Moving Mountains

For Mountains and people

Ecosystems

In the Hindu Kush Himalaya, where the land can rise abruptly from less than 500 meters to more than 8,000 meters, ecosystems often range from subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine meadows in a stretch of only a few hundred kilometres.

Within a relatively small area can be found wetlands, forests and savannahs, rich with biodiversity but threatened by factors from pollution to climate change to population pressure. Steep hillsides terraced with paddy fields provide a living for mountain farmers who both depend on and shape the region’s agricultural ecosystems.

Further up, on the cold and arid steppes that surround the highest peaks on earth, pastoral cultures coax a living from a rangeland ecosystem full of cultural and ecological complexity. All of these ecosystems, and the people who rely on them, interact in shifting and varied ways with the dynamics of a globalizing world.

Science Applications

Agriculture atlas of Nepal

This application uses district based statistics on various agriculture products such as crops, legumes, fruits and livestock published by Ministry of Agriculture.

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Programme-Component-Climate-Water-Agriculture-Hydropower

Related Initiatives

hilife

HI-LIFE

The Landscape Initiative for Far Eastern Himalayas (HI-LIFE - formerly Brahmaputra-Salween Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative - BSLCDI) is a collaborative effort of ICIMOD and the Governments of China, India, and Myanmar.

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HKPL

HKPL

The landscape of the Karakoram, Pamir Mountains and the Wakhan along the China-Pakistan- Afghanistan and Tajikistan border area represents a highly fragile alpine ecosystem with unique biodiversity that is currently under threat from increasing anthropogenic pressure and drivers of global change.

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Publications

You will find publications produced or related to this topic in HimalDoc, our publications repository. These resources include journal articles, books, book chapters, research reports, working papers, brochures, information sheets, and publicity materials, among other products.

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