Where Climate Science Meets Economic Resilience
Steve Mock
What We Do
Understand
Develop a detailed understanding of how severely and rapidly climate change is impacting the fast warming Himalayas.
Educate
Create year-round STEM education and opportunities for communities in the Khumbu and students around the world.
Support
Advance cutting-edge field work across scientific disciplines: climatology, glaciology, geology, ecology, physiology, anthropology.
Empower
Grow local workforce capacity and spur economic development in Sherpa villages through technical training and outreach.
Equip
Provide community members and scientists with infrastructure for on-site analysis, climate monitoring and data collection.
Protect
Inform evidenced-based strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas and across the world.
Photos by Steve Mock, Elizabeth Byers and Eric Wong.
Real Benefits for Communities
Currently, Sherpa communities across the Khumbu are highly dependent upon tourism, trekking and climbing for their livelihoods. These occupations only generate income in warmer months, and they often prove dangerous.
With projects running throughout the year, HCSI provides sustainable, long-term economic opportunities for local Nepali communities. HCSI’s expert scientific team collaborates with local citizens for support in analysis, data collection, and longitudinal field studies. Through every project, HCSI creates scientific training opportunities in order to build local scientific capacity.
In addition to direct economic benefits, local communities are also aided by HCSI’s scientific findings, helping them to adapt to increasing erratic conditions caused by climate change.
Photo by Steve Mock.
What We Preserve
The Himalayan region of Nepal is full of life. It is one of the most densely populated mountainous regions in the world, and its broad array of biomes hosts an extraordinary array of biodiversity.
Yet among all of the rich heritage and beauty, a threat looms. The Himalayas are already experiencing the harsh impacts of climate change. Each year, glaciers melt at faster rates, and floods, landslides and avalanches in the region increase in both severity and number. Changes in temperature and precipitation are also threatening the survival of the region’s unique wildlife and flora and the lifestyles of indigenous communities.
By conducting practical research, HCSI directly aids efforts to understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change in the region and around the world.
Photo by Elizabeth Byers.
“Just as we become aware of this hidden splendor of the past, we are in danger of denying it to the future.”
-George Schaller, Stones of Silence
Steve Mock