International Mountain Day (IMD) is an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build partnerships that will bring positive change to the world’s mountains and highlands. 2013 is the eleventh International Mountain Day. This year, the theme for IMD is "Mountains - Key to a Sustainable Future". The focus will be on celebrating how mountains are crucial in moving the world towards sustainable economic growth in the context of poverty eradication, and on drawing attention to their generally sustainable and low-emission production models. 

Chinese Committee on International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (CNICIMOD) and the Geographical Society of China (GSC) has always attached great importance to mountain development research in the Yangtze River basin.

Celebrating 2013 IMD. (picture by IMHE)

In order to celebrate 2013IMD, create a platform to exchange research of mountain development in the Yangtze River basin, and also summarize the work of CNICIMOD, the secretariat of CNICIMOD and Yangtze River Research Branch of GSC jointly organized a workshop in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China on December 10-14^th, 2013.

The topic of this workshop is “Mountain development and ecological environmental protection in The Yangtze River basin”. Around 60 experts from ICIMOD and domestic research institutes and universities attended the workshop.

Focused on the following four subjects, Mountain development and capacity building in the Yangtze River basin, Mountain ecological environmental protection in The Yangtze River basin, Mountain disaster and security in the Yangtze River basin, and Natural, social and economic harmonious development of mountain and plain in the Yangtze River basin, a full discussion then took place and suggestions were put forward.