The fourth World Mountain Forum (WMF 2018) brought together approximately 300 participants to discuss the overall objective of advancing the sustainable mountain development (SMD) agenda. Over the first three days (23-25 October), participants took part in plenary sessions, parallel thematic tracks, poster presentations and featured focus events.

Plenary sessions included discussions on mountains in a changing world, and a commemorative event on World Snow Leopard Day. The thematic discussions addressed three overarching topics: current trends and dynamics; pathways towards a sustainable mountain future; and partnerships and alliances to advance SMD. Participants also reviewed and consolidated messages for inclusion in the conference outcome document titled ‘A Call for Mountains,’ and convened in sessions exploring innovative partnerships and best practices in mobilization and financing for SMD. On the final day (26 October), delegates took part in field excursions.

Photos courtesy of the Mountain Partnership at FAO

Goretti Kitutu Kimono, Minister of Water Resources, Uganda, speaks during the opening plenary session

Murat Mukambetov, Deputy Head, Government Administration, Kyrgyz Republic

A youth representative reports on the outcomes of the Youth Mountain Forum during the opening of WMF 2018

Sam Kanyamibwa, Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) Network

Christian Hergarten, University of Central Asia

Juan Angulo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile, and Abdykalyk Rustamov, Director of the State Agency on Environment Protection and Forestry, Kyrgyz Republic, during the opening plenary

Members of the Sustainable Mountain Development for Global Change Programme holding copies of the Issue Brief, ‘Leaving no one in mountains behind: Localizing the SDGs for resilience of mountain people and ecosystems’ which was launched during WMF 2018.

Delegates participate in roundtable discussions to provide input for the outcome document ‘A Call for Mountains’

Sonam Wangchuk presented on the Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh initiative in the trans-Himalayan desert of northern India, which has pioneered an alternative education system suited to mountain culture and ecosystem.

A poster with drawings by local children that will be taken to Switzerland and added to over 120,000 drawings by children from around the world.

Around the Venue

Participants look at poster exhibition at the Forum

Participants consult during a break

A display of mountain food and culture at the Forum

Snow leopard mascots outside the Forum venue