Misplaced Pages

#166833

19-883: It links the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve in Tibet , one of the largest protected areas in Asia, with the Kangchenjunga Landscape in India and the Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex in Bhutan. Climate change threatens the flora and fauna of this area. Trans-boundary protection of its biological and ecological connections is critical for the survival of such species as the snow leopard and

38-513: A total area of protected ecology greater than the land area of Switzerland —conserving multiple Himalayan ecosystems from the very wet to the very dry and from 1,000 feet of vertical elevation to 29,000 feet. Not adjacent by easy migratory distance away from the QNNP are significant protected areas in Sikkim , India, as well as the country of Bhutan which has over 40% of its land area protected. QNNP

57-459: Is distinctive because no warden force protects its natural and cultural treasures. Management is by local communities, especially the governments of the four counties that comprise the preserve ( Tingri , Dinjie, Nyalam, Kyirong) with a Management Bureau in Shigatse, the prefecture headquarters. The four counties have a population estimated at over 90,000 people. The official data sheet provided by

76-467: Is no separate conservation administration. Village volunteers known as Pendebas (Tibetan for “workers who benefit the village”) are trained in primary health, nutrition, and kitchen gardens, conservation concepts and management. Most of the 230 villages in the QNNP have sent at least one village member to be trained as a Pendeba. Continuing development of the Pendebas is being led by Tsering Norbu and

95-563: Is the Tibetan name for Mount Everest ), the QNNP was one of the first nature preserves in the world to be administered and protected entirely by local volunteers. Through their continued efforts, significant achievements have been made in halting rampant deforestation , unregulated tourism and illegal hunting of rare wildlife in the Qomolangma region. Active reforestation and garbage collection programs have also been undertaken to restore

114-658: The Pendeba Program . Subsequent to formation of the QNNP, with the new land management model, land area of the Tibet Autonomous Region under national and regional protected status expanded steadily, utilizing the QNNP management model where local county administrations enforce the conservation policies and where people engage in conservation management as part of their livelihood activities. Presently, there are 23 national-level and regional-level designated nature reserves that collectively protect 42% of

133-558: The red panda that are threatened throughout the world. The area covers nine and a half million acres and includes five million people of diverse cultures who speak 40 languages. Most face abject poverty and are in need of sustainable livelihoods. SHL is part of the initiation of the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) that "taps into the spiritual beliefs and conservation ethics of local communities to restore essential habitats and protect endangered species such as

152-824: The snow leopard ." WWF has cooperated with the three governments of Nepal, India and Bhutan to preserve the fragile "complex mosaic of biodiversity " and "achieve conservation while creating sustainable livelihoods in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape". The mountains in the SHL contain the future water supply, in the form of glaciers , for the huge population on the Indian subcontinent but are susceptible to natural disasters such as landslides, forest fires and flash floods that are caused by poor land management. The Mountain Institute (TMI) has worked with farmers in

171-574: The People’s Republic of China elevated its protection to the national level and the QNP became QNNP. The QNNP contains along its border with Nepal four of the world's six highest mountains: Everest , Lhotse , Makalu , and Cho Oyu . Also in this preserve is Shishapangma , the 14th highest in the world and the only eight-thousander peak exclusively in China. The preserve holds Rongbuk Monastery ,

190-490: The QNNP administration reports over 2,000 species of plants, 53 species of mammals, 206 species of birds, eight species of amphibians, 10 species of fish. Forty-seven species of rare and endangered plants and animals. While the norm in community-based conservation has been co-management by science and traditional peoples under a separate management structure for conservation, the QNNP represents another model where science and traditional join in political administration and there

209-772: The QNNP-based Pendeba Society, one of the few nonprofit organizations in rural Tibet Autonomous Region . The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve was proposed in 1985 by Daniel C. Taylor to the Tibetan regional and Chinese national governments when essentially no protected land was designated in the Tibet Autonomous Region . As the primary external advisers for two decades, Daniel C. Taylor and Chun-Wuei Su Chien worked first through The Mountain Institute and then through Future Generations to provide management assistance in scientific, social development, historical renovation, ecotourism planning, and initiation of

SECTION 10

#1732779777167

228-665: The SHL by teaching them to cultivate medical plants, having trained over 12,500 since 2001. Qomolangma National Nature Preserve The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve ( QNNP ), also known as the Chomolungma Nature Reserve ( QNP ), is a protected area 3.381 million hectares in size in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China . Located on the Roof of the World (" Qomolangma "

247-576: The environment. The protected area, initially named Qomolangma Nature Preserve, was created on March 18, 1989 at the Tibet regional level. Support from then-Governor of Tibet, Hu Jintao , was instrumental in shaping the community-based management design summarized below and also pushing through the landscape level size (in 1983, QNP was the largest nature reserve in Asia). In 1993, the State Council of

266-574: The highest monastery in the world at 4,500 meters and the highest agricultural fields in the world at 4,300 meters. In addition, the preserve has key pilgrimage sites for Tibetan Buddhism’s most famous poet saint, Milarepa . The contiguous trans-border protected area that has become appended to the QNNP links with five protected areas in Nepal . These are Makalu-Barun National Park , Sagarmatha National Park , Langtang National Park , Manaslu Conservation Area , and Annapurna Conservation Area encompassing

285-584: The main tourist trails. Sagarmatha National Park contains the upper catchment areas of the Dudh Kosi and Bhotekoshi rivers and the Gokyo Lakes . It ranges in elevation from 2,845 m (9,334 ft) at Monjo to the top of Mount Everest at 8,848 m (29,029 ft). Other peaks above 6,000 m (20,000 ft) are Lhotse , Cho Oyu , Thamserku , Nuptse , Amadablam and Pumori . Barren land above 5,000 m (16,000 ft) comprises 69% of

304-478: The north, it shares the international border with Qomolangma National Nature Preserve in Tibet Autonomous Region . In the east, it is adjacent to Makalu Barun National Park , and in the south it extends to Dudh Kosi river. It is part of the Sacred Himalayan Landscape . Sagarmatha National Park was established on July 19, 1976. In 1979, it became the country's first national park that

323-617: The park while 28% is grazing land and the remaining 3% is forested . Climatic zones span from temperate and subalpine above 3,000 m (9,800 ft) to alpine above 4,000 m (13,000 ft), which is the upper limit of vegetation growth. The nival zone begins at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). The forests in the subalpine belt consist of fir , Himalayan birch and rhododendron . Juniper and rhododendron prevail at elevations of 4,000–5,000 m (13,000–16,000 ft). Mosses and lichens grow above 5,000 m (16,000 ft). More than 1,000 floral species were recorded in

342-559: The region’s land area. It is included in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape . Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmāthā National Park is a national park in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that was established in 1976 and encompasses an area of 1,148 km (443 sq mi) in the Solukhumbu District . It ranges in elevation from 2,845 to 8,848 m (9,334 to 29,029 ft) and includes Mount Everest . In

361-631: Was inscribed as a Natural World Heritage Site . In January 2002, a Buffer Zone comprising 275 km (106 sq mi) was added. Conservation of forests, wildlife, and cultural resources received top priority under the Buffer Zone Management Guidelines , followed by conservation of other natural resources and development of alternative energy . Tourism in the area began in the early 1960s. In 2003, about 19,000 tourists arrived. As of 2005, about 3,500 Sherpa people lived in villages and seasonal settlements situated along

#166833