Governance of mountainous regions faces pressing challenges that carry implications for the future sustainability of human society.  Mountain peoples and environments appear especially vulnerable to negative impacts from global change processes, yet provide invaluable benefits: They generate key ecosystem services, offer instructive examples of sociocultural resilience, and retain high biocultural diversity. This Working Group aims to address the critical need for better understanding and information regarding mountain governance challenges and opportunities. 

This Working Group was created in 2017 and is in its second phase (2020-2021).

Objectives: 

1. Identify common problems, risks, and challenges that undermine or impede effective governance for sustainability of mountain social-ecological systems;

2. Analyse contexts and principles that appear to be associated with governance successes for fostering sustainability of mountain systems, and explore how promising cases are addressing their governance challenges.

Working Group Lead

• Catherine Tucker, University of Florida, USA, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Visit Webpage

Members

• Irasema Alcántara-Ayala, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico

• Alexey Gunya, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
• Elizabeth Jiménez Zamora, CIDES- Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolivia

• Julia A. Klein, Colorado State University, USA
• Xu Jun, Sichuan University, China
• Ahmed Shams, University of Oxford, UK

Outputs and Achievements to date

• Living Bibliography on Mountain Governance and Related Aspects (launched September 2019, updated October 2021)

• Article “Challenges for Governing Mountains Sustainably: Results of a Global Survey” - Published in MRD July 2021

CHALLENGES FOR GOVERNING MOUNTAINS SUSTAINABLY: INSIGHTS FROM A GLOBAL SURVEY (27 July 2021)

What are the main challenges that impede sustainable mountain governance at the local level? Research undertaken by the MRI’s Mountain Governance Working Group seeks to shed light on this important question.

Read more here.

UPDATES FROM THE MRI WORKING GROUPS (24 February 2021)

Despite the challenges of 2020, and 2021 so far, the five MRI Working Groups have exciting updates to report!

Read more here.

MOUNTAIN GOVERNANCE WORKING GROUP REPRESENTED MRI AT THE INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE 2019 (30 September 2019)

Members of the working group represented MRI at the International Mountain Conference 2019, Innsbruck, Austria, delivering presentations, posters and participating in a range of sessions.

Read more here.

MOUNTAIN GOVERNANCE GAINS ATTENTION AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES (23 September 2019)

The MRI Mountain Governance Working Group explores challenges and opportunities for improving effective and sustainable governance of mountain social-ecological systems. In recent months members participated in two international conferences: The International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) in Lima, Peru, and the International Mountain Conference in Innsbruck, Austria.

Read more here.

As community-led activities, these Working Groups are open to anyone from the MRI network  to participate and contribute to the Working Group’s work plan. Early career researchers (typically up to 5 years since attaining a postgraduate degree), women, and researchers and practitioners from developing countries and less represented mountain regions are particularly encouraged to join and participate. Please contact the Working Group leads to seek information on how to join:

• Catherine M. Tucker (Lead), University of Florida, USA, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  | Visit Webpage

Subscribe to the Mountain Governance Working Group mailing list here.