The move brings the international governing body for climbing and mountaineering into a global initiative designed to deliver transformative action for nature through sport by 2030 and beyond. The Framework is a joint initiative involving the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Olympic Committee (IOC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy.

A natural connection

For a sport whose activities are intrinsically connected to mountains, cliffs and trails, protecting the natural environment is particularly relevant.

The UIAA highlights biodiversity loss, overuse and climate change among the environmental pressures already affecting the places where climbing and mountaineering take place. Its existing Sustainability Charter addresses climate change, biodiversity and geodiversity, waste and pollution, infrastructure development and the wider social impacts associated with mountain sports.

As the federation states:

“The UIAA and Sports for Nature are a natural fit: Joining forces helps turn local conservation into a worldwide goal.”

Joining the Framework therefore provides an opportunity to connect existing UIAA activity with a broader international movement seeking to establish nature protection as a fundamental responsibility for sport.

From commitment to action

Central to the Framework are four principles: protecting nature and avoiding damage to habitats and species; restoring and regenerating nature; understanding and reducing nature-related supply-chain risks; and educating and inspiring action across and beyond sport.

The UIAA has aligned its own ambitions with each principle, including commitments to respect protected areas, restore environments where its members operate, address environmental risks within supply chains and increase awareness of nature across its wider community.

Importantly, there is already a platform on which to build. Through its Mountain Protection Commission, the UIAA is working on issues including carrying capacity, expedition recommendations and the procurement of safe and responsible mountaineering equipment, alongside its Mountain Protection Award community.

Building knowledge across sport

Sports for Nature is also seeking to turn ambition into practical capability across the wider sports sector.

Its Sports and Nature: Foundations for Action course provides an accessible introduction to the relationship between sport and the natural environment, helping people identify the risks and opportunities associated with events, venues and operations and integrate nature-friendly approaches into everyday decision-making and longer-term planning.

The free, self-paced course takes approximately two hours and is aimed at people working with sports organisations, venues and events, as well as conservation professionals seeking to understand sport’s relationship with nature.

For the UIAA, joining Sports for Nature is therefore more than an environmental statement. It provides a framework through which an organisation already closely connected to the natural world can strengthen existing programmes, share expertise and increasingly translate mountain protection from principle into measurable action.