The Himalaya presents a formidable physical and political boundary between neighboring countries. For centuries, the deep gorges, high pass and open skies have provided corroders through which rivers flow, people trade, cultures mingle and wildlife migrate. Until recently, with the emerging concept of regional based conservation, some of these international borders have served as a significant barrier to the kind of cooperative actions which would allow these inter-dependent ecosystems to be managed in coordination with each other.
