobility, connectivity, and accessibility; and governance, capitalization, and communication.

2021

Launch of the 3rd Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA) with the CTP as Management Authority.

The governments of Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany as well as UNESCO (under the framework of the Man and the Biosphere Programme) acted as founding sponsors; an agreement between the Government of Nepal and UNESCO provided the Centre’s legal basis, legitimzed by an Act of Parliament in Nepal in 1983.

Headquartered in Lalitpur, Nepal, ICIMOD has focused on knowledge generation and exchange but also supports cooperation efforts, mostly through scaling up management innovation or implementing river basin and transboundary landscape conservation at the subregional level. Over the last two years, mountain-focused regional cooperation has also emerged in the context of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative.

Policy integration

The importance of policy integration receives particular emphasis in the context of climate change adaptation, both at the national and regional levels. Of particular significance are links to disaster risk reduction, SDGs, and resilience building. Accordingly ensuring “integration between adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable development for the mountains through evidence-based decision making” is specifically identified as a priority in the HKH Call to Action.

Vertical coordination

Regional cooperation in the context of the HKH High-level Task Force is primarily an intergovernmental process. However, the Call also promotes transboundary cooperation for landscapes and river basins and suggests an important role for actors at the subnational level, for instance in bottom-up investment to complement large-scale investments in sustainable development with regional cooperation; piloting, adopting, and scaling up transformative adaptation measures; and in integrating freshwater and aquatic ecosystems into relevant policies and strategies.

Science-policy interface

As a self-described “regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre,” ICIMOD serves its eight member countries from the HKH region. Founded in 1983, ICIMOD is based in Lalitpur, Nepal, and brings together a partnership of its regional member countries, partner institutions, and donors to secure a better future for the people and environment of the extended Himalayan region.

With more than 200 staff, ICIMOD has six programme areas: Adaptation and Resilience Building; Transboundary Landscapes; River Basins and Cryosphere; Atmosphere; Mountain Environment Regional Information System; and Mountain Knowledge and Action Networks. While ICIMOD seeks to promote policy processes, knowledge creation has been its core business.

1981

The Government of Nepal offered to host ICIMOD, and the Governments of Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany and UNESCO agreed to act as the founding sponsors. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and UNESCO signed the agreement that provided the legal basis for establishing the Centre in September 1981 in Paris.

1983

ICIMOD was established and inaugurated on 5 December 1983 with its headquarters in Lalitpur, Nepal, and legitimized through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.

2011

Elaboration of the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) and Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience programme (HI-AWARE) responding to the need of addressing critical knowledge gaps on the impacts of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region and to better understand under what conditions mountain communities can best adapt to change.

2013

ICIMOD launches the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP).

2019

The first comprehensive assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region is published as an open source compendium.

2020

Based on the HKH Assessment report, during the first HKH Ministerial Mountain Summit on 15 October 2020, ICIMOD publishes the HKH Call to Action, which elaborates six urgent actions, including: 1) promote and strengthen regional cooperation at all levels to sustain mountain environment and livelihoods; 2) recognize and prioritize the uniqueness of the HKH mountain people; 3) take concerted climate actions; 4) take accelerated actions to achieve the SDGs, consistent with the nine mountain priorities; 5) take decisive actions to enhance ecosystem resilience; and 6) promote regional data and information sharing.

The eight HKH countries also signed an historically significant Ministerial Declaration on the HKH Call to Action agreeing to strengthen regional cooperation in the HKH; to promote a united voice for the HKH at regional, global and UN platforms; to enhance the uptake of scientific evidence for improving policies in the region focusing on mountain environments and livelihoods; and to assess the feasibility of establishing a regional institutional mechanism.

2021

Senior government officials from all eight HKH countries come together virtually for the first meeting of the HKH High-Level Task Force, which was constituted as a result of the 2020 HKH Call to Action. The Task Force will monitor the progress on the HKH Call to Action and assess the potential for an institutional mechanism to strengthen regional cooperation.

