AIMF in the News

United Nations Invites AIMF to Establish a North American Hub for the Mountain Partnership—Fundraising Campaign Launched

AIMF is pleased to announce that it has received a formal invitation from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to establish in Aspen a North American Hub for the Mountain Partnership. (Click here to view the letter from the UN.) The Mountain Partnership is a voluntary alliance of almost 200 international members, including 50 countries, committed to working together with the common goal of improving the lives of mountain people and protecting mountain environments around the world.

The Mountain Partnership Secretariat is the organizational entity that supports and serves its members. The Secretariat’s current structure consists of a central Hub in Rome and decentralized Hubs in Latin America, Asia/Pacific, Central Asia, and Europe. North America has been without a hub for several years.

“AIMF is honored by the UN’s invitation to establish the North American Hub for the Mountain Partnership in Aspen,” said AIMF President Karinjo DeVore. “Establishing a Mountain Partnership Hub is an exciting opportunity for Aspen, the Roaring Fork Valley, the State of Colorado, and for all North American mountain communities.”

The Hub will manage the exchange of vital information, help create working partnerships among mountain communities, and provide an urgently needed voice for North American mountains.

To launch the Hub on solid footing this year will require about $150,000. AIMF has launched a fundraising campaign to raise this initial amount and to establish a Mountain Preservation Fund to fund the hub’s efforts to preserve North America’s mountain environments into the future.

You can support AIMF’s efforts to establish a North American Mountain Partnership by going to our Donate page.

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AIMF Collaborates with the Telluride Institute to Give North American Mountains a Voice

AIMF and the Telluride Institute have just completed a major report on sustainable development in North American mountains for inclusion in the materials being developed for the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, a.k.a. Rio+20. 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which was hosted by the United Nations in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. That Summit put mountains on the global environment and development map by introducing a specific chapter (Chapter 13) on mountains as fragile ecosystems in Agenda 21—a comprehensive blueprint of actions to be taken globally, nationally, and locally by UN organizations, governments, and major groups in every area where humans directly affect the environment. 

This June, when the United Nations hosts Rio+20, the main objective will be to secure renewed global commitment for sustainable development; assess the progress and gaps in the implementation of the sustainable development agenda; and address new and emerging challenges. Preparations for the Rio+20 Earth Summit have been underway for many months. Countries, non-governmental organizations, and public and private entities have been preparing materials on all aspects of sustainable development, which will help inform and guide important policy decisions worldwide over the next decades. But unlike other regions around the world, North America’s mountains had not mobilized to provide input. 

When AIMF and the Telluride Institute learned in late October 2011 that North American mountains would have no voice at Rio+20, they decided to quickly pull together a report that could serve as a placeholder for North America and provide it to the UN by early January. On January 9, 2012, they submitted their report—"Sustainable Mountain Development: North American Report"— to United Nations’ officials who are organizing materials for the Summit.  

The report begins with a brief description of eight major North American mountain ranges, followed by discussions on 11 themes: water, glaciers, mineral, biodiversity, climate change, encroachment/wildland-urban interface, conservation/protected areas, recreation/ecotourism, mountain events, mineral extraction, and poverty/wealth discrepancies.  Finally, the report highlights institutional/organizational initiatives on sustainable mountain development that are taking place within North America. 

AIMF and the Telluride Institute continue to explore ways in which they can further collaborate and advance the goals of the Mountain Partnership.

For more information, contact Rebecca Wallace
rebwallace@comcast.net
970-927-0313

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Climate change bridges gap between Aspen and Uganda
Resident who attended conference says that mountainous areas face similar challenges

Aspen, CO— November 27, 2011— Aspen resident Jim True discovered earlier this month that concerns over climate change in mountainous areas can bridge gaps between a wealthy, pre-dominantly white ski resort in America and a subsistence farming village in Uganda, Africa. Read more>

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City First in Nation to Join Mountain Partnership

Aspen, CO—August 24, 2010— The City of Aspen has been welcomed as the newest member of the Mountain Partnership, an international voluntary alliance dedicated to improving the lives of mountain people and protecting mountain environments around the world.

“By joining, Aspen is becoming part of a partnership that is comprised of 50 countries, 16 intergovernmental organizations and over 100 major non-governmental organizations,” said Sally Spaulding, community relations director for the City of Aspen. “Membership, which is free, will stimulate sharing of diverse resources, knowledge and expertise on topics such as global warming and watershed management.” Read more>

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Peak to Peak Mountain Partnership Newsletter

September, 2010 Newsletter— We wish to welcome three new members who have recently joined the Mountain Partnership: the city of Aspen (Colorado, USA), the Aspen International Mountain Foundation and the Sultan Qaboos University (Oman). Read more>