Special Issue on Mountain Research and Development (MRD) Journal

Mountain Research Development Vol. 30, Issue 2 on "Methodologies and Tools for the Management of Mountain Protected Areas: Mount Everest (Nepal, China) and K2 (Pakistan) Regions" is now available online
(http://www.bioone.org/toc/mred/30/2 ).

This issue contains a number of papers presenting some key results of the Hindu-Kush-Karakoram-Himalayas (HKKH) Partnership project. This multiscale international project, which ran from 2004–2009, was funded by the Italian Cooperation and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Ev-K2-CNR, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and the Italian NGO CESVI (Cooperazione e Sviluppo).

The Introductory essay summarizes what management approaches the project suggested adopting in complex social-ecological ecosystems (SESs) in high mountain areas, based on the experience garnered in the HKKH region, in 3 protected areas in Nepal (Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, SNPBZ), Pakistan (Central Karakoram National Park, CKNP), and China (Qomolongma National Nature Preserve, QNNP). This article points out how both environmental issues and the needs of local populations must be taken fully into account when developing methodologies and tools for systemic planning and management. Representative stakeholder participation, effective inter-stakeholder communication, management-oriented research, and a final institutionalization phase are described as the ingredients for creating successful decision support products.

More information on the HKKH Partnership project at: http://www.hkkhpartnership.org/