From mountain deserts to deep river gorges and tropical upland forests, the Himalayas are the world’s highest mountain range, with a complex set of ecosystems that affect more than two billion people in the region. The Mountain Institute has initiated projects in Nepal, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China (TAR), and India, and now has regional offices with local staff in these locations.

Covering nearly 600,000 square kilometers, the Himalayas are a storehouse for some of the world’s most significant biological and cultural diversity. With more than 4000 species of flowering plants, 80 species of mammals, 550 species of birds, and 650 species of butterflies, the region’s biodiversity is astonishing; and its rich indigenous traditions are the important base for cooperative ventures in tourism, dairy enterprise, local construction projects, sacred trail restoration, and conservation projects in forestry, medicinal plants cultivation, and water management.

The Himalaya Program began in Nepal in 1987; and more than a dozen projects have been initiated during the past 15 years. In 2002, TMI completed its 13-year Community Partnership Project in the remote region of Makalu-Barun National Park. Local stakeholders with increased capacity are now operating new ventures in agriculture (including cultivation of allo and medicinal plants), traditional weaving, community development (including water mills, bridge construction, trail development), forestry, and tourism.

Despite poverty, degraded resources, and remoteness, the people who live on “the roof of the world” are resilient and entrepreneurial. They share the high arid landscapes of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and Ladakh with the elusive snow leopard, lynx, and blue sheep; and their mountains remain some of the most beautiful and mysterious in the world.

In partnership with the governments of the Netherlands and China, The Mountain Institute is working in the Qomolangma Nature Preserve near Mt. Everest, providing training to local villagers in nature preserve management, plant and animal identification, forest fire control, pasture development using solar fencing, monastery restoration and forest nursery projects.

In partnership with the Kadoorie Charitable Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and numerous individual donors to TMI’s Peak Enterprise Program, a locally-owned dairy cooperative in Medrogongar County now provides milk products and generates supplemental revenues for this community just outside Lhasa. An eco-tourism project with environmentally appropriate construction, energy and waste-management systems is under construction in Shigatse; and TMI’s innovative rammed earth technology is being pilot tested as an inexpensive, easily powered, stronger alternative for construction.

In partnership with the Snow Leopard Conservancy, TMI is working on the Traditional Village Homestay program in Ladakh, in Northern India’s state of Jammu & Kashmir, and conducting a new snow leopard population survey.