Sacred Himalayan Landscape

It extends from Nepal's Langtang National Park through Sikkim and Darjeeling in India to western Bhutan's Torsa Strict Nature Reserve.

Trans-boundary protection of its biological and ecological connections is critical for the survival of such species as the snow leopard and the red panda that are threatened throughout the world.

[4] SHL is part of the initiation of the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) that "taps into the spiritual beliefs and conservation ethics of local communities to restore essential habitats and protect endangered species such as the snow leopard.

"[5] WWF has cooperated with the three governments of Nepal, India and Bhutan to preserve the fragile "complex mosaic of biodiversity" and "achieve conservation while creating sustainable livelihoods in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape".

[4] The mountains in the SHL contain the future water supply, in the form of glaciers, for the huge population on the Indian subcontinent but are susceptible to natural disasters such as landslides, forest fires and flash floods that are caused by poor land management.