Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) Phase I report 2012-2017

The first phase of the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI), a Regional Programme on Transboundary Landscapes at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), has been completed. Phase I (2012–2017) of the flagship transboundary initiative was financially supported by the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom, and implemented by ICIMOD with country partners nominated by three country focal ministries – the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China; the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), India; and the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE), Nepal. A unique transboundary cooperation initiative, KSLCDI has set a twenty-year goal to ensure that “the transboundary Kailash Sacred Landscape is established, and its protection and sustainable use and development of its resources are ensured by local communities”. Apart from adding value to existing livelihoods, the project has focused on sustaining ecosystem services at the landscape level and establishing transboundary cooperation in policy, practice, and science to set the momentum for common conservation and development win-wins.