ISLAMABAD – The weeklong fifth Pakistan Mountain Festival will start here on December 6, featuring various activities including painting exhibitions, cultural performances, wall climbing, seminars and workshops in connection with the UN International Mountain Day. The event is being organised by the partnership of various government, semi-government, national and international organisations to promote tourism, recreational and cultural activities. Festival Director Munir Ahmad said that the festival would start with the rock wall climbing in the Margallah Hills and artificial wall at the Ibex Club Rawal Lake Park on December 6. The festival is an annual event founded by the Development Communications Network (Devcom Pakistan) to commemorate the international day that is celebrated on December 11, every year. The mountain paintings exhibition is scheduled on Tuesday December 8, the recently published Central Karakoram National Park Guidebook coupled with a seminar – promoting mountain products a way forward – will be arranged on December 9. An eco-friendly hiking and Margallah Hills Trail-3 cleanup will be organised in the morning of December 13. The three-day exhibition of mountain products and cultural performances will take place at the Art and Craft Village from December 11-13. The UN General Assembly designated 11 December as the International Mountain Day. As of 2003, it has been observed every year to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world. The director said that promoting mountain products was the theme chosen for this year’s celebration. Globalization offers opportunities for mountain producers to market their high quality mountain products, such as coffee, cocoa, honey, herbs, spices and handicrafts at the national, regional and international levels. Though mountain agriculture cannot compete with the prices and volumes of lowland production, it can concentrate on high value, high quality products to boost local economies. “Tourism-related services such as skiing, climbing, cultural heritage or nature trails that allow visitors to discover unique biodiversity are also some of the offerings provided by mountains and mountain communities. If sustainably managed, tourism can provide an opportunity for development in mountain regions.” Munir further said that this event provides an occasion to highlight how mountain communities were protecting biodiversity by producing a large variety of typical products and providing crucial goods and services to all. While promoting mountain products is the suggested theme for 2015, countries, communities and organisations are welcome to celebrate the day through the choice of a different theme that might be more relevant to them.