Yerevan, 28 October 2026 – The Republic of Armenia, in its capacity as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP17 Presidency, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), launched a new initiative to accelerate global efforts to conserve and restore mountains and their related freshwater ecosystems that supply clean water, food and stable climates to over a billion people around the world.
Mountains generate most of the planet’s freshwater, yet they remain among the least protected and least funded ecosystems on Earth, a gap that leaves both mountain communities and everyone living downstream increasingly exposed to water shortages, landslides, and the collapse of the natural systems they depend on.
Launched during the high-level segment of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), as one of the four flagship initiatives of the COP17 Armenian Presidency, the “Yerevan Platform on Mountains and Related Freshwater Ecosystems” is designed to address this gap.
In collaboration with partners such as the Mountain Partnership, the Platform will bring together mountain countries and the downstream nations that rely on their water in a recurring dialogue to identify where support, funding and expertise are most needed. It will also serve as a mechanism to provide practical, targeted support where it is needed most, from safeguarding water supplies and restoring degraded habitats to supporting the communities who look after these landscapes.
Mountains support the livelihoods of around 1.2 billion people worldwide, including indigenous peoples and local communities. 25 of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots include critical mountain ecosystems that contain 85% of the world’s species of amphibians, birds, and mammals; yet only 19% of mountain areas are protected. Together with their related freshwater ecosystems, mountains constitute strategic natural infrastructures, serving as water towers and providing 55-60% of global annual freshwater flows. They provide numerous ecosystem services, including regulation of downstream water supply, reducing drought risk, supporting a variety of livelihoods, and holding cultural and ecological values that are extremely difficult or impossible to replace once lost.
“This flagship is personal for me and for every Armenian in this room. Our villages, our monasteries, our pastures and our history were built on slopes” said Hambardzoum Matevosyan, COP17 President-designate, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia. “Healthy mountain ecosystems are essential for biodiversity, water security, agriculture and people’s livelihoods. Protecting mountains and their related freshwater ecosystems is therefore a shared priority that calls for stronger cooperation among countries and across sectors. Success means ensuring mountains and freshwater appear not as a footnote, but as a priority, in national plans, in climate strategies and in national budgets.”
“Mountains are at the very crossroads of the three Rio Conventions: biodiversity, climate change and desertification. Yet too often, mountains have been treated as a footnote in global environmental agreements,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “The reality is what happens in mountains does not stay in the mountains. Mountains help regulate water availability, underpin food security, and sustain the livelihoods of more than a billion people living downstream. The Yerevan Platform will give mountain and downstream countries a seat at the table to ensure we protect these vital ecosystems by strengthening early-warning systems and preparedness in exposed communities. UNEP is proud to support Armenia’s leadership in this effort.”
“Mountain regions are a critical part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflected in Targets 2 and 3 which call for the protection, restoration and management of at least 30% of terrestrial ecosystems. Mountains, which host 25 of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots as well as rare species, constitute areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. They are vital for the communities who live among them, and countless others living downstream and nearby” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “As we reach the halfway point for the 2030 deadline to reach the Global Biodiversity Framework targets, the CBD is pleased to support the launch of the Yerevan Platform on Mountains and their Freshwater Ecosystems, offering a space for strengthened international cooperation and renewed momentum in support of mountain biodiversity.”
First-ever CBD COP dedicated Mountain Day
The launch followed a thematic Mountain Ecosystems Day at CBD COP17, convened by UNEP and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and other partners, in collaboration with the COP17 Presidency, and the Government of Armenia. Participants from governments, UN agencies, research institutions, indigenous peoples’ organizations, pastoralist networks, youth movements and the finance community collectively took stock of the state of the world’s mountains and what it will take to protect them.
Across four sessions, participants reviewed the latest science on mountain biodiversity, explored how public, private and non-profit funders can invest in mountain ecosystems, heard directly from indigenous peoples, local communities, pastoralists and youth about their role in caring for mountain landscapes, and examined how regional initiatives, from the Alps and Carpathians to the Hindu Kush Himalaya, the Andes and the Caucasus, can be built on to protect mountains worldwide.
“Livestock mobility is how pastoralist communities adapt to climate variability. Mobility sustains our livelihoods and keeps rangelands in ecological balance. In extreme droughts, mountains give our herds pasture and water when the lowlands have none. Restrictions on movement and on access to ancestral land are dismantling these systems” said Basele Stephen Galgesa, Executive Director, Pastoralist Goals Foundation of Kenya. “We hope the Yerevan Platform will promote change to connect mountain and pastoralist communities, put indigenous knowledge at the centre of biodiversity and climate policy, and recognize our land rights and our right to move. In the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, we remind the world that we are rights-holders and stewards of ecosystems, and our knowledge and practice build the resilience of mountain and rangeland ecosystems.”
The road ahead
Developing and launching this Platform is an important milestone ahead of the Bishkek +25 Second Global Mountain Summit which will convene world leaders from mountain regions, in October 2027. This Summit in Bishkek will be a timely opportunity, since the first Global Mountain Summit in 2002, to take stock about the major achievements towards protecting and restoring mountain ecosystems for critical biodiversity and community livelihoods, whilst identifying ongoing gaps in implementation.
Over the coming years, the Platform will be strengthened through regular high-level dialogues to be held alongside major biodiversity meetings to drive greater action for mountain biodiversity. Where resources allow, partners will also provide technical support in response to what countries ask for, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, so that help is matched to the real needs of different mountain regions. Progress will be reviewed, and an update will be presented at the next UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP18).
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
UNEP’s work on mountains includes flagship projects such as Vanishing Treasures, Adaptation At Altitude, The Central Asian Mammals and Climate Adaptation (CAMCA) project, Mountains ADAPT, and the UN Decade Multi-Country Mountain Flagship, working across East Africa, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, the Andes, and the Hindu-Kush Himalayas. UNEP is also a founding member of the Mountain Partnership.
About the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Opened for signature in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and entering into force in December 1993, the CBD is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources
About the Yerevan Platform on Mountain and Related Freshwater Ecosystems
The Yerevan Platform on Mountains and Related Freshwater Ecosystems is designed to facilitate the exchange of experiences on policy implementation, capacity-building and innovative approaches to support conservation, restoration and sustainable development in mountain and related freshwater landscapes. The Platform aims to assist Parties in achieving their national biodiversity targets, as well as advancing the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) under the UNFCCC. The Platform can also help identify practical entry points for strengthening national policies, improving access to technical support, enabling transfer of tested innovative practices, and connecting countries with relevant partners, financial instruments and implementation pathways. The initiative will build on existing relevant global and regional frameworks, conventions, mechanisms, processes and initiatives to protect and restore mountains and related ecosystems. Other key partners include inter alia CBD, FAO/Mountain Partnership, UNDP, IUCN, Carpathian Convention, Alpine Convention, CONDESAN/Andean Initiative, Convention on Wetlands, ICIMOD, Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA).
For more information, please contact:
News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme
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