Mountain conservation workshop to be held in Kathmandu

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Climbers and mountaineers will take part in a workshop on conservation across borders in Kathmandu, Nepal from November 11-14. An important part of the event is to gather information for an upcoming book on transboundary conservation.

The goal is "establishing working relationships among researchers, stakeholders and other groups focused on these topics," says Linda McMillan from the Mountain Protected Area Network.

The Mountain Transboundary Protected Area Workshop will be organised by the network, which springs from the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A transboundary area crosses borders between states, regions or autonomous zones. Many mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, are transboundary in need of protection. They face threats such as melting glaciers and the extinction of many plant and animal species. In order to protect fragile nature it is necessary for different authorities to co-operate, something which is not always easy.

"The biggest challenges are creating effective collaborations and agreements among transboundary stakeholders," says McMillan. Important issues are "deciding the size of the conservation area needed and its goals, finding the best and most effective ways to protect biodiversity and ecosystems  and establishing effective management systems for the conservation area over multiple jurisdictions".

McMillan is happy to find people from the climbing community among the participants:

“I am always impressed to find that so many leaders of the most challenging, important, and successful projects and groups in the international conservation community are, or have been at some time in their lives, climbers and mountaineers," she says. "The strong connections they develop with mountains through sport sparks a life-long urge to protect the natural world. I believe their willingness to take on huge challenges, their amazing skill in solving problems under extreme pressure and bad conditions, and their ability to keep their perspective and humor despite setbacks, make them perfect leaders for preserving our world and our future.”

During the Kathmandu workshop, the participants will identify the principle management issues and lessons learned for transboundary conservation management in mountains, exchange information on these issues and begin to produce a book with advice.

Workshop participants will include experts from the ”HKKH” (Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya), Altai (Russia/China), the Australian Alps, New Zealand, European Alps, Andes, Rocky Mountains (Canada and US), Sierra Nevada of California, and  the Albertine Rift of Africa.

After the workshop, participants can join treks to the Khumbu region and the Terai region of Nepal. These treks will offer a chance to better understand trans-boundary conservation issues.

The Mountain Protected Area Network has about 250 actively engaged volunteer members around the world. The members include representatives and experts from conservation non-governmental organisations, universities, governments and UNESCO. The  UNESCO Man and their Biosphere (MAB) programme is closely linked to the network's areas of focus: connectivity conservation, trans-boundary conservation and mountain eco-tourism.

IUCN is a global environmental network with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organisations and some 10,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. The IUCN administers the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), with 1,400 members from 140 countries.