South Asia is a diverse region, both geographically and culturally. The Himalayan mountain range stretches along its northern border, including parts of all countries of South Asia except Sri Lanka and the Maldives. More than one-fourth of the area of the region is hilly and mountainous. Mountains are important sources of water, energy, minerals, forest and agricultural products, and medicine.The development of the south Asian region, particularly ts hill and mountain areas, faces the twin challenges of poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. Despite attractive economic growth in some countries of the region, south Asia has a huge poverty burden. Human poverty indicators point towards formidable challenges.
