Mountain Forestry

About this programme

Sustainable, science-based management of forests and woodlands in mountain areas. Mountain forests fulfil a multitude of functions worldwide. They are ecologically complex and biologically diverse, and one currently finds nearly half of the world’s biodiversity hot spots there. Plants and animals which have evolved in the isolation of mountains demonstrate a special adaptability to the extreme variability of the topography, climate and soils. Many mountain forests have thus reached a high degree of endemism. In recent years, mountain forests have come under increasing pressure in many parts of the world. The highest rate of deforestation worldwide takes place in tropical upland forests ( 1.1 percent/year). The increase in population and industrialisation in lowland and urban areas has led to a growing demand for timber, firewood and water as well as agricultural land and re-creation areas. Mountain forests also provide important products for human welfare and survival, such as water, timber and non-timber products. Half of the world’s population depends on mountain water from the water reservoirs of this world. Mountain people have learned to utilise forests as an inseparable component of the complex land use systems of many mountain areas. Mountain forests worldwide are threatened by overexploitation of resources and environmental degradation. To guarantee the protection and conservation of multifunctional mountain forests, a balance has to be found between the needs of mountain communities and the urban/lowland population, as well as between the productive capacity of