Biodiversity in the Eastern Himalayas: Conservation Through Dialogue: Summary Reports of Workshops on Biodiversity Conservation in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Ecoregion

Nature blooms, sings, crawls and prances in abundance in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH). Successions of forests adorn its valleys and flanks – from the tropical hardwoods to an astounding array of rhododendrons in alpine splendour. Tigers prowl at lower reaches while snow leopards mark their territories across high elevations. Giant pandas and small red pandas live on the rich variety of bamboo species. The world’s greatest variation in altitudes combined with meteorological and geological convergences have created some of the world’s richest and most beautiful biological diversity in the Eastern Himalayan region. This wealth of biodiversity has helped support a rich diversity of human cultures and spurred the development of vast storehouses of indigenous knowledge on the use and care of nature’s products. This has led to the identification, modification and cultivation of a variety of plants and animals, which help feed and keep healthy populations around the world. Himalayan biodiversity also provides ecosystem services within and below the mountains in the regulation of climate and water regimes, the safeguarding of present and future genetic assets, and the glorification of mountain, rivers, lakes, and caves held sacred.