Conserving and recovering mountain landscape functions are key concerns in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and a focus of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030. Two Mountain Development articles in this focus issue assess efforts to protect the páramo in Ecuador and rehabilitate puna grassland in Peru. Mountain Research articles investigate the impacts of plantation forests in Ethiopia on plant species and ecosystem services and examine local governments’ views on spring drying and conservation in Nepal. A Mountain Agenda article proposes a social science research agenda for the conservation of North America’s Yellowstone to Yukon Region. The guest editorial embeds the articles in the wider debate around mountain system restoration and its challenges, highlighting the attention all contributions give to its social dimensions.