Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative: Transcending boundaries for conservation and development

The Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) is a culturally rich, ecologically diverse, and geologically fragile transboundary region encompassing over 31,000 km2 in a remote southwestern portion of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China and adjacent areas in India and Nepal. Marked by the imposing Mount Kailash, the KSL is a sacred landscape revered by millions of people of various religions – including Buddhism, Hinduism, Bon, Jainism, and Sikhism; it is visited by thousands of religious and spiritual pilgrims each year. The region is also the source of four of Asia's major rivers – the Indus, Brahmaputra, Karnali and Sutlej – which provide water and ecosystem goods and services that are vital for the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the greater Himalayan region. While the KSL includes several national protected areas (see Table), enhanced regional cooperation is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainable development and conservation of this important landscape and its communities.