At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, HKH countries cooperate in the context of the HKH2Glasgow campaign to amplify mountain voices, promote ambitious climate action for the HKH, and scale up investment in mountain-specific climate priorities.

Mountain range governance is distributed across different regional and subregional institutions non dedicated exclusively to mountain, including the East African Community EAC (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa with 19 partner states, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development with eight member states.

The EAC has adopted a number of instruments relevant for its mountain regions, especially the 2006 Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources Management, the EAC Climate Change Policy 2010, and the Transboundary Ecosystem Management Act of 2010. Since 2014, the Africa Regional Mountains Forum has constituted a focal point for scientists and practitioners. The Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network) has been a key actor in mobilizing attention to and action on sustainable mountain development in East Africa.

Policy integration is pursued through a number of initiatives of East African Community (EAC), including the East African Climate Change Policy, the East African Protocol on Environment Resources, and the East African Transboundary Act.

Civil society participation

Among civil society organizations in East African mountain range governance, the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network) has been the most active. ARCOS is a regional organization, registered as a charity in the UK and as an international NGO in Rwanda and Uganda. ARCOS has established partnerships with governments to support sustainable mountain development efforts and has been a key organizer of the Africa Regional Mountains Forum. As a network, ARCOS Network members are mostly specialized groups and alliances working in conservation and development; its members include local to international organizations as well as individuals.

2006

The EAC Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources Management is signed by the Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in April. Uganda and Kenya ratify the Protocol 2010 and 2011, respectively.

2010

The EAC Common Market Protocol enters into force, following ratification by all the five EAC Partner States.

Adoption of the East African Community Transboundary Ecosystem Management Act.

2013

The Africa Mountain Partnership Meeting is held in Kigali, Rwanda, to continue building an African agenda and a strong Mountain Partnership constituency on the sustainable development of mountain ecosystems while also contributing to climate change and water discussions.

2014

The first Africa Regional Mountains Forum (ARMF) is organized in Arusha, Tanzania, by ARCOS Network in collaboration with the Africa Mountain Partnership Champions Committee, EAC, United Nations Environment Programme, Austrian Development Cooperation and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

2015

The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment welcomes the ARMF-2014 resolutions during its February session in Cairo; the ARMF is recognized as a forum of knowledge, information exchange and policy dialogue.

2018

ARCOS Network, in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Environment and other partners, organize the second Africa Regional Mountains Forum (ARMF-2018). The conference is held in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “African Mountains and Sustainable Development Agenda”.

2022

The Democratic Republic of the Congo joins the East African Community as its 7th Partner State.

Policy integration

The cross-cutting nature of sustainable mountain development and climate change adaptation is recognized in the Caucasus as in other mountain ranges. At the regional level, this is illustrated by the number of policy sectors addressed in the Caucasus Research Agenda accepted by a large number of stakeholders at the Caucasus Mountain Forum in Ankara in 2019 (see link below). In addition to the ten core topics of the Agenda, emphasis is placed on special cross-cutting issues such as sustainable soil management, air pollution, renewable energy, ecosystem services and the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity, and landscape ecology and infrastructure. The Caucasus Ecoregional Conservation Plan, regularly updated under the lead of WWF Caucasus, is another example of policy integration at the regional level. At the national level, some more instruments for policy integration exist, for example in the form of parliamentary groups for mountains or inter-ministerial councils for climate change.

Coordinating multiple levels of governance

Some attempts have been made in the past to organize local transboundary cooperation at the regional level. In 2006, for example, a number of villages in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian Federation agreed to create a regional network modeled after the Alpine municipalities network “Alliance of the Alps”; created in the context of an international project funded by Germany and Liechtenstein, the network did not continue to be active. In general, local participation in national political processes relevant to sustainable mountain development is very diverse, involving such examples as the Covenant of Mayors in Georgia.

Civil society participation

Civil society organizations (CSOs) have played a key role alongside international actors in fostering regional cooperation in the Caucasus. However, the region is politically turbulent and attempts to cooperate are often fragmented and bilateral, based on different thematic cross-border projects/programs.

