International Mountain Day is celebrated to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development, and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.  This year's 2024 theme is “Mountain Solutions For a Sustainable Future – Innovation, Adaptation and Youth.

Did you know?

• Of the 20 plant species that supply 80% of the world's food, six originated and have been diversified in mountains: maize, potatoes, barley, sorghum, tomatoes, and apples.

• Mountain ecosystems are under threat from pollution. Microplastics have even been found as high as the summit of Mt. Everest.

• Up to 84 percent of endemic mountain species are at risk of extinction, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.