Sustainable mountain development in East Africa in a changing climate

Conference issued a declaration stating that Member States should develop appropriate institutions, policies, laws and programmes, as well as strengthen existing transboundary and regional frameworks for the sustainablemanagement of mountain ecosystems. In addition, the Conference agreed to prepare a regional mountain agenda and to establish and strengthen the Africa Regional Mountains Forum to facilitate knowledge and information exchange, and for policy dialogue in close cooperation with Africa’s Mountain Partnership. Current efforts will mark a major step towards achieving sustainable mountain development in Africa, and will form the basis for discussions on a proposal for East Africa’s mountainous regions. This should be in line with the Global Mountain Agenda (from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) and the subsequent Rio+20 outcomes, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa Union’s Agenda for 2063. The proposed components of an East Africa Mountain Agenda include: • developing and/or strengthening the policy and institutional arrangements and mechanisms for enhanced governance in mountain ecosystems • increasing investment in mountain development and conservation, and enhancing mountain ecosystems and the participation of mountain communities • implementing adaptation measures to address the impacts of climate change in mountain areas

Mount Elgon irrigation, Uganda

AMCEN The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment is increasingly focused on mountain issues. In March 2015, it committed to the development of initiatives that will strengthen sustainable development in Africa’s mountain ecosystems, with a particular emphasis on the importance of transboundary and regional frameworks.

Agenda 21 Mountain areas were, for the first time, recognized and distinctly addressed during the Rio Summit in 1992. Agenda 21, the outcome of the summit, addresses mountain issues in chapter 13: ‘Managing Fragile Ecosystems - Sustainable Mountain Development’.

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