Currently, few civil society organizations are working on regional cooperation. The World Wildlife Fund has long been active at the regional level and has contributed in meaningful ways to nature conservation policies and activities. WWF-Caucasus initiated and established the Caucasus Biodiversity Council (CBC). Since 2014, regional cooperation has been promoted decisively by a Georgia-registered NGO, the Caucasus Network for Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions (Sustainable Caucasus), which is also the secretariat of the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region (SNC-mt). Sustainable Caucasus supports cooperation in the region with involvement of different stakeholders, including the establishment of the Regional Initiative Group (RIG) in the South Caucasus as one of the results that turn bilateral into the multilateral cooperation and advocates Sustainable Mountain Development (SMD), climate change adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

Funding Sustainable Mountain Development

Funding for sustainable mountain development in the Caucasus varies greatly due to the diversity of countries that share the mountain range. As of 2022, Switzerland and Germany are almost the only donors with a regional funding program for the Caucasus. The European Union remains an important actor, primarily through the Interreg Black Sea Programme which funds actions in Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey but with mandatory cooperation from Romania and Bulgaria coastal zone actors. Unfortunately, political tension in the region constitutes a challenge for funding arrangements.

1995

At the Third Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” held in Sofia, Bulgaria, delegates commit to establishing “Regional Environmental Centres”

1997

Georgia and the Republic of Armenia sign an agreement on cooperation in the field of prevention of natural and man-made disasters and elimination of their effects; the agreement is in force since 2000.

Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan sign an agreement on cooperation in environmental protection.

2000

REC Caucasus (RECC) is officially registered as an independent, not-for-profit, non-advocacy foundation in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was established within the framework of the “Environment for Europe Process” based on the decision made at the Sofia Ministerial Conference in 1995. The founding document of RECC (its Charter) is signed in September 1999 by the governments of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and the European Union.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launches a regional initiative to design and implement the regional three-year project “Water Management in the South Caucasus.” The initiative is an example of large donors such as USAID, the European Union and Germany start to pay more attention to, and invest in regional environmental actions and even financial mechanisms.

2001

First Meeting of the Authorized Representatives on the Development of a Legal Instrument for the Protection of the Caucasus Mountain Ecosystem meets in Yerevan and adopts a resolution, recognizing the need of a legal instrument.

WWF publishes Biodiversity of the Caucasus Ecoregion: an Analysis of Biodiversity and Current Threats and Initial Investment Portfolio, the precursor of the Ecoregional Conservation Plan.

At the International Mountain Symposium in Interlaken, the potential of a mountain convention for the Caucasus is discussed.

2002

In response to International Year of Mountain-related requests from countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Central Asia, the UNEP Regional Office for Europe launches the European Mountain Initiative, comprising three projects for the Carpathians, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, with the Alpine Convention providing examples and lessons.

A second meeting to negotiate the text of a regional mountain convention is held in Tbilisi. The third meeting is held in Berchtesgaden, Germany, with representatives from the Alps and the Carpathians.

UNEP-GRID Tbilisi publishes the Caucasus Environmental Outlook, the result of work by experts from four countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia. The major objectives of the CEO are to report on the status of the Caucasus environment, identify ongoing socio-economic “driving forces” and offer an integrated look at regional economic and environmental trends and appropriate policy measures for the last 30-year period.

WWF starts operations in Armenia.

2003

The Georgian office located in Tbilisi becomes the official regional WWF-Caucasus office, covering the organization’s work in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as facilitating regional and transboundary cooperation at the ecoregional level.

2004

Establishment and 1^st meeting of the Caucasus Biodiversity Council (CBC; also referred to as Ecoregional Council for Biodiversity) as the only regional coordination body consisting of officially nominated government representatives and NGO delegates from all six countries of the ecoregion. The council invites academics to participate in its meetings, which are organized twice a year. The CBC promotes and monitors the implementation of the Caucasus Ecoregional Conservation Plan.

REC Caucasus opens its mountain programme; after five years of oeprations, new management closes it in 2009.

