Accepting the challenge proposed by the Mountain Partnership, the Equid Power Network* (www.equidpower.org) organised a virtual event to promote the importance of Working Equids in Mountain Areas, as a contribution to the celebrations held for International Mountain Day 2020. During this event, four guest speakers present different case studies from different parts of the world, highlighting the economic, ecologic and social importance and of working equids in mountain areas. Study cases: Case 1. Soil Conservation in Mountain Areas: Challenges and Threats. The (low) impact of animal traction in agroforestry management in mountains. Tomás de Figueiredo, IPB - Polytechnic Institute of Bragança / CIMO - Mountain Research Centre, Portugal. Case 2. Working Equids and the Production Chains in Rural Communities in the Central and South American Mountain Areas. Eduardo Santurtun, The Donkey Sanctuary México. Case 3. The Importance of Working Mules in the Tourism Sector in Nepal and How They Contribute to the Livelihood of Mountain Communities. Hari Joshi, Animal Nepal. Case 4. The Contribution of Working Equids to Sustaining the Livelihoods of Ethiopian Highlanders. Bojia Duguma, The Donkey Sanctuary Ethiopia. *The Equid Power Network is a coalition created by: - FECTU (European Draught Horse Federation) - The Donkey Sanctuary - World Horse Welfare with the aim to highlight the benefits of working equids by promoting their responsible use and care, recognising them as a valid, affordable, clean and renewable power source, as well as their value to human livelihoods through their contribution to financial, ecological and social capital.

Since July 2020, FECTU has been promoting a monthly webinar, covering different topics focused on health and welfare of working animals, but also on different uses in all kinds of activities. These webinars will continue in 2021 and are included in the continuous training programme, as a way to share knowledge and bring together professionals from different areas, having in common the passion for animal traction and working animals. As a result, FECTU has launched the new YouTube channel, where all the webinars will be available. We hope you will enjoy the content of this channel!

In October 2016 the Portuguese Association for Animal Traction APTRAN together with the European working horse network FECTU organized a symposium on THE XXI CENTURY MOUNTAINS:SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF MOUNTAINOUS AREAS BASED ON ANIMAL TRACTION in Bragança (Portugal) during the Ist INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS. The following abstracts of the symposium underline the relevance of working animals worldwide and the important role they continue to play today. After an overview of the renaissance of working horses in Europe in the last decades different aspects of the possible use and further development of animal traction are presented, based on experiences in Portugal, Switzerland and Italy and dealing with societal, economical, environmental and agrotechnical issues.