Pastoralism is an age-old livelihood option for millions of people of different castes and ethic groups and makes a significant contribution to the economy of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH), both in terms of providing employment and income opportunities and in supplying nutrition to the rural poor. Bakrawals, Gujjars, Gaddis, Kanets, Kaulis and Kinnauras of the north Indian Himalayas, Bhotias and Sherpas of the Khumbu valley of Nepal, Kirats of eastern Nepal, Lachungpas and Lachenpas of Sikkim, Changpas of Ladakh and Brokpas of Bhutan are some of the well known pastoral communities of the Himalayas. Pastoralism in the HKH is based on transhumant practices and involves cyclical movements from the lowlands to the highlands to take advantage of seasonally available pastures at different elevations. During the summer when the snow melts in the higher alpine regions, Himalayan pastoralists move up to these areas to graze their animals. After the monsoon they move down to occupy the low altitude pastures for feeding their animals. Movements of people and their livestock proceed between previously embarked sites, which become more or less regular seasonal encampments or bases. However, the livelihoods of these pastoralists are at stake due to various external forces starting from modernization to policy imperatives. The prevailing climate is bringing new challenges to these vulnerable communities. The implications for pastoral livelihoods are yet to be fully understood and indeed two quite different opinions seem to prevail with respect to climate change. Some see pastoral groups as the ?canaries in the coalmine? of ongoing processes, as rangelands will tend to become drier and existing water shortages will worsen, thus affecting the overall sustainability of their livelihoods. Others see pastoralists as the most capable to adapt to climate change, since pastoral livelihoods are shaped to deal with scarce and variable natural resources and to tackle difficult and uncertain agro-ecological conditions, and climate change could conceivably lead to the extension of territories where pastoralism could show comparative advantages.