Socio-economic Aspects of mountain Region

There is a lack of agricultural fertile land in the mountain region due to the cold and dry climate. Grasslands are enough for cattle. Occasional snowfall disturbs vegetation to grow and produce fruits. The yaks and mules are reared here. There are some small valleys and plains in the districts such as Humla, Jumla, Mugu, Manang etc. Settlements are found along the river side and some areas near steep slopes. The people of Sherpa, Thakalis, Mugal, Managis and Bhote communities are found here. Hindu and Buddhism are main religion of this region. People celebrate Pitripuja, Lhosar, Dashain, Tihar and other local as well as national festivals. Muktinath, Gosainkunda, Chandannath, Shey-Gumba are some examples of famous religious heritages.

Thakkhola, Namche, Chame and Olangchungola are important settlements of this region. Winter is very cold here. During this period, people migrate to the southern parts with their cattle and move to the north in the summer. The physical and ecological aspects have influenced the life of people here. Housing, food, dress, occupation and life style here are different from that of other regions. The houses are made with mud, stone and wood. The roofs are flat and thatched with mud: doors and windows are small. They keep their cattle downstairs. They wear thick woolen clothes called Bakkhu and Docha. Animal husbandry, wool industry and trade during winter season are the main occupation of this region. The chief source of income earnings are animal husbandry and small closed trade. The people find it difficult to pass their life due to limitation of physical facilities such as transport, communication, electricity etc. According to the census of 2058 B.S. 7.5 percent of the nation’s population is sparsely distributed due to the geographical difficulty. The overall economic development is very poor in this region due to cold climate, geographical structure and so on.

Biological Aspect of Mountain Region

The mountain region  lies in the north part of the country and there is diversity in the topography and climate of this region. This is the mountainous area that extends from east to west. As a result, this region is the habitat of various types of vegetation, agricultural crops, animals, birds, and other many creatures. The animals and plants which have adapted in the cold and dry climate are found here. Barley, uwa, buckwheat, maize, potato, radish, cereals, beans etc. are vegetables and apple, lemon fruit are cultivated in this region. Alpine forests and pastureland are abundantly found here. The forest components comprises with oaks, maples, blue pines, gobre-salla, dhupi, deodar, rhododendron and bhojpatra. Similarly, bushes and shurbs are also found here up to the height of  4,000 meters but there is no trees above it. The wild animals from the mountain region are wild yak, snow-leopard, ghoral, black bear, black pheasant, sheep etc. are found in the forest. Somewhere, there are  pine forest and grasslands. The animals tolerating difficult situation of cold, less oxygen can live here. They can spend their lives with the adaptation to the natural environment of this region.

Physical aspect of mountain region

Mountain region of Nepal lies towards the northern part of Nepal. The mountain region of Nepal is extended from 4877 meter to 8848 meter from the sea level. The climate of mountainous region is cold and dry. Due to snowfall and very vegetation. Although, this region covered 35% of total land, there is only about 2% of cultivable land. This region is famous for the dozens of Himalayan ranges like Rolwaling, Gaurishanker, Mahalangur etc. and hundreds of Himalayan peaks like Sagarmatha, Api, Saipal, Machhapuchhre, Dhaulagiri etc. This region is further sub-divided into main Himalayan, inner Himalayan and outer Himalayan region. 16 districts are in mountainous region among 75 districts of Nepal like Taplejung, Dolakha, Mustang, Dolpa, Darchuala and so on. The snow line is found above 5,000 meter from the sea level in the eastern part and about 4,500 meter from this sea level in the western part of Nepal.

The ecosystem of mountainous regions

Mountain region lies in the north part of the country. This is the mountainous area that extends from east to west. It altitude ranges from 4877 to 8848 meters above the sea level. It consists of a number of snow covered hills. The snow line is at the altitude of 5,000 meters in the east and 4,000 meters in the west. It includes about 35% of land of the country. Its ecosystem differs with other regions due to its altitude, structure of land, temperature and climate. The land and climate of this region above 4,500 meters is not favorable to vegetation compared to other regions due to the snowfall, coldness and dryness. The environment is humid and cold so that the ecosystem of region is influenced land structure and climate. Because of hardship of life their growth is very slow. Thus the ecosystem of this region is valuable and that should be conserved for the protection of living beings.