We welcome the initiatives of APEC to rebalance its agenda to address rural poverty and development around the Pacific Rim.

Despite APEC's many economic successes, up to 1 billion rural people have been left behind. Of particular concern are the poor and remote mountain communities found in many APEC economies. Globally, about 300 million people living in mountains are vulnerable to food insecurity. Many of them are desperately poor, with conditions generally worse at higher altitudes.

A common answer to poverty is migration. Young people leave to find work in lowland cities, while fragmented families of the elderly and children are left at home to cope as best they can.

China and other APEC economies have recognized the need to address mountain poverty, but it is not always clear how best to proceed.

Missteps can degrade fragile environments and further marginalize communities. The Mountain Institute's work in high altitude regions of the Himalayas and Andes has shown that healthy pathways with multiple benefits for development do exist.

One option is to sustainably cultivate and market medicinal and aromatic plants. In the Himalayas, economic interest in such plants is nothing new. With major markets in China for traditional medicine, these products have been traded for centuries.

The plants are also used in many Western medications. Himalayan yew, for instance, is a source of taxol, which is used to treat breast, ovarian, lung, prostate, and other cancers.

The Mountain Institute has partnered with local organizations in Peru and Nepal training farmers to cultivate medicinal plants. Cooperatives have been established to further fair trade and improve marketing. The results have been impressive.

In 2013, 16,000 highland farmers earned more than $800,000 combined in Nepal. Some 42 percent of the farmers are women, and this increased income is enabling more families to send daughters, as well as sons, to school.

In addition to the economic benefits, these projects help protect fragile mountain forests, meadows, and wildlife. With reduced wild foraging and yak grazing, mountain ecosystems and habitats are recovering. Wild harvesting has put Himalayan yew on the endangered list, but the cooperatives have planted some 225,000 seedlings, reducing pressure on wild stocks.

The environmental benefits are more than a local concern. Alpine regions are the water catchments of the world and mountain communities are the stewards of the world's water towers. In the steep terrain of the high Himalayas, healthy forests are essential to limiting erosion. Forests capture and store water, sustain freshwater flow during dry seasons, while reducing flood risks.

Good livelihood opportunities for mountain communities are limited. Tourism often leads to limited profits for villagers and mining can leave a degraded environment and little long-term benefit. But growing medicinal plants is one excellent alternative. Such high-value products make economic sense, especially coupled with innovative business models including public-private partnerships.

The best way to reduce poverty in mountain regions is through an approach that integrates livelihoods with environmental and cultural concerns. APEC has an important role to play.  Its self-appointed mandate is to promote economic integration and inclusiveness. So far, the rural poor have been absent from APEC's focus, but hopefully this oversight will be addressed soon.

Andrew Taber is executive director of The Mountain Institute, which supports livelihood improvements and sustainable development in remote, impoverished regions in the Andes, Himalayas, and Appalachians. John Russell is managing director of the public affairs consultancy North Head. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn