Range Conservation and Sherpa Livestock Management in Khumbu, Nepal

Abstract

Traditional subsistence practices of the Sherpa formerly included activities that functioned as de facto conservation strategies. Demands by people and livestock on such wildland resources as range and forest were mitigated by these practices, which prevented environmental destruction and permitted centuries of occupation and use of a fragile high-altitude area of inherently low productivity, high variability, and risk. Recent transformations of Sherpa society and economy have disrupted traditional practices, and conse- quently have had increasing impacts on the environment of Khumbu-Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park. Evidence of both the cultural resiliency of Sherpas and the place-wisdom acquired over many generations of residence in Khumbu suggest that revitaliza- tion of traditional conservation systems may offer an answer to recently increasing problems of environmental deterioration.