FIRST CONSULTATION OF APMN COORDINATORS
March 17 - 19, 1997, ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal
APMN
Background | Objectives
| Issues | Conclusion
and Recommendation | Participants
The first-ever meeting on the mountain areas of Asia, held in December 1994 in Kathmandu called upon the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to facilitate and promote information exchange about Asian mountain areas so as to help bring about sustainable mountain development. Consequently, the Asia Pacific Mountain Network (APMN), an informal forum for the exchange of information and sharing of knowledge affecting mountain development in the Asia/Pacific region, was established. The initial project has been launched for a period of three years (November 1995-November 1998).
The APMN is coordinated by ICIMOD through a special grant from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Objectives of the APMN
The main objective of the APMN is to facilitate and promote information exchange about sustainable development of mountain areas among professionals, development workers, and policy-makers in Asian countries by establishing connectivity and interlinkages between these individuals and agencies. It also aims to sensitise donor agencies about the need for and options regarding sustainable mountain development.
Activities of the APMN
The principal activities of the APMN include the following :
Establishing a network through mail and other means among
individuals and agencies working in mountain development and encouraging them to share and
exchange their individual experiences, knowledge, issues, and problems in mountain
development
Establishing focal points in different
subregions of Asia in an effort to develop and establish strong subregional linkages for
information exchange and sharing [ Top ]
FIRST CONSULTATION OF THE APMN COORDINATORS
The First Consultation of the Subregional Focal Points was essentially held to facilitate a face-to-face interaction for further defining and refining the activities of the APMN. It's aims were to build a concrete programme, for each subregion as well as for the entire network, which included the identification of critical issues and priorities. It also sought to bring together the experiences, activities, and knowledge of other networks and mountain groups. The principal task at hand was to identify ways and means for energising the network. [ Top ]
The issues and topics discussed included the structure, roles, and responsibilities of each subregional focal point and of the APMN as a whole; proposed future activities; the gaps, new thrusts, and priorities as identified collectively as well as individually by each focal point; and the regional priorities and initiatives of each focal point. The ways to establish strong interlinkages within and between the different subregions was also discussed and identified. The meeting also included discussions and presentations by other networks.[ Top ]
Conclusions and Recommendations
The Meeting ended with a number of important achievements. One theme that kept surfacing throughout the Meeting was the critical role of better communications. An overall ignorance about mountain areas in the respective regions appeared to be a common phenomenon and the main reason for this, in the past, was just plain neglect of mountain people by national governments, policy-makers, and professionals.
It was agreed that a better understanding of mountain people and their interaction with the environment was needed and knowledge should be shared among all the stakeholders. However, apart from the limited information about mountain areas, there were serious barriers to improving communications. Rugged terrain, isolation, and language barriers appeared to be fairly formidable hurdles. The problems encountered and the responses of different mountain people highlighted both common features as well as a number of unique aspects.
The overall structure of the Asia Pacific Mountain Network
and the nature of its long- and short-term activities were addressed at length. The
structure was seen to be still evolving and the need for flexibility, openness, and a very
active role of the Secretariat was emphasised. Strengthening the existing focal points was
preferred to further expansion. The types of activities of the different focal points and
the regional secretariat envisaged for the next few years focussed on awareness raising,
subregional exchange visits, electronic conferences, preparation of directory databases on
mountains in the Asia Pacific and research in the region, and maintaining the publication
of the biannual APMN Bulletin and its translation into the vernacular where necessary by
the regional focal points. [ Top ]
Dr. Yuri Badenkov, Russian Academy of
Sciences, Russia
Dr. Abdusalam Hamaduazarov, Tadjik University, Tadjikistan
Dr. Asylbek A. Aidaraliev, International University of
Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan
Mr. S. Kasymkulov, The State Agency on Technical
Cooperation, Kyrgyzstan
Professor Hajime Makita, Hirosaki University, Japan
Dr. Yagi, Hirosaki University, Japan
Dr. Ken Hughey, Lincoln University, New Zealand
Dr. Ross Cullen, Lincoln University, New Zealand
Mr. Robert Bino, Research and Conservation Foundation,
Papua New Guinea
Dr. Leyla Derya Celikel, TEMA Foundation, Turkey
Mr. Hossein Heydari, Centre for Ecodevelopment Studies and
Application, Iran
Mr. Lucrecio L. Rebugio, University of the Philippines at
Los Banos, the Philippines
Dr. Hasanu Simon, Gadja Mada University, Indonesia
Mr. El Hadji Sene, FAO, Italy
Mr. Prem Sharma, Asian Watmanet, Nepal
Prof. Francis F. Ojany, African Mountain Association,
Ethiopia
Dr. Jose Luis Rueda, CIP/CONDESAN, Peru
Mr. Mohammad Rafiq, IUCN - Pakistan, Pakistan
Dr. Tirtha B. Shrestha, IUCN - Nepal, Nepal
Mr. Ir Sutadi Sastrowihardjo, Asian Soil Conservation
Network, Indonesia
Dr. Virginia Cardenas, Asian Farming Systems’
Association, The Phillipines
Prof. Li Bosheng, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Dr. T. N. Dhar, Society for Himalayan Environmental
Rehabilitation and People’s Action, India
Mr. Jason Espie, The Mountain Institute, USA
Mr. Brian Penniston, The Mountain Institute, USA
Mr. Egbert Pelinck, ICIMOD, Nepal
Dr. Mahesh Banskota, ICIMOD, Nepal
Mr. Shahid Akhtar, ICIMOD, Nepal
Dr. Tej Partap, ICIMOD, Nepal
Dr T. S. Papola, ICIMOD, Nepal
Dr. Pei Shengji, ICIMOD, Nepal
Mr. Pramod Pradhan, ICIMOD, Nepal
Dr. N. S. Jodha, ICIMOD, Nepal
Ms. Sangeeta Pandey, ICIMOD, Nepal
Ms. Veneeta Singha, ICIMOD, Nepal
[ Top ]
Note: For more details on the First APMN Consultation,
please see the APMN Bulletin Volume
2 Number 1 issue
