Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

6 Way forward
Ecotourism programme in the HKH region should contribute to poverty reduction,
sustainable development <strong>and</strong> bio-cultural heritage conservation through
the development <strong>and</strong> /or promotion of innovative tourism infrastructures. ICI-
MOD has been planning Himalayan Heritage routes <strong>and</strong> new tourism circuits,
consisting of a network of outst<strong>and</strong>ing trails for responsible nature tourism,
linking up regionally significant elements of the rich cultural <strong>and</strong> natural
heritage of the Greater Himalaya Region. The progarmme links poverty reduction,
development <strong>and</strong> heritage conservation through an integrated innovative
livelihood perspective. The focus of activities is on the knowledge generation
<strong>and</strong> dissemination, training <strong>and</strong> capacity building, policy development, <strong>and</strong> regional
coordination between key tourism stakeholders in the Greater Himalaya
region (Kruk 2010).
A joint effort between the Government of TAR, China, <strong>and</strong> Nepal is necessary
to promote ecotourism in the Himalayan Tibetan region. One promising
cross-border tourism possibility is in the Mount Kailash Sacred L<strong>and</strong>scape
which has world famous <strong>and</strong> sacred peaks of Kailash as well as the famous high
altitude lake – Mansarovar, which is the source of four major rivers of the HKH
region – Indus, Brahmaputra, Sutlej, <strong>and</strong> Karnali. The greater Mt. Kailash
area represents a sacred l<strong>and</strong>scape significant to over a billion people in Asia
<strong>and</strong> around the globe, <strong>and</strong> considered holy by at least five religions, including
Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon Po, Jainism, <strong>and</strong> Sikhism. This sacred l<strong>and</strong>scape attracts
tens of thous<strong>and</strong>s of pilgrims every year. Religious <strong>and</strong> spiritual pilgrims
from around the world undertake the arduous journey to this sacred mountain,
coming primarily through India, Nepal, <strong>and</strong> from other parts of the Tibetan
Plateau. The development of a model regional tourism programme in this
sacred l<strong>and</strong>scape will be model for other HKH countries.
References
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) 2007: Statistical Year Book of Nepal 2007.
Government of Nepal, National Planning Secretariat, Central Bureau of
Statistics, Kathm<strong>and</strong>u
Dhakal, D. P. 2005: Sustainable Rural Tourism for Improved Livelihood
of Local Communities, Economic Policy Network, Policy Paper 4,
Nepal Tourism Board, Kathm<strong>and</strong>u. URL: http://www.mof.gov.np/
economic_policy/pdf/SustainableRuralTourism.pdf, (Accessed on 4
October, 2010)
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> > > 3. Eco-tourism <strong>and</strong> Nature Protection in Relation to <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>and</strong> Rangel<strong>and</strong> <strong>Management</strong>