D. Jane Pratt, President

Tom Eastman, Chairman of the Board

Eleven community-based Integrated Conservation and Development Projects were launched, including ecotourism; recovery of traditional weaving techniques and markets; garbage recycling for use in compost, cuy (guinea pig) and agroforestry production, reintroduction of alpacas and llamas complemented with range management improvement using wild species; and a program of barefoot veterinarians.
An accurate map of the Park was created to serve as the foundation to develop mining monitoring systems and to improve TMI capacities to study and monitor social and ecological impacts of the Program.
Training was provided to communities on community-based mountain tourism, tourism impact assessment methodologies, native grassland management, animal health, and regional strategic planning for conservation and development.
Two networks are in operation to support park efforts to deal with mining threats, one at a national level (Conservation and Mining Consortium) and Huascarán Task Force to coordinate local efforts. Mining companies, government entities, and NGOs belong to the network. Effective monitoring of mining impacts and international support from UNESCO World Heritage Center was achieved. Three mining and conservation projects were developed by the Program in coordination with these networks and approved by donors for implementation.

The most important mining project in the region owned by Mitusi Mining and Smelting joined the Huascarán Task Force and committed to participate in participatory land use zoning exercises to promote mountain tourism and conservation in the region.
The provincial municipality of Chiquian proposed to develop a participatory tourism planning exercise based on TMI’s experience with Huascarán National Park and invited TMI as technical advisor of the planning process together with the Ministry of Tourism and Ancash National University Santiago Antunez de Mayolo.

Establishment of six field sites for project implementation with project partners and communities.
Validation of a participatory paramos land use planning and mapping methodology in six different regions of the country.
Detailed land use and socio-economic study and mapping of paramos in Ecuador to support a national conservation monitoring system, community land use plans, and to increase national appreciation of paramos as a critical ecosystem.

Wetlands Rehabilitation and Monitoring: A sinkhole/wetlands restoration project was initiated (fencing/re-seeding) that includes recycled plastic boardwalk and interpretational plaques. Physical and vegetative changes in the sinkhole, protected since 1997, are monitored each year photographically.
Stream and Weather Monitoring Station: Stream monitoring and weather stations were installed with volunteer labor and now provide a basis for systematic monitoring and tracking of environmental conditions and change.
Blister Swamp Conservation and Restoration Project: The project protects and monitors change in 40 acres of unique, globally significant privately owned wetland habitat. The project is a partnership between the landowners, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and TMI. This project has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other partners as an innovative public-private NGO partnership. It will initially protect an area of rare and endangered plants considered to have global ecological significance.

Mountain Learning Summer Adventure Programs: Mountain Learning programs offer field-based environmental education courses exploring the unique ecology of the Appalachian Mountains. During 1999, Mountain Learning hosted five summer courses for students ages 9–17; more than 20 schools and organizations participated in Mountain Learning programs.
Summer College Courses: Innovative mountain studies provided a hands-on science education while addressing the major issues facing our mountain communities and environments. Credit courses were developed and led by TMI in collaboration with faculty and researchers from affiliated universities.
The West Virginia Scholars Academy: High school seniors from all regions of West Virginia explored the natural, cultural, and human resources of the Appalachian Mountains. Highlights included: guest lectures from historians, authors, folklorists, and botanists; a visit to communities and a panel debating logging; and an audio portrait of the region developed by the Scholars. A long-term evaluation of the Academy was also conducted, revealing how many of the program’s alumni are working to make a difference in Appalachia.
The School for Mountain Studies: The complexity and importance of mountain environments and cultures is taught through an in-depth look at protected area and community development projects around the world. These mountain studies courses link students with The Mountain Institute’s field staff and in-country partner organizations. During 1999, more than 40 students visited Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park in Nepal and Huascarán National Park in Peru. Courses are developed and executed by TMI in collaboration with faculty and researchers from affiliated universities.
Professional and Teacher Training Workshops: Workshops and meetings have been a regular feature of SKMC since 1973. Local, regional, and international meetings have been hosted at the Center’s main campus. New offerings in 1999 included a science teacher training initiative, Environmental Sciences in West Virginia: Utilizing Our Mountain Resources.

