Cultural diversity in the mountains: Issues of integration and marginality in sustainable development

Since 1990 interest in mountains has received an impetus with the establishment of the IUCN Commission on Mountain Protected Areas and the inclusion of Article 13 (Fragile Mountain Environments) of Agenda 21 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Today there is growing awareness at policy, research and activist levels that the well-being of lowland areas is intricately connected to the sustainable conservation of highland regions