Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity
While global hunger figures are decreasing, the number of food insecure people in mountain areas rose 30 percent between 2000 and 2012, according to a new study, released by FAO and the Mountain Partnership on International Mountain Day. Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity found that the number of food insecure people living in mountain regions in developing countries grew to nearly 329 million in 2012, up from 253 million in 2000, even though the overall population of the world's mountain peoples increased only by 16 percent during that same time. That means that one in three mountain people, both urban and rural, in developing countries faced hunger and malnutrition, compared to one out of nine people globally. And focusing on only rural mountain populations, which depend on natural resources such as land, water and forests for their livelihoods, the numbers get even starker: almost half of them are food insecure. Mountain zones cover 22 percent of the earth's land surface and are home to 13 percent of the human population.