Why Mountains Matter

Originally published on YOGANONYMOUS — December 11, 2015

Happy International Mountain Day!

Aside from being outstanding places to look out over the world and serve as the ultimate selfie-with-a-view spots, mountains provide countless resources that are often taken for granted. Today we celebrate International Mountain Day, founded in 2003 by the United Nations to bring awareness to the importance of mountains, mountain people, and to all of the things that we rely on mountains for. This year's theme is: promoting mountain products for better livelihoods. 

Towering over us, mountains take up nearly one quarter of the world's surface. According to the United Nations, mountains "provide sustenance and well-being to 915 million mountain people around the world." However, the mountain people are subjected to the pitfalls of living in the highlands, from poverty, to scarcity and insecurity surrounding food, and, most obviously, isolation. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations speaks to the disadvantages that mountain people are facing today:

Mountain people are among the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged. They frequently face political, social, and economic marginalization and lack access to such basic services as health and education. Moreover, current global challenges such as climate change, economic developments, and population growth exacerbate the hardships they face.

So, how exactly do you celebrate International Mountain Day? Help support the mountain people's local economic growth by purchasing goods crafted by them. From artisanal crafts, to coffee and honey, to herbs and spices, the quality of these naturally-sourced products are outstanding. Tourism also acts as a way to support the effort of promoting better livelihoods. 

These mountain communities have an abundance of recreational activities to offer for adventurous skiers and hikers as well as those interested in learning about the culture by immersing themselves in the community through a visit toagricultural villages.

While the theme for 2015 is to promote mountain products to benefit livelihood, being mindful of our mountains and supporting their sustainability is a never-ending theme. 

Climate change not only threatens the livelihood of mountain people, but also the very existence of mountains themselves as they become increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters. It's important to recognize that the impending threat upon mountains has a global effect. Mountains have been coined the “water towers” of the world, and they support exceptional biodiversity as well being home to a quarter of the world's land animals and plants. As changes in habitat grow it puts species—both plant and animal—at risk of endangerment.  

So educate yourself, find out ways to reduce your carbon footprint, purchase locally-sourced goods crafted by mountain people, and visit their villages—help be a catalyst for change to preserve nature's most majestic structures! 

Which mountains and their villages have you visited or would like to visit? Share in the comments below.

Photo by Raffaella Dice