Back to news
6 Apr 2016 | Geospatial solutions

Anchoring Transboundary Cooperation: Vegetation and Land Use Type Map of Kailash Sacred Landscape

1 min Read

70% Complete
The map is launched at ICIMOD by Dr David Molden, Director General on 29 March, 2016.

Kailash sacred landscape covers more than 31,000 km2 geographical area and is spread across China, India, and Nepal. It exhibits diverse vegetation, starting from tropical forest at around 800m altitude to alpine steppe found at altitude higher than 4000 m, and transecting across subtropical, montane, grassland, subalpine and alpine vegetation.

The vegetation type and land cover map forms the basis for planning and management for ecological conservation, tourism, enhancement of livelihood value chains, climate change studies, biomass and carbon studies, study of ecosystem services, and a lot of other practical uses as well. However, since it is a transboundary area with three countries, several classification systems of vegetation and maps exist. It becomes challenging to integrate these maps owing to their differential scales, names and sources.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) through its Kailash Sacred Landscape Initiative has been able to harmonise the vegetation type classification scheme with its country partners in China, India, and Nepal. The final map of Kailash Sacred landscape was launched at ICIMOD, which was compiled through two years by partners, experts in ecology and remote sensing, and other stakeholders. The map depicts the percentage of area covered by 14 vegetation types and five land use/cover types from Kailash Sacred Landscape. It will be available through online platform for researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders working in the landscape.

The harmonisation and learning process is crucial information for ICIMOD’s and other transboundary landscape initiatives in the HKH.

Combining several other data layers with the map (e.g. wildlife population and habitat distribution, springshed location, institutions of forest management, livelihood types etc.) KSLCDI plans to upscale the information for effective landscape level management on a transboundary scale that links institutions, interventions and investments.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

10 local solutions for global impact: New book launched

Mountain regions are home to about 15% of the world’s population. Communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya ...

29 Jul 2015 News
Springshed development in the Himalayas discussed

With the aim to raise the importance of springshed management and bring visibility and outreach on spring and ground water ...

30 Jul 2018 HI-RISK
Communicating flood early warning in the Ratu watershed

The team’s first stop was Bardibas, where ICIMOD has set up a community-based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) on the ...

5 Jul 2017 News
Cause and Impact: The 2015 Lemthang Tsho GLOF in Bhutan

The report is based on findings of a joint field assessment carried out by experts from the International Centre for ...

11 Jun 2015 News
National partners from India trained on participatory natural resources management planning

From 11–18 May 2015, a workshop was held in the Indian part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) to facilitate ...

6 May 2016 Water
Tackling Water Scarcity in Barshong

A team of officials from ICIMOD and the District Agriculture Office in Tsirang visited Himalica pilot sites in Barshong, Bhutan, ...

29 Jul 2015 News
Micro-planning in Myanmar

The ‘Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) Initiative’ facilitated a three-day micro-planning workshop in Kyaung Taung ...

10 Jun 2015 News
Myanmar to lead the way with ecotourism in protected areas

On 19–21 May 2015, the Government of Myanmar launched its ambitious Ecotourism Policy and Management Strategy for Protected Areas, developed ...