Who are we?

Global Mountain Program (GMP) is a System Wide program of the CGIAR system. It was established in response to international commitments made to Agenda 21 chapter 13: ‘Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development’ and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in mountains.

The GMP acts as an umbrella program to CGIAR activities in mountains. We work closely with regional programs and organizations in mountains such as the African Highlands Initiative (AHI), CONDESAN in the Andes, and with the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, as well as with individual Centers and other System Wide and Eco regional programs of the CGIAR.

Our Mission:

We work to harness the CGIAR research capacity for sustainable mountain development and to add value through better focus, integration of efforts, links, and exchange of information, tools, research and support between Centers and mountains of different continents. In this manner, together with local knowledge of mountain people and alliances with partner institutions we aim to find solutions that foster sustainable mountain development and the Millennium Development Goals.

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Our goals:

1. Increased food and economic security that improve the well being of mountain people
2. Improved upper watershed management that enhance rural livelihoods and environmental services
3. Conservation, understanding and use of the wealth of mountain biodiversity for the benefit of mountain people.
4. Better mountain policies developed through informed and participatory policymaking.
5. Sustainable agriculture as stated in chapter 13 of Agenda 21

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Our Objectives:

The objective of the GMP are to improve the contribution of the CGIAR to the Millennium Development Goals through work in four thematic areas:

• Improved information and options for mountain people.
• Strengthened Rural Urban Linkages through better understanding and connection of processes, which lead to better planning and options for mountain people.
• Better policies that promote sustainable mountain development
• Reduced vulnerability to Global Changes in mountains.
  

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History

The Global Mountain Program (GMP) was established in 1997 as a response of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to address Chapter 13 of Agenda 21. The Earth Summit in Rio 1992 had identified as a key challenge the sustainable management of fragile mountain environments. The program received support from the Swiss Agency for Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation (SDC) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and NRM and land-use assessments were made by ICIMOD for the GMP.

In 1998-2003 the program was embedded in the Natural Resources Program of the International Potato Center (CIP). Many of the activities of the NRM program were supported by GMP funds. As part of the NRM program the GMP did not have its own program nor received visibility by acknowledgement on products. Many excellent products were developed by the NRM program at CIP during that time, and it is fair to say that many of these products were also those of the GMP since the NRM program and the GMP were fully integrated.
In 2003 Institutional changes at CIP following the Johannesburg summit and the year of the Mountains. The key event was that the GMP became a separate ‘partnership program’ at CIP. A steering committee was set up, composed of three eco-regional partners, funding agencies and CIP to help guide the program.

In 2004, new Funding specifically for the program was secured from the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) Canada Fund for Africa (CFA). Alsothat year, the GMP became the vehicle to support INIAs in Latin America and manage a PhD training program with Spanish universities the Government of Spain's INIA.

Late in 2004 the program employed its own coordinator, based at CIP in Lima, Peru. It commissioned a number of reports from ICRAF, IPGRI, AHI and supported CIP in the areas of seed systems. The program, together with CIP and the Peruvian Government organized the Cusco Conference of the Mountain Partnership that resulted in the Cusco declaration.

In 2005 the program went through extensive reorientation to better focus on Key mountain issues and the GMP mission and to align with new CGIAR piorities. Four Thematic action areas were selected. Three of which were acted on immediately. Mountain Policy, Strengthening Rural Urban Linkages for sustainable mountain development, improved information, for mountain people and Vulnerability and global change in Mountains.

In 2005 the GMP became the focal point in the Andes for the SARD-M project of the Adelboden Group based in FAO and began collaborative work with them and CONDESAN to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of mountain policies.

In 2005 the program began reviving the African Mountain Forum through the African Highlands Program (AHI). It financially supports the manger and most of the operations and co-supervised the position with AHI. The program also signed an MoU with the Mountain Forum to jointly work towards establishing an ‘innovation marketplace for mountain people’.

With the Urban Harvest program (SWIUPA) and AHI the program explores issues in addressing rural and urban livelihood and environmental issues and the interest of the government and national organizations to engage in efforts to better understand and support Rural Urban development processes in Ethiopia.
At the end of 2005 the Ponce report ranks the GMP as one of the System Wide and Ecoregional Programs (SWEPs) of high relevance to the CGIAR.

In 2006, the program employed a regional research fellow through ICRAF, based at the ILRI campus, to coordinate the Rural Urban Linkage activities in Ethiopia. A concept paper was completed, donors and government became engaged the concept to link rural and urban development efforts. A planning workshop was held in August, which led to agreement on and establishment of a RUL platform and key action areas. CIDA, GTZ and WFP co-funded the workshop and a larger group of donors supported the initiative. A proposal was requested.

In 2007, the program held a Regional Policy workshop with CONDESAN and SARD-M project of the FAO in Lima in March.

A planning workshop on ‘Innovation Marketplace for mountain people’ with the Mountain Forum was held in Nepal in May.

The program was engaged with the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and other groups to organize a conference to create a Network for research on ‘Global Change in African Mountains’ to be held at the end of July 2007.

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