Kathmandu, Sept. 23 -- Tuckedin the sacred Himalayan landscape of the northeastern corner of Nepal, the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA)is home to the world's thirdhighestmountainecosystem. It is also Nepal's first conservation area managed by the local community.

It was declared as 'A Gift to the Earth' by the Nepal government in support of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Living Planet Campaign in April 1997, and has a long-standing history of perseverance, resilience, and of striking a balance between conservation gainsfor people and nature.

The KCA's 2,035 sq km area hosts a vast assortment of biological diversity, it is part of the Eastern Himalayan Global 200 cross-border eco-region, and millions of people downstream depend on i...