Greater voice for all mountain people in the Himalayan region

People living in mountainous areas often have to live in remote places at the fringes of states with weak infrastructure and limited access to means of communication. Their fair share of political and social representation is not always ensured and they are not entitled to infl uence the power relations controlling their livelihood options. The inequalities of opportunities are manifold: mainstream societal norms and institutions which discriminate against ethnic groups, gender, and age. In other words, physical and social marginalisation has kept the voices of all mountain people from being heard adequately.In the ICIMOD context, ensuring 'greater voice' means enhancing the capacities of individuals to influence the ecisions that shape their lives. This relates closely to the concept of equity, of a fair treatment of all individuals. n general we can relate these issues to the well-known concepts of empowerment, participation, and social inclusion leading to more equity in a society. With the focus on the 'rights-based approach', which makes an intrinsic link between the right to development and human rights, governments and development agencies have over the last two decades increasingly turned their attention to issues of equity.