ISLAMABAD: Weeklong 5th Pakistan Mountain Festival (PMF) will start on December 6, featuring various activities, including painting exhibitions, cultural performances, wall climbing, seminars and workshops in connection with United Nations International Mountain Day. The event is going to be organised with the partnership of various government, semi-government, national and international organisations to promote tourism, recreational and cultural activities. PMF is an annual event founded by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) to commemorate the UN International Mountain Day that is celebrated on 11 December every year. Talking to APP, the PMF Festival director and Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director, Munir Ahmad said that the festaival will start with the rock wall climbing at Margallah Hills and artificial wall at the Ibex Club Rawal Lake Park on December 6. He said the mountain paintings exhibition has been scheduled on December 8. The recently published “Central Karakoram National Park Guidebook” coupled with a seminar “Promoting mountain products – a way forward” will be organised on December 9, he added. He further said an eco-friendly hiking at Margallah Hills trail-3 cleanup will be organised in the morning on December 13. The three-day exhibition of mountain products and cultural performances will take place at the art and craft village on 11-13 December respectively. Munir said the UN general assembly designated 11 December as “International Mountain Day”. As of 2003, it has been observed every year to create awareness about the importance of mountains and life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to people living in mountains and its environment around the world. The PMF festival director said, promoting mountain products is the theme chosen for this year’s celebration of International Mountain Day. Globalisation 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, he told. 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 its communities. Tourism can provide an opportunity for development in mountain regions,” he added. Munir further said that this event provides an occasion to highlight how mountain communities are protecting biodiversity by producing a large variety of typical products and providing crucial goods and services to all of us, while promoting mountain products and suggested theme for 2015, countries, communities and organisations are welcome to celebrate International Mountain Day through the choice of a different theme that might be more relevant to them.’ The core partners of this festival include Capital Development Authority (CDA), GLOF and Mountain & Market projects of UNDP and ministry of climate change, EvK2CNR, SEED project, Directorate of Central Karakoram National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism, ICIMOD and Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan national Centre for UNESCO, The Adventure Club, Ibex Club, NUST, NUML, Bahria University, Fatima Jinnah University, Boy Scouts Association, Girl Guides Association and several other educational institutions and civil society organisations.