The founding General Meeting of Shareholders held in Paris on April 10, 2001 defined the fundamental principles on which the organization’s statutes were adopted in Ispoure in 2003, on a mandate from the General Meeting of Shareholders in Quito.
As its name “World Mountain People’s Association” clearly indicates, the WMPA is above all the spokesman for mountain populations and aims to bring together the representatives of mountain communities or communities. By joining forces with other active forces, such as NGOs or mountain organisations, and researchers working with these populations, the representatives of mountain territories intend to better achieve the objective of equitable and sustainable mountain development. This is the main objective it has set itself, and in the service of which it intends to act in order to :
support the efforts of mountain communities and authorities in their action of land management and development.
promote the economic, social and cultural role of the mountain; strengthen and make better known its contribution to society.
encourage the exercise of solidarity between mountain people of the same nation, as a consequence of an awareness of their common destiny.
to help mountain communities to obtain the implementation of a legitimate national solidarity and a recognition of their identity and specificity.
to encourage the international community to take more account of the interests of mountain populations, the role they play in the maintenance of these territories and in the management of natural resources, and the particular difficulties they encounter in their development.
make national or international public opinion aware of the real situation of these populations and territories and modify the image, generally very reductive, that they may have of them.
Starting from the observation that in 120 countries in the world, mountain populations are today confronted with challenges linked to globalisation, the WMPA wishes to respond to these difficult challenges through meetings, exchanges and cooperation. The constitution of a community sharing the same objectives and pooling its resources must allow for controlled development – far from imposed models – and respecting their human, cultural, geographical and identity diversity. From this common action must be born a true universal mountain consciousness.
The statutes that the WMPA has adopted illustrate its ambition to do its utmost to ensure that these words are recognised, heard and legitimised, far from attitudes that are simply demanding.
