A small sign nestled among the pines by the side of a road in central Bhutan quotes the Lord Buddha: "The forest is a peculiar organization of nature that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe man who destroys it". This quotation encapsulates the relationship between man and nature in mountainous regions. Mountain residents broadly appreciate the values of the forest, water, wildlife, and soils that support human society in these often inhospitable environments. But at the same time, nature's productivity is being threatened as people attempt to wrest more from the environment than can be sustained; the result can be the loss of the biological and cultural diversity upon which people depend for their continued survival. In mountain areas close to the treeline, and in a climate where wood is required for house building, as fuel for cooking and heating, and as trees to protect villages from avalanches and landslides, deforestation is a form of biodiversity loss which is a danger to the very existence of many village communities. Most mountain peoples have responded to this danger by developing ways and means of conserving the forests. One of the best known is the Sherpa custom of shinginawa, or forest guards, where several men from a village are elected to protect the forest which protects the village. They also have the power to prevent cutting of protection forests, determine where trees may be cut, inspect firewood stocks in people's houses, and levy appropriate fines for transgressions.
