The IMA Coordination Unit has promoted the membership of EURAC to the Mountain Partnership, a world alliance for sustainable development within the mountain environment. The Mountain Partnership was launched in 2002 during the world Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg and it was especially promoted by Italy and Switzerland. At present, a total of 130 members, including 44 States, 14 international organizations, 72 private bodies and non governmental organizations, join the Mountain Partnership. EURAC joined it in October 2004.

The alliance is aimed at promoting the exchange of information, experiences and best practices among its members, by fostering their mutual co-operation and partnership. A good example of it is the Alpine-Carpathian co-operation, which has allowed the Carpathian Countries to benefit from the experience acquired by the Alpine Countries in the framework of the Alpine Convention, thus leading to the signature of the Carpathian Convention.

The activities performed by the Mountain Partnership are led and supported by a Secretariat, based in Rome at FAO, and mainly funded by the Italian and Swiss governments.

The Unit plays a leading role in the Policy and Law initiative as well as in the Europe geographical initiative in the framework of the Mountain Partnership.

The Policy and Law initiative is intended to study legal and administrative tools for the promotion of sustainable development in mountain areas, taking into account the sensitive nature of the mountain areas and their transboundary position.

The Europe geographical initiative is instead designed to identify the specific problems experienced by the European mountain areas, in order to develop a plan of action. A special attention is paid to the rural communities and to their economic activities.