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Mountain ecosystems first received global attention
during the United Nations Conference on the
Environment and Development (UNCED) in
1992 (the Rio Summit). Mountains are addressed
in Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 – Managing Fragile
Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development
– and are recognized as having unique and fragile
ecosystems in need of urgent intervention attention.
Ten years later, the World Summit on Sustainable
Development was held in Johannesburg in 2002 to
review progress of Agenda 21 implementation. As a
result of a lack of progress towards the implementation
of chapter 13, the ‘Mountain Partnership’, a voluntary
alliance of partners dedicated to improving the
lives of mountain people and protecting mountain
environments around the world, was launched along
with theUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly’sDeclaration
of 2002 as the ‘International Year of Mountains’.
Twenty years later, in June 2012, UNCED and the
world community gathered once again in Rio de
Janeiro (Rio+20) to further review progress on
Agenda 21 implementation and to come up with
an agenda to enhance implementation. The final
document of the Rio+20 Summit – the Future
We Want – contained 283 paragraphs including
a specific section on mountains (paragraphs 210-
212), which provides a comprehensive coverage of
priority areas for sustainable mountain ecosystem
development and actions to further implementation.
Subsequently, seventeen ‘Sustainable Development
Goals’ (SDGs) were developed, with targets set for
2030. Although the SDGs do not make any direct
reference to sustainable mountain ecosystems, goals
aimed at addressing water and sanitation, poverty
Background
eradication and the promotion of agriculture could
be used to develop national and local plans to address
issues relevant to mountainous regions.
The African Union/AMCEN has increasingly
prioritized mountain ecosystems, and has included
sustainable mountain ecosystems management
among its priority programmes. During its
fourteenth session (12 September 2012) in Arusha,
AMCEN made a Declaration on Africa’s post Rio+20
strategy for sustainable development with a reference
to mountains in Africa – a strong indication of
the continued recognition of the importance of
sustainable mountain ecosystem management.
This was reiterated at the fifteenth Session of AMCEN
held in Cairo from 4-6 March 2015. The Conference
committed itself to the development of appropriate
institutions, policies, laws and programmes, as well
as the strengthening of existing transboundary
and regional frameworks on the sustainable
management of African mountain ecosystems. In
addition, AMCEN agreed to establish and strengthen
institutional arrangements for sustainable mountain
development, including centres of excellence.
Furthermore, AMCEN agreed to strengthen the
Africa Regional Mountains Forum to facilitate
research, information exchange and policy dialogue.
This was in response to the recommendation of the
Africa Regional Mountains Forum organized by the
African Mountain Partnership in collaboration with
the EAC in Arusha, Tanzania, from 22–24 October
2014.
This marked a great step towards achieving
sustainable ecosystems and the development of
mountain regions in Africa and forms a solid basis for
the proposed Agenda for the East AfricanMountains.
The East Africa Mountain Agenda is, therefore, the
culmination of a long process starting with the Global
Mountain Agenda from UNCED 1992 through to
Rio+20 and its outcomes, with AMCEN/UNEP and
EAC continuing to lead in the implementation of the
Agenda on the African continent.
Waterfall in Gishwati Forest Preserve, Rwanda