Addressing environmental and development issued in a balanced way issues is a matter of common concern for all countries. Transboundary conservation and development initiatives across the globe look for solutions through building alliances and scientific collaboration beyond borders. ICIMOD and its member countries have identified seven transboundary landscapes across the Hindu Kush Himalayan region for regional cooperation to tackle environmental and development issues in a variety of ecosystems and cultures. The Brahmaputra-Salween Landscape is shared by China, India and Myanmar, and comprises of a parts of western Yunnan, north-east India and northern Myanmar.
The Brahmaputra-Salween Landscape is one of the richest landscapes the Hindu Kush Himalayan region- both biologically and culturally. It has been recognized as a “Centre" of plant diversity and endemism; and is located at the meeting point of three global biodiversity hotspots- the Himalayas, the Indo-Burma, and the Mountains of Southwest China. This landscape in interconnected through a network of eight protected areas including Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in India, Hkakaborazi National Park in Myanmar and Gaoligangshan National Nature Reserve in China. These form the upper catchments of Brahmaputra, Irrawadi and Salween rivers that are the lifelines of millions of people in the respective three countries.
Some of the conservation and development challenges relate to land use changes such as agricultural expansion, degradation of watersheds etc. There are issues of poor institutional mechanisms for natural resource governance and paucity of financial and human resources, especially in parts of Myanmar and India; and the opportunities through transboundary collaboration is yet to be capitalized. Brahmaputra- Salween Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (BSLCDI) is designed to enhance cooperation among the three countries to effectively address conservation and development challenges.
The initiative was conceptualized in 2008 in an International Mountain Biodiversity Conference, and developed over three regional consultations in Yunnan, China (2009) and Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar (2011) and Kaziranga, Assam, India (January 2014).
As a preparatory step towards realization of this transboundary landscape initiative, each member country has conducted Feasibility Assessment. Based on the national reports, a regional feasibility report has been prepared. These documents reflect ample opportunities for cooperation among the governments and conservation agencies in the Brahmaputra-Salween Landscape to implement the decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity; to enhance conservation, address poverty through sustainable use of resources; and