FINAL DRAFT KAILASH SACRED LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION INITIATIVE REGIONAL FEASABILITY ASSESSMENT REPORT Based Upon Feasibility Assessment Country Reports from China, India, and Nepal Prepared by: Environmental Change and Ecosystems Services Programme ICIMOD Kathmandu, Nepal Date: 11 November 2010 PREFACE The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation Initiative (KSLCI) is a first of a kind cooperation among China, India and Nepal, seeking to conserve a highly unique and special landscape through the application of transboundary ecosystem management approaches. It was conceived and is being implemented in collaboration with partner institutions in China, India, and Nepal with support from ICIMOD, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and GTZ. This region, like much of the rest of the HKH, faces many challenges, and will likely be significantly impacted by changes due to global warming, globization, and environmental degradation. The Kailash region is considered sacred to a large number of people in Asia and throughout the world. As such, its charismatic role as an example of the urgent and existential need to preserve both our cultural and biodiversity heritages cannot be over estimated. In this, the International Year of Biodiversity, the KSL directly addresses the challenges laid out in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and promotes the goals and approach described in the CBD’s Mountain Biodiversity Program of Work. This current first “preparatory” phase of the KSLCI will provide the basis for a participatory and transboundary approach for sustainable development, conservation, and regional cooperation. It is envisioned that this will lead up to the development of a Regional Cooperation Framework among China, India and Nepal for the implementation of ecosystems management approaches in the KSL. As a basis for moving forward with the conceptual and implementation frameworks for the KSL, lead partners in each of the three consitutent countries has completed a comprehensive KSL Country Feasibility Assessment. These have been synthesised to develop this Regional Feasibility Assessment Report, which also includes the Policy and Enabling Environment Analysis. This report represents the efforts of many scientists and colleagues in each of the three countries, who have spent many days of fieldwork and field visits, and much research to assemble the formidable quantity of information, with analysis, describing the KSL. This comprehensive Regional Feasibiity Assessment is based upon baseline surveys and analysis by the national partners, and constitutes the basic needs and feasibility assessment for the KSLCI. It is an essential and core component leading up to the development of the KSL Conservation Strategy and the associated Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring Plan. Our thanks and gratitude is extended to all the national partners and other stakeholders who developed this as part of a consultative and participatory process that is building regional networks and the basis for regional cooperation. National ownership and community based conservation initiatitive will be the basis for sustainability of the KSLCI, and this document is a first example of this regional cooperation. As the KSLCI moves forward, building the implementation frameworks, regional networks, and community based structures to apply ecosystem management and landscape conservation approach, this participatory process based on shared responsibility and differentiated approaches will be further developed. The KSLCI has developed a highly innovative approach for developing regional cooperation, and which, it is hoped, will provide a model available for replication across the region. With the completion of the Feasibility Assessment, and the development of the associated baseline dataset, we have moved a large step closer toward facilitating regional cooperation, and to applying transboundary ecosystem management approaches in the Hindu Kush - Himalaya and the KSL. Eklabya Sharma Programme Manager - ECES ICIMOD EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation Initiative (KSLCI) aims to promote transboundary biodiversity and cultural conservation, ecosystem management, sustainable development, and climate change adaptation within the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL). This transboundary landscape spreads across a vast region that includes an area of the remote southwestern portion of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR-China) in China that is the source of four of Asia’s most important rivers - the Indus, Karnali, Bhramaputra and Sutlej - and encompasses contiguous areas of northwestern Nepal, and India which have been historically linked and are ecologically and culturally inter-connected. At the heart of this landscape lies the sacred Mt. Kailash, revered by millions of people in Asia and throughout the world. Mt. Kailash (a.k.a Mt. Kailas) is known, and officially referred to, as Gāngrénbōqí Fēng (冈仁波齐峰) in Chinese. It is also referred to as Kailāśā Parvata (kEelaz pvRt) in Sanskrit (with similar names in Hindi and Nepali, and other related South Asian languages), and revered as Khang Rinpoche (�������������) among Tibetans. The KSL target area comprises of a wide range of bio-physical and socio-cultural conditions, and is considered amongst the most revered sacred landscapes of the world. The spiritual and sacred values of this landscape attract tens of thousands of pilgrims every year. It is also amongst the world’s most biologically rich, diverse and fragile environments. The region and its people are highly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation, as well as threats associated with on-going globalization processes and accelerating development. As a result, the rich and unique biological diversity, the many ecosystem goods and services, and the value-based cultural heritage of this landscape are severely threatened. The KSLCI is a collaboration between partner institutions in China, India, and Nepal, with facilitation and support from the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). In consultation with the three countries (i.e., China, India and Nepal), the following broad objectives for the KSLCI were formulated: • Enhance cooperation among the regional member countries through establishment of a Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF), development of a strategy for conservation of KSL, and developing a transboundary regional knowledge base; • Increase collection of climate change data in the KSL and facilitate coordination among the various actors and stakeholders within the KSL landscape through enhancing transboundary collaboration in ecological and climate change monitoring and information exchange networks; and • Recognize, and strengthen local capacity efforts for community-based participation in conservation and sustainable development, and enhance cultural-socio-ecological resilience. The Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF) process is based on the sequential development of the core components, notably the Feasibility Assessment, the Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring Plan (CEMP), and the Conservation Strategy, at regional and national levels. The Feasibility Assessment is intended to bring clarity to the landscape, its description, and area delineation, as well as to provide a needs analysis for the KSLCI and the ii RCF. Notably, it included a process for the delineation of the KSL Target Landscape by each of the countries. Additionally, it includes a Policy and Enabling Environment Assessment which identifies gaps in current policy and delineates policy needs to be addressed by the Conservation Strategy and the RCF. Each country has completed and provided their Country Feasibility Assessment Report. These have also been submitted to the relevant agencies and ministries within each of the countries by the Lead Country Partners. The individual country reports were summarized and synthesized by ICIMOD to prepare this current comprehensive summary document, i.e. the KSL Regional Feasibility Assessment Report. The document refers to and is wholly based upon the Country Feasibility Assessment Reports, and associated studies, submitted by each of the three countries. All references to original and secondary data and information are based on these three documents, which have been freely used to compile, summarize, synthesis, and report. The reader is referred to these documents for the in-depth Country Feasibility Assessment Report and the direct source of information reported here. The Country Feasibility Assessment Reports were prepared based upon the following set of sub- activities. Basic Objectives and Purpose • Delineation of Target Landscape – to bring clarity on landscape, description and delineation. • Needs analysis for Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) and Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF). Outline of Major Components • Description of target landscape (within the Regional Member Country) with extent and precise delineation of boundaries. • Resource (bio-physical) status of the target landscape. • Status report on environmental degradation and cultural integrity within the target landscape. • Community perception on (a) biodiversity and cultural values, and best-suited livelihood options, and (b) in respect to policies and plans. To be carried out through community consultation. • Identification of priorities (i.e. biodiversity, environmental, cultural) and gap assessment for the target landscape.