Governance in the Tsum Valley is conducted through several institutions: government, which is comprised of elected village leaders, security forces and other government offices; semi-government institutions; other community groups and local committees known as Conservation Area Management Committees formed by the Manaslu Conservation Area Project; and customary institutions of Tsumba. A village assembly nominates customary community leaders, including the Ghenchen (village leader), Syara (clan leaders) and Ghyange (supporter to the Ghenchen), who are responsible for enforcing community decisions and rules (Rai et al. 2016, Rai and Thing 2020). Their roles include Bigo Laune for the settlement of disputes about damage of food crops by domestic animals as well as disputes about the use of pasture lands, forest and agriculture. They also take and enforce decisions about the use of irrigation, arrange Ne-Tonle (a harvest ritual in September), and they manage and arrange Chyokor, which is a special ritual performed by the village Lama (spiritual leader) during ripening of the crops in July. At least one member of every household, generally the head of the family, participates in the assembly to discuss affairs pertaining to current and new leaders.

The biocultural landscape constitutes scenic Himalaya mountains, lakes, and waterfalls along with common wildlife such as musk deer and blue sheep, all co-existing with Buddhist cultural heritage and sacred sites. Conservation of nature and culture is part of the daily life and spiritual commitment of Tsumba in the sacred valley. The Tsumba declared Upper Tsum as a non-violent area during a wang-pooja celebration in 1920 after endorsing the proposal by revered Lama Serap Dorje Drukpa Rinpoche. The declaration note of non-violence guided by Buddhist philosophies includes seven rules. These were written in the Sambota script, collectively signed, and have become law (Rai et al. 2016, p. 228; Rai and Thing 2020, Thing 2020):

1. Not to kill any animals;
2. not to hunt;
3. not to collect honey;
4. not to sell animals to butchers;
5. not to trap animals/birds;
6. not to trade meat; and
7. not to burn forests.

Growth of rare tree species, especially at high altitude and a cold climate, is very slow. Thus, the declaration note is vital for conservation of nature and living beings in Tsum Valley. Through cultural rituals and celebrations over time, the Tsumba have sustained collective commitments to the declaration note. In 1939, the Lamas from all the Gombas in the Valley and the locals gathered during Saka-Dawa, a special event to celebrate Buddha’s birth, and expressed commitment to the declaration note. It was again reaffirmed during cultural events in 1965, 1970, 1972 and 1998. Cultural events and festivities such as Loshar, Nara, Dhachyang and Shyagya, and different prayers (Saka-Dawa, Lwahwaaf Tuechyen, Yaarney, Lahkhang, Mani Tyungyur, Dukpa Chhesi and Farning) forge community solidarities and sustain nature-culture conservation (ICIMOD 2008; Rai et al. 2016, Rai and Thing 2020).

Photo by Madhu Chettri

Leadership of Lamas is also critical. For instance, the leadership of Kyabje Drukpa Rinpoche (Ngawang Khanrap) since 1965 is very important for his teachings of Shyagya tradition and philosophies during cultural festivals. The Tsumba revere him as the main patron of the Shyagya tradition. Similarly, three Labrang Lamas from three villages in Upper Tsum (Niley, Ngak and Khangsar), a Lama in Muu Gumba, and a Lama in Rachen Gumba are other respected patrons of Shyagya tradition. Community leader Nima Lama, from Upper Tsum, is another patron for his lifetime dedication to the valley.

The Upper Tsum was demarcated with four boundaries and self-declared as non-violent in 2008 when Nima Lama was the Chair of the local government. It was a symbolic claim and a commitment for non-violence in the Tsumba territory. Since then, the Tsumba leaders have developed consensus with government officials deployed in the valley to respect and comply with non-violent culture as the local community bylaws.

The first and second Shyagya festivals of Tsumba in 2009 and 2012 included cultural activities such as dances, songs, music and traditional games and sports in addition to preaching from Lamas. These events also served to sensitise non-Tsumba people and government officials. During the 2012 festival, Tsumba from Lower-Tsum also self-declared Lower-Tsum as a non-violent area and committed to the declaration note of non-violence followed by voluntary handover of 58 illegal guns to the government authority (Rai et al. 2016, Rai and Thing 2020).[4]

These cultural festivals not only sustain Tsumba cultural values, beliefs and practices of nature-culture conservation, but also transmit them to new generations. Biocultural conservation and practices of non-violence thrive in the Tsumba territory of life due to the persistent collective actions of Tsumba and their leaders. As Nima Lama acknowledges, “We are living here with all the wild animals and birds as members of the same family.”

Photo by Christian Chatelain

Though Tsum Valley has strong cultural and natural practices, it is facing five major threats. First, the expansion of modern conservation and development institutions such as Conservation Area Management Committees, although vital community-based institutions of the Manaslu Conservation Area, are gradually replacing and displacing customary institutions and practices of Tsumba. Second, ongoing road expansion towards Tsum Valley, from Arughat in the south-west and from the Tibetan border in the north-east, is another threat to the territory. There are no appropriate safeguards for cultural heritage sites as evidenced by use of a bulldozer in 2013 during opening of a road track in the valley. This has triggered debates on nature-culture conservation “versus” development in the Tsum Valley as well as more broadly in Nepal.

The third main threat to the Tsum territory is increasing tourism requiring growth of hotels, lodges, shops and retail shops. Increased import of goods in the valley are driving over-population and triggering environmental degradation, pollution, threats to wildlife, and fuelwood consumption by lodges. This is mitigated by rules forbidding outsiders from operating hotels, lodges and retail shops in the valley as well as increased use of liquid petroleum gas.

The fourth threat is rapid out-migration to cities for education and job opportunities, especially among youth. This has resulted in gradual loss of tangible cultural heritage such as costumes, foods, handicrafts, songs, and dances, as well as intangible elements such as values and beliefs alongside the Tsumba language. Schools in Tsum Valley[5] provide education only up to grade five, and there are concerns that youth living alone away from families are at risk of losing their culture.

Lastly, local livelihoods and natural environments are impacted by climate breakdown-induced natural disasters and extreme weather events such as heavy snowfalls, avalanches, no snowfall or less snowfall, decreased length of snow-ice deposits in the farmland and terraces, and decreasing layers of snow in the mountains. Reduction of grasses in open terraces has increased crop raids by musk deer and deer in the valley during the dry season. Pests in farmlands have increased and seasonal harvesting of Yarcha Gumba, a caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis) and major livelihood for Tsumba, has reduced.

Photo by Madhu Chettri

The conservation, cultural practices, and spirituality of the Tsumba people are sustained through different community and cultural events such as Shyagya Festivals that forge community solidarity and collective commitment. Biocultural diversity conservation in the Tsum territory thrives due to strong culture, traditions, and religious beliefs. Despite local collaborations with the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, there are currently no state legal or policy designations or recognition for voluntary declaration of non-violence, customary laws and institutions. Despite facing multiple threats, the Tsumba people are committed to sustain Shyagya cultural practices and tradition. They aspire to have respect and appropriate recognition of their territory of non-violence and its associated rules and cultural conservation practices as they co-exist in the co-managed Manaslu Conservation Area. Nima Lama affirms: “We would like to see our culture, practices and faiths fully internalised and transferred to the new generation, well documented, and [the] importance of Shyagya communicated [to the] national and global community. We want to develop Tsum Valley as one of the examples of [an] open museum for nature-culture conservation and dedicate to the world.”