Community Conservation Projects: Community plans were developed and are being implemented for projects in the twelve village development areas. More than 2,700 local people, 40% of whom are women, contributed to these plans.
Strengthening local partnerships: TMI provided institutional development training and technical and skills improvement training for several local NGOs and more than 110 community organizations and user groups.
Community Natural Resource Management: MBCP staff trained more than 80 community forest-user groups in advanced forest management and forest monitoring skills, building on earlier trainings.
Sustainable livelihood and tourism programs: Enterprise, saving and credit, business literacy, and basic literacy training was provided to nearly 600 women entrepreneurs.
Cultural Heritage and Indigenous Knowledge Conservation Programs: Seven cultural heritage sites were supported, including monastery renovation and protection of a sacred spring. An ethno-botany dictionary and a cultural study of a remote Buddhist community and it society were completed and disseminated in Nepali language.

Village Ecotourism Plans developed through LEP community training programs are implemented by community-based organizations in seven communities.
Community ecotourism committees formed in association with LEP have elected leaders and agreed on a process for rotating leadership. Five of the tourism and women’s committees are now registered with the District government.
Four women’s groups played active roles in implementing LEP’s Village Ecotourism Plans. Shermathang Village’s women’s group operates a cultural program to raise visitors’ awareness about local culture. Tarkegyang village women restored a local monastery and grounds, installed a large tourist map in the village, and built a monastery water system.
Four communities of Langtang-Helambu region operated a recycling program for bottles, tins, and other metal and plastic products to generate funds for community conservation activities.
As a result of LEP training and support, an estimated 60–70% of lodges in Langtang-Helambu region now use kerosene in place of firewood, with an even higher percentage during the busy trekking season. Two communities made kerosene use compulsory in the lodges.
Two villages were assisted through community matching grants: a village kerosene depot was established in Melamchigyang that contributes a portion of profits to ongoing conservation activities; and the Shermathang Village women’s group set up a garbage cleanup and management operation.

Three major components of the Nepal Trust Fund for Biodiversity (NTFB) were drafted: Draft national legislation for the Biodiversity Conservation Trust Fund, a Trust Fund Operational Manual, and a Fund Raising Strategy. National and international experts reviewed all three components and a draft bill was submitted to the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation for Parliamentary approval.
 
In August 1999, the first meeting of the Trust Fund Advisory Board was held. The main objective of the Advisory Board is to provide expert guidance during the design phase.

A joint Nepal-TAR Transboundary field study team was formed and staff from TMI worked with other non-profit partners to train the team in participatory methods and other topics relevant to Transboundary issues.
The joint team visited five remote border villages of Nepal and TAR and held participatory meetings on transboundary issues.
Site-specific reports of the field studies are compiled in Chinese and Nepali, and a joint report is under preparation in English with specific recommendations for follow-up transboundary actions.

Agreement signed with the Embassy of the Netherlands/Beijing for support of a five-year project of TMI core technical assistance to communities, counties, and government agencies in the QNP. The project will build local capacity to conserve the Mt. Everest ecosystem, improve local livelihoods, and help preserve cultural heritage in the Qomolangma Nature Preserve.
Construction of a training center next to the village of Shagar where it will be accessible to villagers and the Qomolangma Conservation Project’s field headquarters.

Five Tibetan participants from the Lhasa Branch of the Bank of China and program staff from the ICF staff participated in a 3-week tour in the U.S. The group studied lending mechanisms and banking practices that support private enterprise development and sustainable community lending programs.
Start-up of the Yak-Crane Project in Medrogonggar County, a project linking income generation of rural Tibetan livestock herders and the conservation of critical habitat for the rare blackneck crane.

Training more than 15 local conservation NGOs in organizational development and fund-raising, resulting in grants such as one for the Khangchendzonga Conservation Committee for tourism monitoring and management.
Technical reviews of new trekking routes for the Government of Sikkim.
Tourism planning training for local NGOs in Sikkim and North Bengal.
Completion of four doctoral theses by local students associated with the project and supervised by G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development.

