Environment & Culture: The Himalayan Ecosystems Project

Team members will take part in unique interdisciplinary field studies, examining the environmental significance of some of the Himalaya’s most important ecosystems. Our goal is to provide in-depth instruction about this mountain region while gathering information that will be of value to those who are in charge of conserving the region’s rich biological diversity.

Together we will investigate the ecology of the Himalaya, a landscape of forests, river valleys, mountain villages, and alpine meadows in the proximity of the highest mountains on earth supporting hundreds of bird species and thousands of plants growing in ecologically complex forests. The Wildlands Studies team will trek into selected mountain backcountry sites in India and/or Nepal to conduct our field studies.

Our field destinations include some of the most ecologically and culturally fascinating parts of the Himalaya, where tropical, temperate, and alpine landscapes remain relatively intact. Working in a stunning range of mountain habitats, team members will directly participate in an assessment of ecology and culture in a region identified as a global center of biological diversity. Here, we will offer our course of instruction in mountain ecology and assess efforts in progress to balance conservation of wildland systems with the needs of local subsistence farmers who have inhabited this region for centuries.

In the Himalayan backcountry, we will examine linkages among the indigenous (local subsistence culture, wild plants and animals, ecological processes) and the external (development, conservation policy). Against a diverse ecological backdrop, the people of the Himalaya face life with a spirit refined by centuries of self-reliance. Despite limited access to goods and services, they retain a deep cultural heritage and a finely-honed sense of place. Time spent in their company will provide some of the richest, most enlightening moments of the program.

THE PROJECT

Our project affords a unique chance for a hands-on examination of critical conservation efforts in the Himalayan ecosystem. Please note that team activities do not require prior field research experience. All necessary skills of data acquisition and analysis will be taught on-site in Asia.

Fieldwork in diverse habitats will give participants a unique understanding of the ecology of the Himalaya. Our priorities include ecological surveys of forest, mountain, and agrarian landscapes using a variety of sampling methods. Sophisticated equipment such as satellite-assisted global positioning system enables us to “ground truth” and effectively map our survey locations. Team members will also become closely acquainted with the people of mountain regions, their subsistence lives, and social customs. We will try to understand their perspectives of conservation, interactions with wildlife, and their special patterns of natural resource use.

Much time is devoted to teaching and research when we learn (and practice) ecological survey methods, investigate local natural history, interview villagers, and collect other kinds of information to assist in emerging programs to manage the region with ecological and cultural sensitivity.
We believe that the observation skills you develop in the Himalaya will be useful worldwide. Expect to learn how climate affects the architecture of a forest, and how plants and animals adapt to different elevations. Opportunities also exist to explore topics such as medicinal plant use, gender issues, agricultural ecology, human-wildlife interactions, and mountain spirituality.