Mountain people rank amongst the most deprived of the world’s population, and yet, as is well recognized, their stewardship of mountain natural resources is closely linked to the sustainability of life in lowland areas. Mountain women play a crucial, and in many respects dominant role in natural resource management, agricultural production and the well-being and very survival of mountain families, But the workload of mountain women is intensified by a number of factors in mountainous regions, including a limited access to resources, an outmigration of men who seek work in lowland areas and environmental degradation. Diminishing forest and agricultural resources force them to travel greater distances to collect fuel, fodder and water and increase food insecurity, poverty and trafficking of mountain women into lowland and urban centres. In most cases, mountain women also lack economic independence and have only limited access to health care and education.
