This framework document has been prepared by the team at ICIMOD working on various aspects of ecosystem management in collaboration with the United Nations Environment – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP–WCMC), with technical inputs from eminent ecologists, gender and governance specialists, sociologists and economists from the region. The document provides basic background, principles and key terms for ecosystem management, major considerations in the context of the HKH and the process and practical steps required for the management of ecosystems.