From 37 June 1996, representatives from 13 African nations and more than 10 international organizations and NGOs, close to 70 delegates in all, met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the first African Intergovernmental Consultation on Sustainable Mountain Development.
African mountains are an important source of water, energy and biological diversity. They are also a source of such key resources as minerals, forest products and agricultural products, and are important for tourism. Widespread poverty among mountain inhabitants in Africa, however, is causing rapid changes in mountain ecosystems, as resource poor farmers are forced to respond to economic and demographic pressures by overexploitation of natural resources. This often affects not only upland communities, but those living downstream as well. Hencei the proper management of mountain resources and the socioeconomic development of mountain communities deserves immediate action.
This Consultation was organised to allow African nations to collectively address these concerns and propose appropriate action. It was organised and cohosted by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) of the Ethiopian Government and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the Task Manager of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21: "Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development". The financial support for the Consultation was provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Italian Cooperation, FA0 and UNESCO.
