Presented to Sustainable Summits 2014.

1. Sustainable Development in
Global Mountain Regions
Introduction, Overview and
Next-Steps from a Society-
Centered Perspective
Matthew Klick
University of Denver
Arctic and Mountain Regions Development Institute

2. Why Mountains?
• People and
Mountains
▫ Mountains ARE
different
▫ Mountains shape
people (as much
as we impact
them)

3. What is development?
• Sustainable development
• Human development (Sen 1990)
▫ Emphasis on real opportunity (capability)
 Versus income…

4. How are Mountains Different in 2014?
• Poverty
• Food Security
• Human (in)Security (Conflict)
• Environmental Change
• Demographic Pressure and State-Society
breakdown…
▫ Each are happening at higher, more persistent
rates in global mountain regions

5. Poverty
Mountain poverty is:
•Higher
•Different

6. Poverty (2/2)

7. Hunger
• 90 percent of the world’s mountain people
(nearly 325 million) living in developing
countries or countries in transition.
▫ 245 million of these people (more than 75 percent)
were experiencing or were at risk of hunger.
• Nutrition studies (FAO 2002) indicate that
mountain populations suffer from higher rates
of micronutrient deficiencies.

8. Hunger (2/2)
• Chronic hunger and malnutrition matters
▫ Directly contributes to infant mortality rates
▫ Negatively influence the capabilities (read:
opportunities) of youth going forward
 In school or in work
▫ Answer is less in food aid, more in understanding
why access to food has changed
▫ Guatemala Ex.
 Seasonal (Acute) hunger
 Highlands and chronic hunger

9. Other Important Attributes that make
Mountain Populations Vulnerable
• Socio-cultural identities
▫ Frequently minority populations and marginalized
 Politically, economically, socially
• The State
▫ The provider of basic resources, or
▫ A force for homogenization and usurpation (Scott
2009)
• Conflict
▫ “rough terrain” and conflict (Starr 2004, Fearon and
Laitin 1999)

10. Other Important Attributes that make
Mountain Populations Vulnerable (2/2)
• Constraints on economic development
▫ Resort-based tourism
▫ Resource extraction – mines, dams
• Securitization of borders
▫ International efforts to stem drug/human trafficking,
and local populations
• Climate change
▫ Herding, growing conditions
▫ Natural Disasters
▫ Forest health
▫ Water

11. Positive Mountain Attributes (or, How can
we pursue development from a people-centered
perspective?)
• Governance
▫ Who/what has greatest authority/influence,
regardless of identity? (Rise 2011)
▫ State-local complimentarity (Klick 2013)
• Local resilience and capacity
▫ Not romanticizing the local, but re-questioning
what constitutes “strengths” and “weaknesses”
• Moving away from measuring income (and
“inputs”) for development

12. Examples
• Nepal Maternal Health (Malla, Giri, Karki, Chaudhary 2011)
▫ Antenatal care (72% ave vs. 25% in Far Western)
▫ Intrapartum care (urban/rural clinic visits)
▫ Eclampsia (and social dimension of…)
▫ Female Community Health Volunteers
• Guatemala
▫ State-Local Complementarity in La Reforma

13. Conclusions
• In an international context, mountain regions =
vulnerable populations
• Human development in mountain communities
require we rethink what “success” entails, and
what development means.
• Mountains can empower, but also constrain
choices
• Under intense pressure, mountain communities
need our listening and support

14. Thank You!
Matthew Klick, Executive Director
(720)347-8341
www.amrdi.org