Qomolangma National Nature Preserve
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The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve (QNNP), also known as the Chomolungma Nature Reserve (QNP), is a
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
3.381 million hectares in size in the
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
of the
People’s Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Located on the
Roof of the World The Roof of the World or Top of the World is a metaphoric epithet or phrase used to describe the high region in the world, also known as High Asia. The term usually refers to the mountainous interior of Asia, including the Pamirs, the Himalayas, ...
("''Qomolangma''" is the
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
name for
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
), the QNNP was one of the first nature preserves in the world to be administered and protected entirely by local volunteers. Through their continued efforts, significant achievements have been made in halting rampant
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
, unregulated tourism and
illegal hunting Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
of rare wildlife in the Qomolangma region. Active reforestation and garbage collection programs have also been undertaken to restore the environment. The preserve, initially named Qomolangma Nature Preserve, was created on March 18, 1989 at the Tibet regional level. Support from then-Governor of Tibet,
Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
, was instrumental in shaping the community-based management design summarized below and also pushing through the landscape level size (in 1983, QNP was the largest nature reserve in Asia). In 1993, the
State Council of the People’s Republic of China The State Council, Constitution of the People's Republic of China, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the Cabinet (government), chief administrative ...
elevated its protection to the national level and the QNP became QNNP.


Physical Aspects

The QNNP contains along its border with
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
four of the world's six highest mountains:
Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...
,
Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
,
Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
, and
Cho Oyu __NOTOC__ Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
. Also in this preserve is
Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
, 14th highest, the only
eight-thousander The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...
meter peak totally in China. The preserve holds
Rongbuk Monastery ''Rongbuk Monastery'' (; other spellings include ''Rongpu'', ''Rongphu'', ''Rongphuk'' and ''Rong sbug'' ()), also known as Dzarongpu or Dzarong, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect in Basum Township, Dingri County, in Shigatse P ...
, the highest monastery in the world at 4,500 meters and the highest agricultural fields in the world at 4,300 meters. In addition, the preserve has key pilgrimage sites for Tibetan Buddhism’s most famous poet saint,
Milarepa Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's m ...
. The contiguous trans-border protected area that has become appended to the QNNP links with five protected areas in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. These are Makalu-Barun National Park,
Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmāthā National Park is a national park in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that is dominated by Mount Everest. It encompasses an area of in the Solukhumbu District and ranges in elevation from at the summit of Mount Everest. In the north, i ...
,
Langtang National Park Langtang National Park was established in 1976 as Nepal's first Himalayan national park and the country's fourth protected area. It exceeds an elevation range of and covers an area of in the Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhulpalchok Districts of the c ...
,
Manaslu Conservation Area The Manaslu Conservation Area is a protected area in Nepal. Established in 1998, it covers in the Mansiri Himal range of the Himalayas in the Gorkha District. The area comprises mountains, glaciers, and watercourses. In elevation, the area range ...
, and
Annapurna Conservation Area Annapurna Conservation Area is Nepal's largest protected area covering in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. It ranges in elevation from to the peak of Annapurna I at . The conservation area stretches across Manang, Mustang, Kaski, Myagdi, an ...
encompassing a total area of protected ecology greater than the land area of
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
—conserving multiple Himalayan ecosystems from very wet to very dry and from 1,000 feet of vertical elevation to 29,000 feet. Not adjacent by easy migratory distance away from the QNNP are significant protected areas in
Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
, India, as well as the country of
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
which has over 40% of its land area protected.


Management

QNNP is distinctive because no warden force protects its natural and cultural treasures. Management is by local communities, especially the governments of the four counties that comprise the preserve ( Tingri, Dinjie, Nyalam, Kyirong) with a Management Bureau in Shigatse, the prefecture headquarters. The four counties have a population estimated at over 90,000 people.Department of Forestry, ‘’Op. cit.’’ The official data sheet provided by the QNNP administration reports over 2,000 species of plants, 53 species of mammals, 206 species of birds, eight species of amphibians, 10 species of fish. Forty-seven species of rare and endangered plants and animals. While the norm in
community-based conservation Community-based conservation is a conservation movement that emerged in the 1980s, in response to escalating protests and subsequent dialogue with local communities affected by international attempts to protect the biodiversity of the earth. These ...
has been co-management by science and traditional peoples under a separate management structure for conservation, the QNNP represents another model where science and traditional join in political administration and there is no separate conservation administration. Village volunteers known as ''Pendebas'' (Tibetan for “workers who benefit the village”) are trained in primary health, nutrition, and kitchen gardens, conservation concepts and management. Most of the 230 villages in the QNNP have sent at least one village member to be trained as a Pendeba. Continuing development of the Pendebas is being led by Tsering Norbu and the QNNP-based Pendeba Society, one of the few nonprofit organizations in rural
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
.


Formation

The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve was proposed in 1985 by
Daniel C. Taylor Daniel C. Taylor (born June 26, 1945) is an American scholar and practitioner of social change, with notable achievements in community-led conservation and global education. He also recognized as giving a definitive explanation for the century-old ...
to the Tibetan regional and Chinese national governments when essentially no protected land was designated in the
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
. As the primary external advisers for two decades, Daniel C. Taylor and Chun-Wuei Su Chien worked first through
The Mountain Institute The Mountain Institute (TMI) is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operates regional field offices in the Andes, Appalachians, and Himalayas. Respectively, these are the longest, the oldest, and the ta ...
and then through Future Generations to provide management assistance in scientific, social development, historical renovation, ecotourism planning, and initiation of the Pendeba Program.‘’ibid.’’ Subsequent to formation of the QNNP, with the new land management model, land area of the
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
under national and regional protected status expanded steadily, utilizing the QNNP management model where local county administrations enforce the conservation policies and where people engage in conservation management as part of their livelihood activities. Presently, there are 23 national-level and regional-level designated nature reserves that collectively protect 42% of the region’s land area. It is included in the
Sacred Himalayan Landscape The Sacred Himalayan Landscape is a large trans-boundary landscape in the eastern Himalayas encompassing temperate broadleaf and conifer forests, alpine meadows and grasslands, which harbour more than 80 mammal and more than 440 bird species. It ...
.


References

{{Authority control Tibet Autonomous Region Nature reserves in China