Effective conservation of key or endangered species calls for a transboundary landscape approach to conservation, including cross-border monitoring of common but endangered species such as primates (gibbons and langurs), takins, and Paris spp. (an economically important plant) across the landscape. Developing a monitoring protocol and a field manual for each of the targeted species is important, as is collaborating to ensure that the right balance between conservation and development is struck.

The objective of the 6th Asian Primates Symposium is to promote a dialogue on Asian primates research and conservation. It coincides well with the overall thrust of the Landscape Initiative for the Far Eastern Himalaya (HI-LIFE), managed by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ( ICIMOD) and its partners in China, India, and Myanmar.

HI-LIFE will hence be organizing two events at the 6th Asian Primates Symposium:

1. Technical Session on Conservation of Primates through Transboundary Cooperation in the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape (20 October 2018)

The main aim of this session is to bring together related experts and Protected Area managers from China, India, and Myanmar to exchange the latest information on primates in the FHL and develop a technical manual for transboundary collaboration in monitoring and information sharing.
The specific objectives are:

• Promote the conservation of key biodiversity species in the FHL through transboundary collaboration in monitoring, information sharing, and management.
• Provide a platform to experts of partner institutions to make presentations on the status of key biodiversity species and learn from each other about country-specific conservation and development challenges and opportunities.
• Foster cooperation, partnership, and networking at the regional level among technical experts to address issues related to conservation and the development of key species in the FHL.
• Explore new funding opportunities for joint proposal development.

2. Workshop on Development of Technical Protocol for Transboundary Monitoring of Key Species and Habitats Across the Far Eastern Himalayan Landscape (21 October 2018)

The purpose of this one-day workshop is to present and finalize the draft technical protocol for regional collaboration in information sharing and monitoring of some common but endangered flagship species (focusing on 3–4 key species) across the FHL. The preliminary draft of the protocol will be presented at the workshop and the participants (including all ICIMOD-funded participants and a few invited experts) will discuss and finalize the key variables and methods of monitoring, and the key principles and mechanisms for data sharing.