International Mountain Day 2023: Date, Theme and History

The ‘International Mountain Day’ is celebrated every year on 11 December. It is an annual festival organised by the United Nations General Assembly. This day creates awareness about the importance of mountains in people's lives. 

This year, the 20th ‘International Mountain Day’ is being celebrated.

The theme of International Mountain Day 2023:

• The theme of 2023 is Restoring Mountain Ecosystems. Its main objective is to increase people's awareness of the relevance of mountain ecosystems.

History of International Mountain Day:

• The United Nations Headquarters (New York) launched the International Year of Mountains on 11 December 2001.
• The 'International Year of Mountains' was celebrated in the year 2022. It aimed to increase people's awareness about mountains and initiate action on environmental issues.
• On December 20, 2002, the United Nations designated December 11 as International Mountain Day. The United Nations also urged the international community to take appropriate steps to ensure sustainable mountain development.
• In this way, the first International Mountain Day was celebrated on 11 December 2003. Since then, this day has been organised every year on 11 December. On this occasion, people are often made aware of various topics, including drinking water (freshwater), peace, biodiversity or climate change.

Importance of International Mountain Day:

• Mountains cover about 27 per cent of the Earth's land area. About 15% of the world's population currently lives in various mountainous regions.
• Currently, almost half of the world's biodiversity hotspots are found in mountainous regions.
• Apart from this, mountainous areas play an important role in maintaining agriculture, clean energy, biodiversity etc.

Other issues related to mountainous regions:

• The UN Convention on Biological Diversity promises to protect 30% of the Earth's land and water by 2030 (as per the 2022 Biodiversity Agreement).
• In 2022, the ‘United Nations Biodiversity Conference’ was organised in Montreal (Canada).
• The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2023–2027 as “Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountainous Regions”. 
• It will focus on attracting aid and investment from various countries and developing a green economy.