The following Anthology of Selected Case Studies Illustrates the Wide Range of Programme Aims, Sectors, and Partnerships in Swiss Development and Cooperation Activities in Moun- Tainous Regions. a World Soils Agenda Discussing International Actions for the Sustainable Use of Soils

Using a global assessment of land qual-ity and an interpolated population den-sity map, we show the spread of landimpacted by human habitation and ex-ploitation of natural resources. Land sys-tems defined as ‘pristine’, ‘minimal’ and‘low’ impact support about 4.3% of theworld population (about 235 millionpeople). These three zones occupy24.4% of the land (31.8 millionkm2)and are considered the non-threatenedpart of the world. However, human soci-ety has to be vigilant about these lands,and, wherever possible, revert some ofthe agricultural and grazing lands backto their natural condition as the earth’sreserves. In contrast, the threatened partdefined as ‘moderate’, ‘high’ and ‘veryhigh’ impact land systems occupy 34%of the land surface (44 millionkm2), andsupport 89% of the global population(4,900 million people). Countries wheresuch lands dominate are the tensionzones of the world. Not only has theirenvironmental integrity been compro-mised to feed and clothe the people; theplanet is also losing its genetic resources at an alarming rate.