Eastern Himalaya is very rich in biodiversity at different levels, such as ecosystem, species and genetics. It has also been listed as the Biodiversity Hotspot by the WWF Ecoregion project. Himalaya is famous as a unique habitat for many species and harbours many endemic species. Geographic diversity in this region has enriched the ethnic diversity thereby making it richer in dialects, culture, religion and traditional knowledge. UNESCO's MAB project has also highlighted Himalayan region as one of the most important and fragile ecosystem and developed many projects to address the hardships of the mountain people for sustainable development of the region. Different forms of agricultural practices (nomadic herding, jhoom cultivation and relatively permanent practices), forest (tropical to deciduous and alpine vegetation) and rangeland are major survival bases of the mountain communities in this region. Growing mountain tourism and associated activities, changing (and expanding) market alternatives and industrial activities are additional (and optional) economic choices. Although, the mountain economy is not growing as per the expectations of the mountain people, their hardship is growing daily.
