Promoting Sustainable Mountain Development for Global Change (SMD4GC)

Mountain regions are key contexts for sustainable global development because

1. mountains provide critical and indispensable goods and services to a significant proportion of humankind
2. mountains are among the most disadvantaged regions in a global perspective: they are among the regions with the highest poverty rates, and among those most vulnerable to global (climate) change and related risks.

Global changes including climate change are heavily affecting mountain regions, which exacerbates already existing challenges and increases the pressure on mountain people and resources. This enforces unsustainable land management practices and land abandonment, which in turn might i.a. imperil the provision of key mountain services.

SMD4GC essentially contributes to SMD under uncertain changes in climatic, environmental and socio-economic conditions, focusing on poverty and risk reduction.

SMD4GC’s beneficiaries are on the one hand decision makers at different levels, which will be enabled to design and implement relevant SMD policies. On the other hand, mountain stakeholders and communities will become capable to implement SMD related activities to increase their livelihood options and reduce poverty and their vulnerabilities to global change risks.

• Launch of (policy) instruments for SMD at different levels by local, national and international stakeholders and decision makers
• Implementation of knowledge-based SMD activities

• ARCOS (Albertine Rift Conservation Society)
• CDE (Centre for Development and Environment)
• FDDM (Fondation pour le développement durable des régions de montagne)
•  UCA (University of Central Asia)
•  UZH (University of Zurich)

Fase 1 01.11.2013 - 31.12.2018   (Completed)