What is Mountain Forum?
   What is Mountain Forum's mission?
   What have been Mountain Forum's achievements to date?
   How does Mountain Forum work?
   What is the relationship between the regional nodes and the secretariat of Mountain Forum?
   How is Mountain Forum financed?
   Who is a 'member' of Mountain Forum?
   What does it cost to be a member?
   What types of individuals can become members of Mountain Forum?
   What types of organisations can become members of Mountain Forum?
   How are individual and organisational memberships related to each other?
   What are the benefits of membership?
   In what ways can an individual member participate in the activities of Mountain Forum?
   What is expected from member organisations?
   What is the role of the primary contact person of an organisational member?
   How does Mountain Forum reach the ultimate beneficiaries (rural mountain communities) and how does its work translate into concrete action?
   What is meant by horizontal exchange?
   What is meant by bottom-up/top-down exchanges?
   What is the relationship between Mountain Forum and Mountain Partnership?

What is Mountain Forum?

Mountain Forum is a global network composed of thousands of people, professionals and organisations from over 100 countries. It is an electronic communication network through which mountain supporters share information and work together to find solutions to mountain problems. Mountain Forum is an advocacy organisation that works to put mountain interests on the international development agenda.

Mountain Forum is comprised of its members and the staff that serves them. The staff is spread across the world and based in the global secretariat, five regional nodes and some sub-nodes. Distinguished partner institutions concerned with mountain issues host each of these offices.

Membership of Mountain Forum is open to individuals and organisations concerned with sustainable mountain development and conservation. No fees are necessary to become a member of Mountain Forum, nor does a member need a high level of internet connectivity.

Some information on the history of the organisation is available here.

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What is Mountain Forum's mission?

Mountain Forum promotes global action toward equitable and ecologically sustainable mountain development. This is achieved through information sharing, mutual support and advocacy. In order to achieve these objectives Mountain Forum uses modern and traditional communications, supports networking and capacity building and encourages members to be proactive in advocating sustainable development of mountain areas.

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What have been Mountain Forum's achievements to date?

Since its establishment in 1996, Mountain Forum worked hard to bring mountains to international attention. By putting mountains on the international agenda, Mountain Forum has helped ensure that more resources are directed into sustainable mountain development and conservation.

Mountain Forum's early founders endeavoured successfully to bring the unique importance of mountain areas and their peoples to the attention of the international community with the drafting of Chapter 13 (the Mountain Agenda) of Agenda 21 at the Rio Summit in 1992.

Since its inception, Mountain Forum continued relentlessly to advocate for mountain environments and mountain people. It played a critical role in raising awareness and creating the momentum that led to the preparations and celebrations of the 2002 International Year of Mountains. During that important year, Mountain Forum highlighted the importance of preserving mountain areas of the world and emphasised the need to take action at international events such as the Bishkek Mountain Summit and the Global Mountain Women's Conference in Bhutan. Mountain Forum's efforts contributed significantly to the global recognition of mountains, which culminated with the establishment of an international Mountain Partnership at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (also called Rio+10 Summit) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the end of 2002.

With many an achievement throughout a decade of dedication, Mountain Forum continues to "carry the torch" for mountain peoples and their environments and renews its commitment to grassroots action through local projects and activities.

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How does Mountain Forum work?

Mountain Forum helps people share information and works toward common goals related to the sustainable development and conservation of mountains around the world. To fulfil its mission, Mountain Forum uses several information sharing tools which include a membership database, global, regional and thematic discussion lists, an online library of mountain resources, a calendar of events, hard copy publications, and focused electronic conferencing. Other media such as radio are currently being experimented with.

In addition to these global information services, Mountain Forum addresses local needs through its regional nodes in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. In consultation with members, regional nodes design their own programmes to assist mountain supporters in their regions.

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What is the relationship between the regional nodes and the secretariat of Mountain Forum?

Mountain Forum is a network of networks, represented by a secretariat and governed by an eight-member Board of Directors. Its offices consist of a global secretariat and five regional networks, or nodes. These are African Mountain Forum (AMF), Asia-Pacific Mountain Network (APMN), European Mountain Forum (EMF), InfoAndina (Latin American Mountain Forum) and North American Mountain Forum (NAMF). Each regional node is hosted by eminent partner institutions which are represented on Mountain Forum's Board of Directors. Further, members of Mountain Forum elect representatives from their respective regions to serve on the Board of Directors.

The structure of Mountain Forum is horizontal and decentralised with each office operating autonomously and independently. The Mountain Forum Secretariat's function is to coordinate Mountain Forum's governance, manage and maintain the network's technical communication tools, and provide global information services. The secretariat also promotes and represents the network at international forums and fosters Mountain Forum's relationship with major stakeholders on the international stage.

Regional nodes promote the network regionally, maintain relationships with regional members, manage regional discussion lists, and undertake projects in response to regional needs.

The secretariat and the regional nodes work collaboratively to further Mountain Forum's mandate, but they remain autonomous and respond to regional needs as appropriate independently.

