In this Focus Issue, several papers address modernization and sustainable development, showing that development in mountains can take up positive aspects of modernization—eg improved energy production and use in Europe, multilocal livelihoods in Pakistan, combined use and conservation of natural resources in Europe, agrotourism in Thailand, and improved governance in Nepal—and thus lead to greater sustainability if handled well. Further papers deal with impact of land use systems on carbon storage in Thailand, impact of forest tenure on forest composition in China, adequacy of stump debarking in the Czech Republic, and impact of the mass elevation effect on treelines in the Andes. A final paper discusses hydropower production and energy storage systems in the European Alps. Read about the journal’s section policies, guidelines and submission procedure at: http://www.mrd-journal.org/.