Strengthening mountain populations’ livelihoods with improved policies for sustainable agriculture and rural development

The SARD-M project liaises between Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) and Mountain issues. The project recalls the importance of these issues - both discussed at the Rio Conference in 1992 - and identifies the many challenges of Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in mountain regions, and calls for coherent policies, instruments and programmes.

As the United Nations lead agency on both sustainable agriculture and rural development and mountain issues, FAO, with support from the Swiss government, prepared a four-year multi-donor project on SARD in mountain regions (SARD-M). The SARD-M project aims to facilitate the formulation, implementation and evaluation of sustainable agriculture and rural development policies. The project also favours the development and implementation of institutions and legislations inspired by SARD principles and adapted to mountain specificities.

The SARD-M project is a unique opportunity for all concerned stakeholders – governments, the international community and civil society – to develop joint initiatives in favour of sustainable development. At the ground level, this participatory project will benefit mountain populations worldwide.

Project number	n/a
Subject(s)	AGRICULTURE , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Acronym	SARD-M
Geographical coverage	Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Burundi, China, Colombia, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, Tunisia
Budget (in €)	0
Programme	FAO
Web site	http://www.fao.org/sard/sard-m
Objectives	Overall objective The SARD-M Project aims to facilitate the design, implementation and evaluation of new policies for sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountain regions, taking into consideration the essential linkages between mountain and lowland populations. Specific objectives Raise awareness among policy-makers, the international community and civil society, on: The role and value of mountain ecosystems The need for SARD mountain-specific policies, legislations and institutions. Build national capacity to promote SARD mountain policies and instruments, according to a participatory approach. Support in-country implementation of SARD mountain policies – by facilitating the mobilization of the necessary human, institutional and financial resources.
Results	Reports on SARD-M policy assessments Documents related to policy assessments for SARD-M Reports on positive externalities of mountain regions Reports on the valorisation of positive externalities in mountain regions Practical guides A set of practical tools offering some basic guidelines and references. Database of policy-related documentation A collection of relevant documents and publications related to policies for SARD in mountain regions. Database of organizations, programmes and projects An inventory of organisations, programmes and projects involved at the national, regional or international levels on policies pertaining to sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountain regions.
Period	[01/02/2005 - 31/12/2009]

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