Socio-Political Dimensions of Making Multi-country Corridors Work: The Himalayan Arch

2 This paper does not in any way reflect the views of the Asian Development Bank or any of its member countries. This paper expresses the views of the author. Any facts or errors in the interpretations of the facts are the author's sole responsibility. Summary Environmental wags claim that "ecoregionalism" has become a buzzword of the new millennium. Conservation biologists claim that multi-country corridors and connectivity among a region's protected areas and natural habitat provide the best options for saving biodiversity and promoting sustainable development. On the other side, critics have voiced that the emergence of multi-country or transboundary corridors is a top-down, alien and utopian concept of " deep green bioregionalists " promulgated mainly by US-based organizations. Some say that it only spawns a " research industry and countless workshops, conferences and glossy publications " and will not produce concrete results on the ground. Key questions emerging in the debate include: Is it ecologically or economically vital to have contagious corridors across national frontiers? Will multi-country conservation corridors help or hinder poverty reduction – the root cause of environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity in the developing countries? Is it merely a rhetorical theory or does it address the harsh realities in the field by moving beyond narrow single country focused paradigms? These debates also indicate that the trans-national corridor is not only a conservation issue, but also a social, economic and political one. If natural beauty and cultural patrimony were measures of the wealth of nations, the Himalayan countries would rank among the top. With the world's tallest mountains, deepest gorges and panoramic river valleys the ecological spectrum and the biological diversities of the Himalayas are unmatched elsewhere. The Himalayas in totality are vital for food, water and environmental security beyond any national frontier and multi-country corridors can advance environmental conservation and sustainable development. This paper subscribes to the fundamental premise that nature and ecological functions have cross-border externalities. Taking an eco-regional approach that extends beyond borders of nation-states can maximize both sustainable development and poverty reduction. This paper reviews the ecological, socioeconomic and political dimensions for creating multi-country ecological corridors in the Himalayas. It postulates three conservation corridors in the Himalayas to connect the region's protected areas and 3 natural habitats: (i) North-North Corridor, (ii) South-South Corridor, and (iii) North-South Corridor. It also outlines key barriers in preventing conservation corridors from working. They include the rising …