Home Institution

University of Colorado Boulder

Publication Date

Fall 2023

Program Name

Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples

Abstract

Living in a political, cultural, and geographic border region between Nepal and Tibet (People’s Republic of China), the families of Tsum Valley face many demands from their sociopolitical, religious, and economic climate. Practicing Tibetan Buddhism, the people uphold a set of rules implemented by the community with leadership from Serap Dorje Drukpa Rinpoche over 100 years ago that prohibits the intentional murder of all animals. Hailed by leaders and scholars as a haven of biodiversity conservation due to this customary-turned- municipal law, Tsum Valley also exists within Manaslu Conservation Area governed by an entity of the federal government of Nepal that seeks to promote biodiversity conservation and ecotourism. Furthermore, in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Tsum is Beyul Kyimolung, a major point on a pilgrimage circuit. The people traditionally engage in agropastoralism and trade as economic subsistence strategies, but some have started to practice ecotourism in Tsum and labor migration to major cities around the world.

In this work I ask: to what extent does the culture of Tsum work towards biodiversity conservation, as others claim? How does the built (art and architecture) and natural (plants, animals, springs, rivers, mountains) landscape itself contribute to spiritual relationships between humans and other-than-human beings? How do Tsumpa families negotiate relationships with the environment between the interests of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, municipality, agropastoralism, and ecotourism?

Disciplines

Asian Studies | Biodiversity | Buddhist Studies | Human Ecology | Migration Studies | Natural Resources and Conservation | Tourism

Download

Share

Article Location

 
COinS