The Mustang Advocacy Summit concluded on Wednesday in Mustang with the declaration of Sustainable Mountain Solutions.
The summit was a part government programme to celebrate the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development (IYM 2022) as declared by the United Nations.
The summit has called for action on the valuation of mountain ecosystem services (natural capital) to attract investment in nature-based markets, green businesses, and greener economies by integrating the value of ecosystem services into the national economy.
The summit has also asked for increased public and private sector investment in making the transition toward cleaner energy carbon to drive the mountain economy to overcome the remoteness, fragility and dearth of finance in the mountain region.
It has also asked to promote mountain entrepreneurship focusing on youth, indigenous peoples, local communities and women, and build infrastructure and capacity aimed at creating markets for niche mountain products.
The summit also called upon to conserve unique mountain landscapes such as Annapurna Conservation Area, to promote nature-based tourism, environmentally friendly and climate-smart infrastructure development as an example of a natural landscape demonstrating harmony between humans and nature.
Equipping mountain women with research capacity, scientific knowledge, access to technology, advocacy skills, political representation and leadership is another plea of the summit.
It has also asked to recognise the role of mountain biodiversity and ecosystem services in achieving the SDGs and increase opportunities that promote investments, a green, resilient and inclusive economy, sustainable production and consumption, and create economic incentives to protect and manage mountain ecosystems.
The summit is committed to working with least developed countries and other relevant climate negotiation groups of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) parties to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by 2100.
It is also committed to establishing a global response to climate change to be ambitious, fair and equitable to advance the interests and aspirations of poor and vulnerable mountain countries and peoples.
The summit has also asked to operationalise and urgently scale up locally-led adaptation actions, ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (ECODRR) and nature-based solutions with a clear roadmap to addressing mountain challenges and enhancing sustainable adaption and resilience building.
The United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2022 the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development and invited the member states, UN organisations, international organisations and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector and academia, to observe the International Year and raise awareness of the importance of sustainable mountain development and the conservation and sustainable use of mountain ecosystems.
Source : TRN,