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How is Mountain Forum financed?

Mountain Forum is financed by a combination of national and international agencies, mountain institutions, and charitable organisations. Occasionally, Mountain Forum also contracts out its e-conference, discussion list management and research services to projects that further its goals. Each regional node and the secretariat of Mountain Forum is responsible for securing its own funding.

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Who is a 'member' of Mountain Forum?

A member is any person or organisation who submits a registration form indicating a wish to be part of the network. There are currently two types of membership in Mountain Forum - individual and organisational. Both types of membership are free of charge. There are no annual, subscription, or other fees. The primary expectation from members is to share information and participate actively in as many ways as possible.

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What does it cost to be a member?

Presently, all types of membership are free of charge. The regional nodes and the global secretariat implement the core activities and services. This activity is financially supported by grants from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and numerous other multilateral and bilateral donor agencies, and private foundations.

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What types of individuals can become members of Mountain Forum?

Mountain Forum has a completely open and broad membership and is open to any individual, provided they have some personal or professional interest in mountain-related issues, sustainable development or conservation in mountain areas.

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What types of organisations can become members of Mountain Forum?

Membership to Mountain Forum is open to all kinds of organisations, provided they have some interest or work in sustainable development or conservation in mountain areas.

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How are individual and organisational memberships related to each other?

An individual becomes a member in a personal capacity, whatever institutional affiliations s/he may have. Every organisational member has a primary contact person who serves as the focal point for all communications.

When an individual registers for membership and lists the organisation s/he is affiliated to, it does not automatically mean that his/her organisation is also a member. For the organisation to become a member, a separate registration form needs to be filled.

On the other hand, a person affiliated to an organisation that is an organisational member of Mountain Forum is not an independent individual member of Mountain Forum. S/he needs to complete the individual membership registration form to become an individual member of Mountain Forum.

We encourage people to register themselves as individuals even if their organisation is a member of Mountain Forum. This allows them to participate directly and remain a member even when his/her institutional affiliation changes.

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What are the benefits of membership?

As a member of Mountain Forum, members have access to a broader opinion base and have a platform to reach out to mountain communities through their stories and experiences on focused topics. Members become part of a democratic system where any member can represent and/or choose his/her representative on the Board of Directors.

All individual and organisational members have the opportunity to take leadership roles at local, regional and national levels to serve mountain people, their communities and the fragile environment they live in.
Services offered to members:

• Individual and/or organisational member profiles are placed on the Mountain Forum website. Profiles are added to a searchable database for ease of use.
• Option to join several geographical and thematic discussion lists moderated by Mountain Forum.
• Preferential access to Mountain Forum publications, including the bi-annual Mountain Forum Bulletin.
• Preferential rates for e-conference services managed by Mountain Forum.
• While the Mountain Forum Online Library is currently accessible to all users of the Mountain Forum website, it will be open only to members after the current revamp process has been completed.

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In what ways can an individual member participate in the activities of Mountain Forum?

Mountain Forum has a series of communications activities and services that aim to create and strengthen mechanisms to influence regional mountain agendas at the local, national and intergovernmental levels.

The following activities are some examples of how Mountain Forum members can use these services to actively foster mutual support and exchange information on sustainable mountain development (not listed in any order of priority):
Information sharing

• Join one or more discussion list(s) and participate.
• Forward mountain-related announcements to Mountain Forum discussion lists.
• Announce job openings/vacancies.
• Suggest sources of information (documents, reports, materials) useful or relevant to the global mountain community.
• Make requests for support, advice or information to Mountain Forum.
• Respond to inquiries and requests made by other Mountain Forum participants.
• Share relevant data and information on focused topics, or in response to other participants' research and activities.
• Announce mountain related conferences, workshops and events.
• Volunteer to moderate a focused discussion list.
• Forward information received from the network to colleagues.
• Contribute stories, case studies or other articles to the Mountain Forum Online Library.
• Actively seek to share relevant and important information with mountain people and remote field personnel without Internet access.

Help develop resources

• Work with Mountain Forum staff to develop and build the online library and other resources.
• Translate materials into local languages.
• Send an article on a mountain case study, story or experience to the Mountain Forum Bulletin.

Help develop the network

• Identify potential members, inform them about Mountain Forum and invite them to join.
• Remember to update your membership data when it changes (new address, email, etc.)
• Form a local range-based, mountain community group, or other alliance, partnership, or a joint research activity at local, regional, or global levels.

Participate at the regional level

• Contact regional nodes and sub-nodes to explore volunteer opportunities and regionally specific activities.
• Convene local, national and regional workshops and task forces around relevant mountain issues.
• Inform local or national lawmakers via these workshops, briefings and media coverage.
• Contact local government officials and let them know about the information resources available on the mountain agenda.
• Give presentations on Mountain Forum at local events, conferences, workshops, or other mountain-related activities.

Provide other support

• Donate computers/hardware to other network members.
• Make a financial contribution to one or more of Mountain Forum offices.