An international training course, “Community-Based Tourism for Conservation and Development,” organized with the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre (Thailand). Over 20 participants from seven countries attended the training in Nepal, and many have gone on to initiate sustainable tourism activities in their own countries.
A training and workshop in collaboration with the International Snow Leopard Trust and Ladakh Ecological Development Group on resolving people-wildlife conflicts associated with snow leopards in Ladakh, India.

Membership: MF membership increased 35 percent in 1999 to 1318 registered members from more than 70 countries.
Conferences: An electronic conference entitled Mountain People, Forests, and Trees: Strategies for Balancing Local Management and Outside Interests was held with 850 participants from mountain regions around the world, who contributed more than 100 case studies.
Discussion Lists: Thirteen ongoing email discussion lists serve more than 3000 subscribers and support dialog on thematic, regional, and global mountain issues.
Web Site Expansion: The Mountain Forum’s web site, including interactive membership services, calendar, on-line library, and many other features, grew to more than 7000 pages during the year.
Publications: An e-conference report, Community-Based Mountain Tourism, was disseminated to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and to all MF members. Two issues of the Mountain Forum Bulletin and a Membership Directory were published. TMI staff also published an article, Gender and Mountain Ecotourism (The Ecotourism Society), and co-coordinated the University of Bern publication Mountains of the World: Tourism and Sustainable Mountain Development.
Advocacy: Tourism was a priority theme at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in April 1999. The need for special consideration of mountain environments and communities was highlighted through speeches at the UN and publications for delegates.
Exchanges: Face-to-face exchanges between mountain practitioners were supported through the Mountain Forum. The first, on mountain tourism and trekking, brought Andean and Himalayan practitioners together. The second exchange connected mountain biking and trail experts in the U.S. Rocky Mountains with local community planners beginning a mountain biking initiative in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountain Region.
Governance and regional network-building: The Mountain Institute played a central role in the ever-growing governance functions of the Mountain Forum in 1999, and assisted regional networks to become established in Africa and to increase their services in Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

A partnership was formed with the United States National Park Service (NPS) to develop interpretive and educational materials that draw on the cultural and inspirational significance of mountains around the world. Three National Parks have been identified as pilot sites for the project; Rocky Mountain National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The project will develop interpretive materials that provide diverse perspectives on the value of mountain resources. These are among the most effective tools known for galvanizing public support for parks and the preservation of the environment, as well as creating a culturally diverse visitor base in the NPS.

Training of 30 Tibetan construction workers in the use of rammed earth for the building of low-cost rural housing in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Construction of a rammed earth demonstration house in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.

Tuition and fees from contractual services increased from 7 percent of total revenues in 1998 to 15 percent of total revenues in 1999, reflecting less dependency on bilateral government grant funds. Total increase in these earned revenues in 1999 was $200,000 over 1998.
Investment income from endowment and restricted investment assets increased by $47,000 over 1998. Total investment assets increased by $235,000 as result of additional contributions, leveraging facilities held for sale, and unrealized or realized investment gains.
Grant revenues from the U.S. government remained nearly the same from 1998 to 1999, with less grant funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development and increased grant funds from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. U.S. government grant funds are 13 percent of 1999 revenues.
Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area reached a key completion in 1999 with the turnover of the park management to Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. This planned transition to local management reflects the completion of the Global Environmental Facility grant and thus a reduction in GEF funds received and distributed by TMI.
Andes and Appalachian projects indicate increased activities in 1999 over 1998 based on the increases in project expenses.
Administrative support expenses, including fund-raising costs, increased by only $7,000 in 1999 over 1998, or by less than 2 percent. Administrative offices in Nepal and Peru were strengthened in 1999 with continued investment in local project staff training and improved financial systems. To improve services, the Business and Technology Offices in the U.S. were moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The Mountain Institute follows a policy of uniform nondiscrimination with regard to sex, age, race, religion, and country of origin. The Mountain Institute is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit conservation and education organization, qualifying for charitable contributions.

Return to the TMI Home Page    Return to the About TMI Page