Mountain research in UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme: the first five decades

Abstract

Within UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, MAB Project 6 (MAB-6), entitled Impact of human activities on mountain and tundra ecosystems, was initiated in 1971. This paper begins with a history of the activities and key outcomes of MAB-6, which largely comprised national activities within a global framework. From the 1990s, a number of collaborative international projects took place, relating particularly to global change and sacred mountains. The paper ends with brief conclusions.