Mountain territories represent 24 percent of the total land of the Earth, and 12 percent of the humanity population lives there. The mountains provide resources for the life support of population in mountain and lowland areas, including fresh water, at least for half of humanity, the vital resources of biodiversity, food resources, timber, and minerals.

Big problems are faced the population of mountain territories. About half of the 700-million population of mountains of the world experiences shortages of food and chronic malnutrition. The mountain population is more than others suffer from unequal distribution of resources and conflicts. Mountain ecosystems are exceptionally diverse, but they are also fragile due to steep of slopes, the specifics of highland and extreme natural conditions. Many mountain ecosystems are being degraded as a result of the use of unsustainable practices in agriculture and in other areas of economic development.

Political decisions affecting on the use of mountain resources are generally made in the power structures, which are located far from the mountain communities, which are under the conditions of political marginalization and don’t receive adequate compensation for their natural wealth, services and products.

Global climate change, natural disasters and other forces endanger life in the mountains. At the same time, the effects of poverty and environmental degradation go far beyond the mountain communities. The result of these circumstances is wars, terrorism, the movement of refugees, migration, loss of human potential, drought, hunger and a growing number of landslides, mudflows, floods and other natural disasters in mountainous and lowland areas. Moreover, the rapid ablation of mountain glaciers and degradation of gathering ground reduce the availability of water for life support and increases the possibility of conflicts because of distribution of depleted water resources.

At the summit on climate change in Copenhagen delegation of Kyrgyzstan paid attention to the problems of mountainous, landlocked countries, and the influence of climate change on mountain ecosystems.

Kyrgyzstan has put forward a number of foreign policy initiatives, briefly remind about them:

a) on the development and implementation of the special global program on mountain forests, its preservation, restoration and forestation of the mountain slopes,

b) about removal of restrictions on the construction of large Hydropower Station, as one of the clean development mechanism or kind of national plans for prevention of climate change,

c) on the establishment of special fund to support the small mountainous countries for implementation of the targeted programs on adaptation, prevention of climate change, mountain forests and biodiversity, natural disasters, support of the mountain communities.

MFA of Kyrgyzstan addressed to a number of mountainous countries with a proposal to organize a coalition of small mountainous country, because of active lobbying groups of African countries and small island states of their national interests, problems of mountainous states went into the second plan.

In the future, after 2012, it means that the lion's share of financial resources will be intended for those countries, whose necessity at the preparatory stage has been proved and recorded in the final document.

The role of mountain ecosystems in arid zone of Central Asia increases immeasurably. Issues of adaptation and prevention of climate change in mountainous countries are closely connected with issues of sustainable development. Many mountain rivers are transboundary, and the reduction of surface water runoff as a result of climate change, intensive ablation of glaciers and snow fields causes problems in cross-border cooperation among the countries, located upstream and downstream of the rivers. In conditions of intensive ablation of glaciers and coming reduction of the surface runoff of water resources in the foreseeable future will be exacerbated conflicts over the use of water resources at the national and regional levels, in this regard, it was proposed to pay more attention to those issues in order to develop preventive mechanisms.

It is necessary to pay more attention to the problems of mountainous countries, in particular, the preservation of mountain forests. Mountain forests play a vital role in water-preservation, water-regulation and irrigation water supply to downstream territories and countries. In this connection, it is extremely important development and implementation of special global program on mountain forests, its preservation, restoration and forestation of the mountain slopes. At present, unfortunately, there isn’t this program, and this fact leads to the processes of degradation of mountain forests, mass deforestation from the local population, in conditions of inaccessibility of mountain areas and the limited financial resources, they are forced to use it for the purposes of heating and daily living needs. On the one hand, measures of massive reforestation of mountain ecosystems and support to local communities, and, on the other hand, more active use of hydro-potential of mountain rivers will allow to stop and reverse the negative processes of degradation of mountain ecosystems caused by climate change, and would help to regulate these processes on territories and in the countries located downstream of the mountain rivers.

Large investments in the environmental sphere: specially protected natural areas, monitoring of glaciers and water resources, prevention of disasters, mudflows, landslides, floods, mountain forests, the continuation of the construction of cascades of Hydropower Station with the relevant reservoirs and etc.

Speaking about large Hydropower Stations, as clean development mechanisms and mountain forests,- it is necessary to note the close relationship not only in issues of energy and the environment, but also issues of regional policy and economic cooperation. At the plenary session of the group on the Kyoto protocol in Bangkok Kyrgyzstan has already raised the question about necessity to remove the restrictions on the use of hydropower stations as one of the clean development Mechanism, what is especially important for small mountainous, landlocked countries. The benefits from the use of not only small, but also medium and large hydropower stations as the clean development mechanism are obvious, there are:

First, the widespread use of medium-sized and large Hydropower stations for the production of electricity will encourage the transition from the use of hydrocarbons in industry and energy of developing countries, and therefore, will lead to a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the future till 2050.

Second, in conditions of intensive ablation of glaciers and the frequent cases of floods, caused by the breakthroughs of mountain lakes, these conditions cause enormous damage to all countries, located in the basins of the rivers, dams will play the role of regulators of these natural disasters.

Thirdly, it will contribute to large investments of state and private sectors of developed countries in the economies of the developing countries, and therefore, will be a real implementation of commitments of developed countries in the framework of post-Kyoto protocol for the provision of assistance, technology transfer and capacity-building.

Fourth, in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, it will promote the decision of problems of poverty, unemployment, provide electricity not only the rural population, but also the big cities, it will contribute to the development of the economy on the principles of "green", low-carbon growth.

Fifth, as a result of the construction of large and medium-sized Hydropower Stations, as a rule, are formed excess electricity. It promotes regional cooperation and the transfer it to countries that don’t have significant hydro-potential, and forced today to use hydrocarbons as fuel.

We must lift restrictions on the use of hydro-potential of small mountainous countries in the framework of clean development Mechanism or program on prevention of climate change.