2005

UNEP in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory organize the workshop “Sharing the Experience – Capacity Building on Legal Instruments for the Protection and Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions in the Caucasus” in Bolzano, Italy, with participants from the Alps, Carpathians, Caucasus, and the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

2006

Publication of the 2nd edition of the Ecoregional Conservation Plan, which is the outcome of a series of stakeholder workshops held from 2000-2003, combined with background reports and assessments coordinated by the WWF Caucasus Programme Office.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) establishes the Caucasus Cooperation Center.

2007

High-level representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, at the invitation of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Land Use Planning, Agriculture and Forestry of Liechtenstein and UNEP. Participants adopt the Vaduz Ministerial Statement on the Caucasus Convention “to strengthen partnerships […] for the protection and sustainable development of the mountain regions of the Caucasus” and to “welcome the sharing of experience with the Alpine and Carpathian Conventions, inter alia, within the Mountain Partnership.” However, this second round of negotiations was also unsuccessful, illustrating a change in the regional environment and a refocus on national needs rather than regional priorities.

2008

The Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF) is launched with support from WWF, Conservation International, and the German government.

2009

Government-nominated Experts of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Bolzano, Italy, to discuss and revise a background paper developed by UNEP and the REC Caucasus “related to [the] promotion of sustainable development in the mountainous parts of the region.” The paper refers to the Caucasus as “a single space (both as a natural system and a historical and cultural macro-region).”

2010

Launching of the Caucasus Biodiversity Monitoring Network covering Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and aiming to extend to include the whole ecoregion. This is the first biodiversity monitoring tool at regional level (WWF 2012).

2011-2014

Implementation of the EU-funded program “Enhancing local capacity and regional cooperation for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation in Georgia and South Caucasus.”

2013

Regional meeting towards the establishment of a network for scientific cooperation in the Caucasus, held in Tbilisi, resulting in the Tbilisi Declaration establishing the network and calling for the nomination of representatives to a working group to define the terms of references of the network.

2015-2019

Implementation of the GIZ-financed program “Integrated Biodiversity Management, South Caucasus,” to ensure development strategies to support the sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

2016

The First Caucasus Mountain Forum is organized in Tbilisi, Georgia, under the auspices of the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region.

2019

The Second Caucasus Mountain Forum is organized in Ankara, Turkey, under the auspices of the Scientific Network for the Caucasus Mountain Region.

2020

Activities start in the context of the regional project “Strengthening Climate Change Adaptation Capacities in the South Caucasus (SCAC)” funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Sustainable Caucasus. the SCAC project illustrates SDC’s continued strong support for regional cooperation programs in the Caucasus.

The OSCE initiates the project “Strengthening Responses to security Risks from Climate Change in south-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.”

It is of great ecological and natural importance, due to the exceptional levels of biodiversity, vast areas covered with virgin and semi-natural forests providing habitats for a variety of wildlife including large carnivores. At the same time, the Carpathians are characterized by social diversity with local communities maintaining rich cultural heritage and traditional approaches to land management, integrated with the local nature.

However, the region faces socio-economic development challenges, as well as increasing adverse consequences of climate change, resulting in intensifying pressures on the natural environment and on the preservation of biological and cultural diversity. To address these challenges, countries sharing the Carpathian region decided to join forces under an umbrella of international treaty – Carpathian Convention – with a vision to cooperate on environmental protection, improving the quality of life and strengthening the local economies and communities with consideration of well-being of current and future generations.

Together with the Alps, the Carpathians are the only mountain region that has an intergovernmental treaty focused specifically on the mountain region.

The Carpathian Convention was signed in 2004, a process strongly supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which continues to host the Convention’s Secretariat at its Vienna office. The Convention follows the same pattern as the Alpine Convention, with a framework convention accompanied by thematic protocols (to date, protocols for biodiversity, forestry, tourism, and transport have been signed).

Many activities in support of the objectives of the Carpathian convention are funded under an INTERREG programme as well as numerous European research projects. A regional network of scientists called Science for the Carpathians (S4C), established with the support of the Mountain Research Initiative, maintains a close relationship with the Convention Secretariat.