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What is expected from member organisations?

The only obligation of membership of Mountain Forum is to engage in information sharing activities of the network, contribute to discussions, and actively support sustainable mountain development and conservation efforts. Towards this, an organisational member must have a designated primary contact person (details below).

The information on an organisational member will be made available on the Mountain Forum membership database through its website. This will allow others to know of your interest in sustainable mountain development and provides a way for them to reach you. It is therefore very important to keep this information as up-to-date as possible.

Member organisations should encourage any staff working in mountains to become individual members, join discussion lists, contribute to network publications and calendar of events, participate in e-conferences and face-to-face meetings, and help build the Mountain Forum Online Library.

A description of your organisation's work in mountains, or a link to your organisation's website will be created from Mountain Forum website. A return link from your organisation website to the Mountain Forum's is requested.

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What is the role of the primary contact person of an organisational member?

An organisation registering for Mountain Forum membership is required to identify a primary contact person for network-to-organisation communications. This primary contact person will receive a complimentary copy of network publications. In addition the primary contact person must subscribe to one or more of the Mountain Forum discussion list(s) to participate in discussions relevant to their organisation. Further, the primary contact person is urged to:

• Circulate network materials within the organisation, as well as include information in newsletters and internal communications (photocopying and email forwarding are encouraged).
• Keep the organisational information profile submitted below up-to-date as new programs are added or existing data changes.
• Help identify and promote the registration of individual Mountain Forum membership within the organisation. Individuals who register will receive their own copies of network publications and can participate in network discussion lists independently.

In addition, the primary contact person could also carry out activities as listed in the suggestions for individual members above.

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How does Mountain Forum reach the ultimate beneficiaries (rural mountain communities) and how does its work translate into concrete action?

Mountain Forum reaches rural mountain communities through regional nodes, who build relationships with local NGOs which have direct contact with the grassroots, or with the grassroots themselves (usually when people have connectivity there). Mountain Forum also works directly with individuals and organisations to bring lessons from the field into policy discussions at national and international levels.

Mountain conservation and sustainable development is unique in many ways. However, information and knowledge related to it is dispersed in many different disciplines and fields. Mountain supporters have few traditional vehicles for information sharing and mutual support. They also lack the mechanisms that other groups, like scientists, academics, policy-makers, governments, larger NGOs, and corporations have to access information and influence policy.

Mountain Forum aims to address this by providing individual citizens, and the organisations that work directly with them, access to information, a platform for mutual support, and a mechanism to interact with policy-makers and institutions. This provides opportunities for both horizontal exchange as well as top down and bottom up mechanisms at the same time.

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What is meant by horizontal exchange?

Mountain Forum helps mountain residents, local, regional organisations communicate with one another through focused e-conferencing, discussion lists, a member directory, an online library, and an international calendar of events.

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What is meant by bottom-up/top-down exchanges?

In addition to promoting communication between mountain residents and mountain organisations, Mountain Forum also facilitates communication between different sectors and different levels of organisations.

Mountain Forum participates in international processes like the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) series, not only to promote communication among peers and organisations, but also to act as a catalyst between governments, INGOs, development agencies on the one hand, and individual mountain residents and the grassroots on the other. Similarly, Mountain Forum provides a mechanism through which the grassroots can communicate its concerns in international policy-making fora.

In conclusion, Mountain Forum brings people across the world, and across different sectors, cultures, and social strata, to the same platform with the aim to promoting sustainable mountain development and conservation.

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What is the relationship between Mountain Forum and Mountain Partnership?

Mountain Forum is a significant member of the Mountain Partnership and collaborates closely with the Mountain Partnership Secretariat to support Partnership members.

The Mountain Partnership, an umbrella alliance, was launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 to further implement Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and Paragraph 42 of the Plan of Implementation of WSSD. Therefore, Mountain Forum is an active member of the Partnership given its history and common goals.

Mountain Forum has been actively involved with the Mountain Partnership since the early developmental processes that led to its establishment in September 2002 at the WSSD in South Africa. In April 2002, the Mountain Forum assisted the WSSD process by hosting an e-consultation on the draft text of a document called "International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions".

A year later, in April 2003, Mountain Forum was commissioned to conduct an e-consultation for the then established Mountain Partnership to facilitate wider input from its membership on the evolution of the Mountain Partnership, in preparation of its first ever meeting in Merano, Italy, in October 2003.

In 2004, on the occasion of the preparations for the second global meeting of the Mountain Partnership (October 2004, Cusco, Peru), Mountain Forum was once again called upon to conduct a global e-consultation in September 2004 with the objective to facilitate discussion among Mountain Partnership's members on a Plan of Action (named Cusco Plan of Action) for the establishment of clear objectives and priorities for effective collaboration among members in sustainable mountain development.

Mountain Forum has carried out other projects for the Mountain Partnership, in close collaboration with the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, and this working relationship is set to continue in the years to come.

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