These days, environmental issues sit near the top of the global agenda. World leaders actually treat them as a real priority now. Looking ahead, it’s pretty clear that as time goes on, fights between countries will center more and more on the environment and who gets what from nature. Mountains are a big deal here. They play a unique and essential role in our ecosystem, but somehow, they don’t get much attention. That’s a problem, because their delicate balance makes them especially easy to damage or destroy. International law can help. If countries use these legal tools well, they can stop more harm and even start to fix what’s already been broken. We’ve already seen some progress—European nations have taken some legal steps, and it’s actually made a difference.