Yak is specially adapted to high-altitude environments and is a flagship species for the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. It plays a key role not only in agrobiodiversity conservation and maintaining high-altitude rangeland ecosystems, but also in cultural traditions, livelihood strategies, and all aspects of socioeconomic development in high mountain areas of the region. But yak are coming under increasing pressure with closed borders and restrictions on grazing and movement, and yak herders are facing immense livelihood challenges.
Despite the importance and significance of yak in high-altitude areas of the HKH region, there is a lack of up-to-date, empirical, and adequately documented scientific knowledge regarding the current status and management practices of yaks.
This volume aims to enhance our understanding of yak in the region by bringing together 14 articles from Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan covering a wide range of subjects related to yak raising in the Hindu Kush Himalayas. It provides valuable insights that will help in developing plans for yak genetic conservation, pastoral development, and management measures to enhance system resilience and the adaptive capacity of local communities to ongoing and potential changes.