WS 3.103: LACMONT lives

The first encounter of LACMONT was held in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, from 11 to 13 of May, 2021. The idea to create the “Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Investigación e Innovación en Ambientes de Montaña,” was graciously supported by international organizations, including FAO-Mountain Partnership and MRI-Mountain Research Initiative, as well as local provincial government and federal institutes in Brazil, NGOs, and various mountain scholars and practitioners from several Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Brazilian colleagues of the organizing committee went above and beyond the fluminense hospitality to energize and successfully culminate the effort. However, there has been a perceived lack of effort and web presence ever since. The Commission of Mountain Studies (CMS) of the International Geographical Union (IGU) and several montologists of the region are supportive of reinvigorating LACMONT to make it active again and bring collaborative effort to the next level. We will offer workshopping participants the option to reactivate membership and to plan smaller regional fora to move the mountain research and innovation agenda further to benefit sustainable and regenerative development of mountain communities in the western hemisphere. With this goal, we are planning specific actions to highlight regional opportunities, including: online courses directed to students pursuing ‘Diplomado’ in mountain science and local knowledge, offered by the Laboratorio Natural Andes del Sur; and the establishment of an online montology colloquium or webinars with main actors.