In pursuit of the COP4 Decisions, an interactive map was created presenting information received from each Party on the administrative units within which each Party currently implement the Carpathian Convention and its Protocols.

Institutional formality

The Alpine and Carpathian Conventions are the two only existing intergovernmental treaties specifically addressing mountains. The Carpathian Convention was adopted and signed by the seven Parties in May 2003 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and entered into force in January 2006. The provisions of the Convention address substantive obligations by the Parties that are grouped in thematic articles reflecting socio-ecological challenges which the Carpathian countries agreed to jointly address through this intergovernmental agreement. The Convention provides a framework for cooperation and multi-sectoral policy coordination, a platform for joint strategies for sustainable development, and a forum for dialogue between all stakeholders involved – from the local community and various NGO’s up to the regional and national Governments, Institutions of the European Union and the United Nations. The Convention follows a framework-protocol model, a well-known approach in international environmental cooperation also seen in the case of biodiversity and climate change.

The Parties to the Convention established an Implementation Committee. The governance structure of the Convention includes its main decision-making body – the Conference of the Parties (COP) – which gathers every three years giving a political direction for the implementation, and the Implementation Committee (CCIC) that meets once a year to provide guidance for the Convention activities as well as to monitor the compliance with the provisions of the Convention and Protocols. As in the case of other international treaties, compliance and enforcement mechanisms rely on cooperation rather than sanction; however, the Convention has also been used by a range of non-state actors to remind central governments of their commitments.

Science-policy interface

Science for the Carpathians (S4C) was created in 2008 to provide the scientific knowledge foundation for decision-making within the Convention. This open network of researchers aims at strengthening regional research collaboration, developing a research strategy and defining research priorities for the Carpathian region. Since identifying the main research priorities in its Research Agenda for 2010-2015, the S4C focused on integrating social and ecological challenges in several key areas. The S4C network has remained open to emerging topics, guided by the International Sustainable Development Agenda, as well as stronger integration of inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. Currently, S4C is finalizing an updated Research Agenda 2020-2030, in order to better respond to the regional and global challenges and support policy makers and practitioners to do so.

The S4C closely cooperates with the Carpathian Convention bodies, based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2012, with overall aim to strengthen the links between research, policy and practice in the Carpathians. This cooperation is exercised e.g. with organization of the Forum Carpaticum – an international scientific conference of the S4C – helping to identify knowledge gaps and co-create knowledge for addressing regional challenges, and new thematic priorities of the Convention.

Civil society participation

In the Carpathian Convention, civil society organisations (CSOs), with activities related to the Convention, can participate as observers in meetings and deliberations of the Convention and its subsidiary bodies, such as the Thematic Working Groups. In addition, the Carpathian Convention has entered a series of “official partnerships” with various CSOs by means of memorandums of understanding.

2001

Publication of “Status of the Carpathians” (WWF & Carpathian Ecoregion Initiative).

The “Summit on Environment and Sustainable Development in the Carpathian and Danube Region” is organized in Bucharest, Romania.

Ukraine proposes the idea of a Carpathian Convention based on the Alpine model and requests assistance from UNEP.

2003

The Ministers of the Environment of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovak Republic and Ukraine sign the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians.

The Protocol on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological and Landscape Diversity opens for signature.

Publication of the Carpathian List of Endangered Species.

2004

The Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention (SCC) opens in the Vienna office of UNEP.

UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe launches the Carpathian Environment Outlook in Budapest.

The Carpathian Wetland Initiative (CWI) is created in Brezovica, Slovakia, to implement the Ramsar Convention in the seven countries of the Carpathian mountain region.

2006

The Carpathian Network of Protected Areas (CNPA) is created as a means of implementing the Carpathian Convention.

At the First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention, held from 11–13 December in Kyiv, Ukraine, a Memorandum of Cooperation is signed between the Ramsar and Carpathian Convention.

2008

The Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP 2) is held in Bucharest, Romania, from 17–19 June.

