Introduction: Mountains of Our Future Earth-Perth 2015

From 5 to 8 October 2015, 400 people from 52 countries on 6 continents attended the international conference “Mountains of Our Future Earth” in Perth, Scotland. The event was organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in sustainable development at the Centre for Mountain Studies (CMS) at Perth College, University of the Highlands and Islands, together with 2 global organizations: the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA). This editorial introduces the conference and the papers in this special issue, which are based on presentations given during the conference. The present issue of MRD concludes with an evaluation of the conference and consequent recommendations for future research.