The UIAA – International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation – has joined the Sports for Nature Framework to support the goal of delivering transformative action for nature through sports. A longstanding advocate of mountain protection and sustainability, the UIAA is committed to championing nature and contributing to its protection and restoration.
Sports for Nature is a joint initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, International Olympic Committee, United Nations Environment Programme, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy. It aims to deliver transformative action for nature through sports, by 2030 and beyond, enabling sports to champion nature and contribute to its protection and restoration. It provides a game plan for sports – at all levels – to accelerate and inspire others to take action for nature.
Through the Sports for Nature Framework, the UIAA is looking to further strengthen its existing commitment to nature by extending and intensifying its collaboration with this framework and other initiatives focused on nature preservation. In pursuing mountain sports we have all seen first hand how vulnerable mountain, cliff, and trail ecosystems are to a wide range of environmental stressor – biodiversity loss, over use, climate change – and these are just a few examples.
As the UIAA Sustainability Charter highlights, climbers and mountaineers can best meet our environmental responsibilities and help safeguard mountain regions and local communities through actions that include (self) awareness, planning/implementing practical measures, advocacy, and the regular exchange of experiences.
The Sustainability Charter lays out four key issues of concern for addressing the environmental and social sustainability of climbing and mountaineering:
- Climate change
- Reducing impacts to the natural environment, concerning
- Biodiversity and geodiversity
- Waste and pollution
- Infrastructure development
- Reducing social impacts
- Promoting positive social change
These go hand-in-hand with the founding principles behind Sports for Nature’s:
S4N Principle 1: Protect nature and avoid damage to natural habitats and species
UIAA GOAL: The UIAA is committed to protecting and avoiding damage to natural habitats and species, including respecting protected areas.
Further reading: UIAA Sustainability Charter, UIAA Declaration on Hiking, Climbing and Mountaineering
S4N Principle 2: Restore and regenerate nature wherever possible
UIAA GOAL: The UIAA takes positive action to restore and regenerate nature in and around the indoor and outdoor environments where UIAA members operate.
S4N Principle 3: Understand and reduce risks to nature in your supply chains
UIAA GOAL: The UIAA works to reduce environmental risks and enable opportunities to conserve and restore nature in our supply chains, linking wherever possible to climate goals.
Further reading: UIAA Climate Action Plans – Members, UIAA Carbon Footprint Reports
S4N Principle 4: Educate and inspire positive action for nature across and beyond sport
UIAA GOAL: As an organization the UIAA works to educate and inspire greater awareness and action for nature within our sport, our wider communities, and our stakeholders.
Further reading: UIAA Mountain Protection Award, annual UIAA Climate Change Summit
The UIAA is keen to connect with and add its expertise to the Sport for Nature network, especially with respect to the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission’s projects on carrying capacity, expedition recommendations, procurement of safe and responsible mountaineering equipment, and working with the UIAA Mountain Protection Award community.
The UIAA and Sports for Nature are a natural fit: Joining forces helps turn local conservation into a worldwide goal.