Science for the Carpathians (S4C) organizes its first workshop in Krakow, Poland.

Publication of VASICA (Vision and Strategies in the Carpathian Area), an output of the Central, Adriatic, Danubian and South-Eastern European Space (CADSES) Cooperation Programme.

The Carpathian Convention’s Implementation Committee organizes its first formal meeting.

2010

S4C organizes the 1st Forum Carpaticum dedicated to the “Integration of nature and society towards sustainability” in Kraków, Poland, at the Jagiellonian University.

2011

The Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP 3) is held in in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, from 25–27 May.

In the context of COP 3, the Protocols on Sustainable Forest Management, on Sustainable Tourism to the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians open for signature.

2012

Participants at the 2nd Forum Carpaticum, held in Stará Lesná, Slovakia, discuss the data-knowledge-action circle in the overarching and overlapping themes of Abiotic Environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, and Human Dimensions.

2014

The Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP 4) is held in Mikulov, Czech Republic, from 23-26 September.

In the context of COP 4, the Protocol on Sustainable Transport to the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians opens for signature.

The 3rd Forum Carpaticum is held in Lviv, Ukraine, under the theme “Local Responses to Global Challenges”.

2016

S4C organizes the 4th Forum Carpaticum with the theme “Future of the Carpathians: Smart, Sustainable, Inclusive” in Bucharest, Romania.

2017

The Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP 4) is held in Lillafured, Hungary, from 10–12 October.

In the context of COP 5, the Protocol on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development to the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians opens for signature.

2020

The 5th Forum Carpaticum is organised in Eger, Hungary.

2020

The Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP 6) is held online on 25 November.

2021

Originally planned to be organized in Brno, Czech Republic, the 6th Forum Carpaticum is held online.

Another key initiative is the Regional Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of High Andean Wetlands (RAMSAR) covering eight countries in the region.

Institutional formality

The formalization of the Andean Mountain Initiative (IAM) in 2004 aims at recognizing the Andean mountains as a key ecosystem to protect and at incentivizing regional cooperation between Andean countries beyond national boundaries. The Andean Mountains Initiative (IAM) is a platform made up of the seven countries that share the Andean mountain range: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and which, on a voluntary basis, seek to strengthen regional dialogue aimed at promoting and undertaking joint actions aimed at the conservation and sustainable development of the Andean mountains.

Civil society participation

In the Andean region, participatory mechanisms of all the stakeholders are decisive considering the wide socio-cultural diversity of this mountain region. Various cases exist that aim to integrate all voices from civil society organizations, along with government authorities, including indigenous peoples, peasants, women, young people and others. This is achieved, for example, through citizen consultation mechanisms (Argentina, Chile), territorial planning (Bolivia), or subnational coordination tables around climate change issues (Colombia, Ecuador). An innovative experience is the creation of Peru’s Indigenous Peoples’ Platform for Climate Change.

Science-policy interface

The Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecoregion Andina (CONDESAN) has made important contributions to sustainable mountain development and to promote science-policy dialog for nearly two decades. The organization was created in 1992 as a partnership of groups promoted by the International Potato Center and the International Development Research Centre. Since 2009, CONDESAN is an independent organization that serves as a regional platform for research for development. Headquartered in Lima, Peru, it is governed by a General Assembly of international associates and an Executive Director.

CONDESAN’s institutional history reflects the importance of resilience and adaptation in mountain areas, with an emphasis on sustainable management of mountain landscapes through three main complementary strategies: 1. Knowledge generation and management; 2. Sustainable governance; and 3. Sustainable land management, restoration and conservation. With the support of international partners, the organization initially focused on linking researchers, development practitioners, and stakeholders, and to identify appropriate means for promoting the development of Andean agro‐ecosystems. Over time, CONDESAN’s mission and institutional structure turned to mobilizing the wealth of the Andes in order to overcome poverty and social exclusion.

