The general objective this sustainable development issue is to make certain that adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire population of this planet, while preserving the hydrological, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, adapting human activities within the capacity limits of nature and combating vectors of water-related diseases.

This Report to the Committee on Sustainable Development – CSD (24 April -5 May 2000) highlights that mountain ecosystems contain an integrated complex of natural resources that are closely linked in space and time. Those who inhabit the mountains generally depend directly on many of these resources for their livelihoods and tend to utilize and manage them through a combination of land-use practices such as agriculture, forestry and livestock production.

Chapter 13 was adopted during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992. By devoting this chapter to mountains, Summit participants placed mountains on an equal footing with climate change, desertification and other issues of global importance.