Himalayan mountain pastoralism

In addressing the challenges facing mountain agricultural communities today, it is important to remember that mountain agriculture has developed hand in hand with pastoralism. Both large and small livestock sustain mountain communities, providing resources that complement those provided through agriculture. Pastoralism is not a strategy of last resort for agriculturalists pushed into marginal habitats. In fact, on the southern slopes of the Great Himalaya in Nepal, pastoralism has permitted agricultural communities to thrive and, in some cases, to extend their use of upper elevations into areas where agriculture is either marginal or impossible. A vertical look at lower, middle and upper altitude agropastoral practices provides insight into some different ways in which livestock management and cultivation interact within the larger context of mountain ecology.