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Summary:

Yak and its crossbred production system is an important component of the mountain agro- pastoralism .The contribution of livestock , in particular, yak and its crossbred is of paramount importance in the mountain economy .It is an inseparable entity of the social life of the mountain communities of Nepal. The Yak and its cross bred production is becoming even more important not only for the consumable products and the services rendered to the mountain people in daily life but also for the mountain tourism in terms of providing transport means to expeditions and adventure tourism. Yak production has been discussed in terms of adaptation and values, prevailing management system, population dynamics and herd composition and performances in terms of draft, production, reproduction, breeding system and animal health situation. The major issues highlighted are:

•	gradual reduction in the population of Yak in Nepal leading to be an endangered species;
•	alarming loss of animals by the wild life within the national park;
•	inadequate supply of winter fodder and feed limiting the expansion of Yak and its crossbred production;
•	shifting of yak raising profession to mountain adventure tourism by the young generation of the mountain communities creating a labor shortage and
•	limited supply of replacement stock from Tibet leading to deterioration of the herds.

Yak management strategy highlighted the importance to focus on:

•	social, cultural and ecological peculiarities in the promotion of mountain livestock production system.
•	participation of resource users and their local /traditional institutions in policy formulation and management decisions affecting their communities;
•	adoption of appropriate policy and strategy to promote livestock led growth in agriculture sector by HMG of Nepal ,especially in the mountains;
•	appropriate extension service to the herders to let them understand the basic principles of genetics and breeding to minimize the effects of inbreeding along with improved livestock production and resource management system;
•	promotion of group breeding scheme;
•	establishment of yak raisers groups / association to participate in the livestock policy formulation and the management of rangeland resources;
•	conservation of area biomass;
•	organize training for hygienic milk production and processing technologies and
•	the conservation of Yak.

* Resource Development Adviser, Nepal Australia Community Resource Management Project, AusAID, ANUTECH PTY Ltd.. (Australia). Nepal.

Rangeland resources have been discussed in terms of vegetation, fodder and feed supply and insufficiency in different ecological belts of the high hills and mountains of Nepal.

The major issues identified in relation to the range management are:

•	over utilization of the rangelands and the forests ,in particular, the oak forest;
•	lack of responsibility and commitment for the management of the rangelands and the forests by the traditional users;
•	serious lack of knowledge about range eco - system and livestock grazing;
•	gap in the availability of reliable information;
•	little understanding of the factors affecting the vegetation composition, plant phenology and forage value of range resources;
•	gradual deterioration of rangelands exerted extra pressure on oak forest for tree foliage especially during winter months and
•	rangelands and forests are showing signs of rapid deterioration leading to high altitude desertification. The range management strategy has been outlined to resolve the issues and the constraints experienced by the herders.

The major components of the rangeland management strategy are:

•	socio -economic considerations;
•	forest- rangeland investigation;
•	understanding of the livestock ecology and the role of livestock ;
•	identification of rangeland plant resources;
•	range survey and its inventory;
•	preparation of range forage plant field guides;
•	establishment of forage test plots and nurseries ;
•	rangeland monitoring system;
•	research on pastoral production system and pastoralist's production strategies ;
•	development of different options and programs for the rangeland management ;
•	adoption of appropriate grazing management regimes managed by the rangeland management user groups and
•	establishment of Rangeland Training / advisory Service Centre.