[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1189-E1190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING MEMBERS OF THE UTAH INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN FORUM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN R. CURTIS

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2018

  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Samuel Elzinga, 
Damon Ashcraft, and Andrew Jensen, members of the Utah International 
Mountain Forum, a coalition of student clubs at Utah Valley University, 
on their recent success at the High-Level Political Forum on 
Sustainable Development under the auspices of the United Nations 
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on July 19, 2018 in New York. 
During general debates at that global forum, they highlighted the 
importance of advocating for mountain communities, who are among the 
most impoverished and forgotten communities globally. They demonstrated 
student engaged learning, one of UVU's core philosophies, by planning 
every aspect of the trip, while Dr. Baktybek Abdrisaev, a UVU faculty 
member, served them as a mentor to guide them through their endeavors. 
Through this engaged learning model, Samuel, Andrew, and Damon engaged 
also such non-governmental organization registered with the ECOSOC as 
the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the Mountain Institute, and 
Utah China Friendship Improvement Sharing Hands Development and 
Cooperation. As a result, those NGOs provided them an opportunity to 
make an oral and written statement, highlighting the state of Utah as a 
model for sustainable mountain development. Utah is consistently ranked 
as one of the best states for doing business and has some of the 
fastest growing communities in the country. I am very proud they 
highlighted how students are able and have to be counted as 
contributors to sustainable development both in Utah and mountain 
communities worldwide. Below is their oral statement, which was 
presented during ECOSOC's general debate on July 19, 2018:


   Mountain Targets Implementations Through Student Engaged Learning

       We thank the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences for 
     allowing us to speak in support of mountain communities, who 
     are among the poorest and most-neglected globally. Climate 
     change and migration make their living conditions even worse. 
     According to a recent study by the FAO-UN and the Mountain 
     Partnership (MP) Secretariat, an estimated 39 percent of the 
     mountain population in developing countries are vulnerable to 
     food insecurity. From 2000 to 2012, there was a 30-percent 
     increase in the number of mountain people vulnerable to food 
     insecurity, with their population only increasing by 16 
     percent.
       Two SDGs under the review of this forum contain three 
     mountain targets and it must address the challenges facing 
     mountain communities: Target 6.6: by 2020, protect and 
     restore water related ecosystems, including mountains, . . .; 
     Target 15.1: by 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration 
     and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater 
     ecosystems and their services, in particular . . . mountains 
     and drylands. . . .; Target 15.4: by 2030, ensure the 
     conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their 
     biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide 
     benefits that are essential for sustainable development.
       Since 2007, Utah Valley University, with the support of the 
     Mountain Partnership, involves students, including 
     nontraditional ones, in the implementation of mountain 
     targets. Members of the Utah International Mountain Forum 
     (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU, gain 
     professional skills through an engaged learning model by 
     addressing real-world problems of mountain communities with a 
     faculty serving them as a mentor.
       UIMF members have already advocated for the mountain women 
     during the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of 
     Women. Students, jointly with their Kyrgyz peers, reported 
     about hosting the International Women of the Mountains 
     conferences as an implementation of the UN Resolution 
     ``International Year of Mountains, 2002.'' The 2016 UN 
     Secretary-General's Report on Sustainable Mountain 
     Development featured recommendations provided by UIMF in the 
     latest conference document about the role women play in 
     implementation of two mountain targets. Through the model 
     students raised and contributed $250,000 to the mountain 
     targets adoption and implementation.
       The model demonstrates that students are able and must play 
     an active role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for 
     Sustainable Development. It can be used by universities in 
     rural and mountainous states worldwide to provide similar 
     benefits to students, and to transform mountain communities 
     towards sustainable and resilient societies.

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