Guwahati: Yak-herding communities from India, Bhutan and Nepal will launch the first regional network dedicated to Himalayan yak herders on October 23, aiming to strengthen cross-border cooperation amid declining yak populations, shrinking pastures and the growing impact of climate change.
The Himalayan Yak Herders’ Network will be launched at Bhutan’s ninth Royal Highland Festival. It will bring together three national organisations — the Yak Federation of India, the Bhutan Yak Federation and the Yak and Chauri Farmers Federation Nepal to promote collective advocacy, knowledge exchange and capacity building.
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an intergovernmental organisation, the network will be led by yak herders, with Bhutan hosting its secretariat.
The initiative follows nearly a decade of collaboration among herders, governments, researchers and development partners. The idea emerged in 2016 when representatives from Bhutan, India and Nepal came together through ICIMOD’s Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative.
The network is being established as highland communities face mounting pressures on their traditional pastoral livelihoods. These include rangeland degradation, shrinking grazing areas, declining yak populations, loss of yak genetic diversity, livestock attacks by wild animals and limited access to markets and essential services.
Climate change and the migration of younger generations away from highland areas have added to these challenges, threatening the continuity of traditional yak-herding systems.
According to the network’s organisers, rangelands cover more than 60 per cent of the Hindu Kush Himalaya and provide livelihoods and subsistence resources for an estimated 25–30 million indigenous and culturally diverse people.
ICIMOD has reported significant declines in yak populations across Bhutan, India and Nepal in recent decades, partly attributed to changing land-use patterns and rangeland degradation.
In India, the 20th Livestock Census, published in 2019, recorded approximately 58,000 yaks. In 2026, the Yak Federation of India reported that 526 household members associated with the federation collectively reared around 32,000 yaks.
The regional network is expected to provide a platform for herders to share knowledge, strengthen their collective voice and work together on challenges affecting yak-based livelihoods and pastoral traditions across the Himalayan region.