International Mountain Day

International Mountain Day, December 11, has been celebrated since

2003, when, following the successful International Year of Mountains 2002, the

United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day as a

special day dedicated to mountains. The United Nations

message states: "International Mountain Day is an opportunity to

raise awareness of the importance of mountains to life, highlight

both opportunities and obstacles in the development of mountain regions, and

build partnerships that will bring positive changes to

the world's mountain and highland areas."

This year's central theme is "Mountains – Key to a Sustainable Future", meaning reflections on how the goods and

services originating from mountain areas crucially contribute to sustainable development in general.

Mountain areas, due to their specific geographical conditions, have always represented to humans on one hand areas

of numerous natural resources, and on the other hand areas where his permanent settlement and survival were very

difficult. The special importance of the world's mountain areas was first defined in 1999 by Chapter 13 of Agenda 21

- "Management of Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Development of Mountain Areas" and significantly contributed to

general awareness of the need for protection and careful planning of development in mountains. This chapter

clearly states, among other things, that events in mountains can indirectly affect half of the world's population,

therefore it is essential to pay great attention to natural resources in mountain areas, especially water resources and biodiversity.

The rapid development of various human activities both in mountain and lowland areas, recognition of their

negative impacts especially on the environment, and increasing awareness of the finiteness of natural resources, have led to a new

development concept, that of sustainable development, which should equally include environmental, social, and

economic components of sustainability. Sustainable development involves such use of natural resources that simultaneously enables

improvement of the quality of life of the population and does not reduce possibilities for life in the present and future.

In the development of human activities in mountain areas, which are environmentally very

sensitive areas from the perspective of specific natural conditions, it is necessary to pay more attention precisely to environmental sustainability, meaning that all our activities in mountains, whether traditional (e.g. hunting, pastoralism, forestry) or modern

(tourism and recreation), should be as little burdensome for the environment as possible.

In Slovenia, 11% of the population lives above 500 m above sea level, i.e. in mountain areas, and only 0.14% of Slovenians

live above 1000 m above sea level, which clearly shows that daily survival at high

altitudes is very difficult. On the other hand, we Slovenians are almost "addicted" to going to the mountains in

our free time, meaning that as many as 20% of us regularly visit mountain areas. If we were to ask why we

do this, we would probably find a wide range of answers, but several studies on the motives for visiting

mountains show that the primary desire is physical activity, immediately followed by enjoyment of the peaceful and

preserved natural environment, which we value as one of the greatest assets of our country.

The fact is that traditional human activities in mountains – pastoralism and hunting – have in recent decades increasingly

been overtaken by tourism and recreation. The latter, from the perspective of the rapid development of various activities, is

the biggest thorn in the side for planners of sustainable development of mountain areas, as it is no longer just about

traditional forms of mountaineering (hiking, climbing, ski touring), but they must face an ever wider

range of activities that are the result of rapid development of both equipment and knowledge of movement in the open. About

their impacts on the fragile and sensitive mountain environment, at least at the beginning, we can only guess more or less.

Today, one of the biggest challenges we face in the sustainable development of mountain areas is

primarily mass visitation, which on one hand is problematic from the perspective of protecting the mountain environment, and on the other hand

provides either survival or at least an additional source of income for residents of numerous world's mountain areas

and of course also here with us. In addition to massiveness, which in itself brings numerous negative pressures on the mountain

environment, it is also burdened by the habits that mountain visitors bring from home. And if in the past

it was mainly hunters, gatherers, and explorers who went to the mountains, accustomed to surviving in a less

human-friendly mountain environment, this has completely changed in recent decades. Today's visitor

to Slovenian mountains demands well-marked trails that are easily accessible via maintained roads, the possibility to call for

help even from the most remote areas, and above all, in mountain huts, to receive service fully comparable to a

five-star hotel in the valley. And the average today's visitor to high mountain areas around the world demands very

similar things – today's "expeditions" are increasingly comparable to "all inclusive" tourist arrangements, where in the

abundance of all possible comforts and services, the only limit is the sky or as the English say "only sky is the

limit".

Let this year's mountain day celebration be primarily about respect in our thoughts and actions

for the mountain environment, perhaps a set of ideas on how to protect the peace in the mountains that we so much seek and value, and at the same time

respect for those who live in the mountains day by day, more or less sustainably.