Mountains are being ravaged by human activities and action needs to be taken to ensure that these troves of biodiversity and natural resources are not sacrificed on the altar of development, according to a forum held Thursday at the United Nations University in Tokyo.

The UNU forum, titled "Mountains: Human Environment and Human Activities," occupied the first day of a two-day conference to launch International Year of the Mountains.

The forum featured speeches from three mountain experts.

Alpinist Junko Tabei, the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, spoke about the damage that garbage and other waste left behind by climbers is inflicting on mountains.

Until the last century, Japanese had revered mountains as sacred places inhabited by gods, whereas in some other countries they were often perceived as devilish places, said Yugo Ono, a mountain expert from the Graduate School of Environmental Earth Sciences at Hokkaido University.

"I do not think there is anywhere else in the world where people have historically been as intimate with mountains," Ono said.

Jack Ives, a famous mountain geographer who teaches at Carleton University in Ottawa, tackled the topic of sustainable development.

"Solutions imposed from outsiders will almost always fail," he said, adding that the support of locals in protecting mountains is vital.

There will be a conference today on mountain ecosystems at the Elizabeth Rose Conference Hall of the U.N. House.

A UNU mountain photograph exhibition will be held at UNU in Shibuya Ward until March 29.

The U.N. General Assembly has declared 2002 the International Year of Mountains to boost awareness about mountain ecosystems.