Description
The Himalayan system, with its outlying subranges, stretches across six countries, with the longest division in Nepal. The region, with extreme variations in topography and micro-environments, harbours centres of unique crop diversity adapted to mountain environments. The diversity of local crop varieties, with globally important cold-tolerant genes, is one of the few natural resources available to mountain farmers to cope with their marginal and heterogeneous environments that are likely to be starkly affected by climate change. These traditional crops are also important for sustainable development of their local economy.
