Diversity and interactions in mountain livestock farming systems

Livestock systems in mountain areas around the world face accelerated transformation processes. Pressures and changes in land use, climate change effects, human migrations, changes in tourism dynamics and technological innovations are some of the main drivers of these transformations. Traditional mountain livestock systems are facing new challenges, under difficult and insecure conditions. At the same time, there is a body of academic literature as well as valuable policy experiences that demand careful analysis of the ongoing processes. An assessment of the evolution trajectories within such diverse and complex socio-ecological systems provides an insight at the evolution of livelihoods in the mountain primary sector. In the Project Highlands.3 we compare local initiatives and projects in different mountains worldwide, which will be presented in this Focus Session. In addition to that, we call for papers that address theoretical/analytical discussions and practical experiences of livestock farming systems in mountain areas.