They adopt the “Declaration of Huaraz” in which they recommend mountain countries to take actions for the protection of Mountain Ecosystems, accepting the recommendations of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the results of the Summit World Conference on Sustainable Development. It was also recommended, at that time, to form a Mountain Ecosystems Working Group, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Johannesburg Summit, to create and strengthen alliances that would articulate the efforts of governments and the main groups identified in Agenda 21 in the perspective of building sustainable development in the mountains.

2004

In October 2004, in Cusco, Peru, during the Second World Meeting of the Mountain Alliance, the “Declaration of the Andes” was prepared. Key priority work themes were proposed including biodiversity conservation, territorial planning, information exchange, revalorization of Andean culture, climate change and disaster risk management, and strengthening of regional mountain governance.

2007

In September 2007, in Tucumán, Argentina, the First Andean Subregional Meeting of the Andean Mountain Initiative was held; It was attended by representatives of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, as well as representatives of international organizations and numerous NGOs and representatives of indigenous peoples. The “Declaration of San Miguel de Tucumán” was signed and the “Action Plan for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Mountains” was presented.

Formulation of the Regional Project for Strengthening Participatory Management for Sustainable Development in the Andes, financed through the FAO technical cooperation mechanism (TCP). The project of which Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru were part had the general objective of strengthening and expanding the institutional framework of mountains at the national and regional Andean level, improving the participatory management of resources and expanding knowledge on the different topics. that cover them, with special emphasis on training activities.

2014-2016

In May 2014, in Bariloche, Argentina, the II Subregional Meeting of the Andean Initiative was held, from May 7 to 9, within the framework of the closure of the TCP / RLA / 3301 Project, where the “Declaration of Bariloche”, which suggests the creation of a regional body for coordination among the countries (called “Regional Mechanism”). Government and non-governmental representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela participated.

The TCP-FAO project produced the publication “Cordillera de los Andes, an opportunity for the integration and development of South America”, which collects and compiles the diagnostic work developed by each country within the framework of the Andean TCP, and also mentions a “Regional Technical Instance for coordination between the National Mountain Committees”.

On September 17 and 18, 2015, a working meeting of the Andean Mountain Initiative was held in Lima, Peru, with the participation of government representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. The delegations ratified the need for a Regional Coordination Mechanism.

On April 29, 2016, the IAM met again in Lima, continuing the commitments of the September 2015 meeting. The countries reviewed, discussed and adjusted a proposal for a Regional Coordination Mechanism for the IAM.

2017-18

On July 11, in Bogotá, Colombia, the Andean Mountain Initiative held a meeting in which the delegates of the seven Andean countries agreed, among other aspects: to pprove the Coordination Mechanism of the Andean Mountain Initiative; appoint a Pro-Tempore Coordination for a period of two years; entrust Chile with the Pro-Tempore Coordination; and designate CONDESAN as the Technical Secretariat of the Andean Mountain Initiative for a period of two years, with the possibility of extension.

On November 19 and 20, the Annual Meeting of the Council of Member Countries of the Andean Mountain Initiative was held in Quito, Ecuador. During the meeting, topics were discussed related to the operation of the Regional Coordination Mechanism, progress in the Biannual Work Plan of the Technical Secretariat, the Action Plan for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Mountains and the Framework of Action for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in mountain areas.

2018-2022

This has been an very active period for the Andean Mountain Initiative. In 2021 Peru assumes the Regional Coordination. Three working groups are established for: 1) the development of a 5-year Action Plan; 2) the formulation of a Road-map for strengthening governance of the Andean Mountain Initiative; 3) the formulation of a financial sustainability strategy. Other key ongoing activities include joint work for the formulation of a proposal for the Adaptation Fund (in collaboration with UNEP), the publication of the web portal of the AMI in Spanish, English, Aymara and Quechua (https://iam-andes.org/), a very active participation of AIM representatives in regional dialogs on mountain governance (with other global platforms such as the Carpathian Convention, the Alpine Convention, ICIMOD, etc.) and international fora (e.g. COP 26 in Glasgow), and the development of regional synthesis publications and infographic pieces on Andean Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Andes.

