Global warming, wildfires, population growth, and food and fuel insecurity are threatening highland forest ecosystems, according to a report released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday.
"Mountain Forests in a Changing World" details how population growth in lower altitudes is forcing smallholder farmers "higher towards marginal areas and steep slopes," while global warming is allowing pests and disease-causing organisms to live higher on mountains, the report says.
"Mountain forests protect local communities against natural disasters and they safeguard the natural resources and environmental services that billions of people rely on for their well-being and livelihoods," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO's assistant director general for forestry. "Sustainable development of mountain forests requires and deserves a prominent place on the international agenda."
Continuing degradation of mountain forests could lead to the release of a vast quantity of carbon, which would accelerate global warming, according to the report.
The full report can be read below:
