POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR EUROPE’S AND NEIGHBORING MOUNTAIN AREAS

Policies for Europe’s and neighboring mountain areas share a common

direction: they seek to protect fragile ecosystems while allowing mountain communities to remain economically and socially viable. Mountain policy should therefore address environmental vulnerability and territorial inequality.

In European mountain regions, policy priorities include biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, rural development, forest protection, sustainable mobility, and tourism management. The EU approach recognises that mountain areas often face higher costs, difficult accessibility, and limited economic diversification. For this reason, support mechanisms are needed to maintain farming, local services, and community life. In neighboring regions such as Jordan, the policy context is different, but the principles are similar. Green growth strategies focus on the sustainable use of scarce resources, especially water and energy, while also promoting tourism as a source of employment and local development. In arid mountain and desert areas, sustainability depends strongly on water conservation, waste management, and respect for local cultural systems.

Across both European and neighboring mountain areas, participatory governance is essential. Local communities, municipalities, protected area managers, tourism businesses, farmers, youth groups, and civil society organisations must be involved in designing and implementing green strategies. Without local participation, environmental policies risk becoming disconnected from the everyday realities of mountain communities. (FAO, 2022; UNWTO, 2021).