A/RES/64/205 18. Underlines the need for improved access to resources, including land, for women in mountain regions, as well as the need to strengthen the role of women in mountain regions in decision-making processes that affect their communities, cultures and environments; 19. Encourages Governments and intergovernmental organizations to integrate the gender dimension, including gender-disaggregated indicators, in mountain development activities, programmes and projects; 20. Stresses that indigenous cultures, traditions and knowledge, including in the field of medicine, are to be fully considered, respected and promoted in development policy and planning in mountain regions, and underlines the importance of promoting the full participation and involvement of mountain communities in decisions that affect them and of integrating indigenous knowledge, heritage and values in all development initiatives; 21. Underscores the need to take into account relevant articles of the Convention on Biological Diversity;6 0H 22. Recalls with satisfaction the adoption by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity of a programme of work on mountain biological diversity, 8 the overall purpose of which is a significant reduction in the loss of mountain biological diversity by 2010 at the global, regional and national levels, and its implementation, which aims at making a significant contribution to poverty eradication in mountain regions; 7F 23. Invites States and other stakeholders to strengthen implementation of the programme of work on mountain biological diversity through renewed political commitment and the establishment of appropriate multi-stakeholder institutional arrangements and mechanisms, and in this regard notes with satisfaction the collaboration established between the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Mountain Partnership and the Mountain Forum to mobilize concerned Governments and other stakeholders for more effective cooperation and to assist in building capacity for implementation of the programme of work; 24. Recognizes that many developing countries, as well as countries with economies in transition, need to be assisted in the formulation and implementation of national strategies and programmes for sustainable mountain development, through bilateral, multilateral and South-South cooperation, as well as through other collaborative approaches; 25. Emphasizes the importance of exchange of best practices, information and appropriate environmentally sound technologies for sustainable mountain development, and encourages Member States and relevant organizations in this regard; 26. Notes that funding for sustainable mountain development has become increasingly important, especially in view of the greater recognition of the global importance of mountains and the high level of extreme poverty, food insecurity and hardship mountain communities face; 27. Invites Governments, the United Nations system, the international financial institutions, the Global Environment Facility, all relevant United Nations conventions and their funding mechanisms, within their respective mandates, and all _______________ 8 4 UNEP/CBD/COP/7/21, annex, decision VII/27, annex.