Today, the 11th of December is celebrated worldwide as lnternational Mountain Day. Mountains are home to 15% of the world's population and host about half of the world's biodiversity hotspots. Mountains cover more than 25% of the earth's land surface, are home to 1.1 billion people and provide key food crops and most of the world's freshwater. Yet, they are increasingly under threat due to the climate crisis. They provide freshwater for everyday life to half of humanity. Their conservation is a key factor for sustainable development and is part of Goal 15 (Life on Land) of the SDGs. Unfortunately, mountains are under threat from climate change and overexploitation. As the global climate continues to warm, mountain people, some of the world's poorest, face even greater struggles to survive. The rising temperatures also mean that mountain glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates, affecting freshwater supplies downstream for millions of people. This problem affects us all, we must reduce our carbon footprint and take care of these natural treasures. The increasing attention to the importance of mountains led the United Nations (UN) to declare 2002, the United Nations (UN) international year of mountains through resolution A/RES/57/245). The first international day was celebrated for the first time the following year 2003. It roots date back to 1992, when the document "Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development" (called chapter 13), was adopted as part of the action plan Agenda 21 of the conference on Environment and Development. Most recently, the United Nations (UN) proclaimed 2022 the lnternational year of Sustainable Mountain Development.
The theme of this year's lnternational Mountain Day 2022 is "Women Move Mountains". Women play a key role in mountains environmental protection and social and economic development. They are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture, and experts in traditional medicine. International Mountain Day 2022 is an opportunity to promote gender equality and therefore contribute to improving social justice, livelihoods and resilience.
BENEFITS OF MOUNTAINS TO HUMANITY.
1. Mountains provide a home for almost 1.1 billion people.
2. Host about half of the world's biodiversity hotspots.
3. Mountains are the origin of 6 of the 20 most important food crops
4. Forests cover around 40% of the global mountain areas.
5. Provide up to 60 - 80% of the world's freshwater.
(Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
#internationalmountainday #unnigeria #unepmgcy #unep #unitednations.
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