The INTERREG Alpine Space programme has funded projects since 2000. Stemming in part from the need to better coordinate the multiple programs and agreements covering the Alps, the “macroregional” European Union Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) was adopted in 2015, providing an overall strategic framework for policy alignment and institutional coordination. The International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR) was created in 1999 and is an official observer of the Convention.

Institutional formality

In the case of the Alpine Convention, most of the protocols were developed and negotiated at the same time as the framework convention in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are legally binding in the countries that have ratified them and are part of European law for those ratified by the European Union.

So-called working communities had already emerged in the 1970s and 1980s in several European mountain regions. With the strong support for cross-border cooperation by the Council of Europe, these working communities brought together subnational governments seeking to cooperate on a range of issues, often with a cultural and socioeconomic focus yet with no power other than to issue recommendations to the respective governments. From 1980, the Madrid Convention provided a legal framework for the establishment of cross border regions, further strengthened with the introduction in 2006 of the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation, which made it possible for cross-border cooperation bodies to obtain legal person. Working communities such as Arge Alp for the eastern Alps continue to exist and have played an important role in fostering alpine cooperation.

Civil society participation

CSOs such as WWF, Euromontana, and the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) are among the 16 official observers of the Alpine Convention (alongside working communities mentioned above, as well as scientific organizations) and members of these and other organizations are active participants in the Convention’s bodies. Several other range wide CSO networks have emerged and CSOs regularly participate in projects funded by the Alpine Space Programme and to some degree EUSALP.

Funding arrangements

The density of institutional arrangements in the European Alps translates into a large variety of public and private funding mechanisms for sustainable mountain development. The majority of funding for regional activities comes from public sources, primarily from European Union programmes such as the INTERREG Alpine Space programme and, at the national level, the EU Structural and Investment Funds; these contribute significantly to the implementation of the Alpine Convention, which has only limited funding of its own. Efforts to coordinate regional policies, strategies and funding are made through EUSALP. Funding from private sources includes projects supported by foundations or NGO membership contributions, in addition to investments by local, national and international firms.

1987

CIPRA Germany in cooperation with IUCN prepares the first proposal of a position paper for an Alpine Convention.

1989

The 1st Alpine Conference takes place in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

1991

The Alpine Convention, an international territorial treaty for the sustainable development of the Alps, opens for signature. It is ultimately signed by eight states (Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland) and the then European Economic Community and enters into force in 1995.

1995

The Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC) is founded to assist in the implementation of the Alpine Convention’s protocol “Nature conservation and landscape management.”

1999

The International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR) is established. One year later the Alpine Conference recognizes it as an official observer of the Alpine Convention.

2000

Following a three-year pilot phase, the first transnational EU cooperation programme for the Alps is launched under the name Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme.

2009

The first Action Plan on Climate Change in the Alps is adopted by the X Alpine Conference (Evian, March 2009), as a result of reflection initiated in 2006 at the IX Alpine Conference (Alpbach Declaration).

2010

The Network of Alpine Regions is established at the Second Conference of Alpine regions in Trento, Italy.

At the Open Days – European Week of Regions and Cities, six European regions (South Tyrol, Franche-Comté, Lombardia, Trentino, Tyrol, Western Slovenia) jointly promote discussions on an Alpine macro region.

2011

At the XI Alpine Conference in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia, the 2nd Multi-Annual Work Programme (2011-2016) is adopted with a focus on demographic change, climate change, tourism, biodiversity, and transportation/mobility. Climate change remains a key priority in the subsequent Work Programmes. A new working group on a macroregional strategy is established, chaired by Switzerland, Slovenia, and Italy.

2015

The European Commission and the Council of the European Union adopt the European Union Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP).

2016

The XIV Alpine Conference establishes the Alpine Climate Board (ACB) to bring together all relevant climate change activities carried out in the framework of the Alpine Convention.

2020

The XVI Alpine Conference adopts the Climate Action Plan 2.0 to operationalize the objectives laid out in the Alpine Climate Target System 2050 (adopted by the XV Alpine Conference in 2019), a strategy focused on the added value of Alpine-wide cooperation on climate change mitigation and adaptation.