International Conference on The Great Himalayas: Climate, Health, Ecology, Management and Conservation

Introduction

The Great Himalaya is one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. It has remained delicately balanced for centuries and has been a place of tremendous biodiversity. Only in recent years has the ecosystem been disturbed in various parts due to both anthropogenic and natural impact. The mountain chain is young and is still geologically active. The Indian landmass continues to move towards the Eurasian landmass as a result of which the Himalaya rise by a few millimeters every year. Due to this, the Himalaya is still structurally unstable.

The term "Himalaya" was introduced by the ancient Indian pilgrims. It is a Sanskrit word meaning “the Abode of Snow”. This majestic range stretches over a distance of about 2500 km from west to east. Its average width ranges from 100 to 400 km. The vast area covered by the mountain range, along with some fantastic altitude gradients, result in the tremendous biodiversity of the Himalayan region. Vegetation and wildlife both change according to altitude and the resulting differences in climatic conditions.

With nine of the world's fourteen highest peaks, Nepal is a true Himalayan kingdom. The Himalayas cover three fourths of the land in Nepal. It hosts some of the highest, rugged, remote and most difficult terrain in the world. The world's highest mountain peak Mount Everest, other high peaks like Lhotse, Nuptse, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and the presence of some very beautiful trekking routes attract hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.