A new letter published in Science highlights that safeguarding biodiversity in the Third Pole—the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and surrounding mountain systems—will depend not only on scientific research and policy implementation, but on greater recognition and support for local communities and their biocultural practices.

These findings emerge amid intensifying global efforts to reverse the global trend of biodiversity loss under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which sets a clear target to conserve 30% of the world's terrestrial, inland water, and coastal/marine areas by 2030. As a global biodiversity hotspot, the Third Pole represents the world's highest-altitude region with uniquely fragile ecosystems. It provides food, medicine, freshwater, and a wide array of critical ecosystem services to over 1.5 billion people across Asia, while forming an indispensable ecological security shield for China and neighboring countries.

Despite these remarkable achievements, the region's biodiversity conservation efforts still face severe challenges due to intensifying climate change, population growth, and accelerating urbanization.

In the letter, an international research team led by Prof. YANG Xuefei from the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences highlighted the importance of community-driven conservation. The study was a collaborative effort with researchers and organizations across China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Thailand.

From the perspectives of ethnobotany and ethnoecology, the researchers noted that human settlement on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau dates back 4,000 years, fostering a rich and diverse tapestry of biocultural heritage. To this day, local communities continue to actively employ traditional knowledge to conserve the Third Pole's vast grasslands, wetlands, lakes, forests, and farmlands. These conservation efforts are primarily driven by cultural and social values, rather than solely by economic incentives or ecological compensation.

The researchers emphasized that broad societal support is essential to maximize the impact of community-level conservation actions. They outlined four priority areas: providing policy support to secure land tenure and strengthen community management; fostering long-term, place-based scientific collaboration; building partnerships among governments, communities, and other stakeholders; and addressing gaps in conservation, particularly in rapidly urbanizing areas of the Third Pole.

China has taken steps in this direction. In January 2026, it officially implemented the National Park Law of the People's Republic of China, which explicitly encourages and supports community participation in national park conservation.

The authors concluded that deeper collaboration between scientists and local communities is essential for achieving long-term conservation outcomes in the Third Pole.

Such efforts actively respond to the GBF's goals and represent a critical pathway for contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to global biodiversity conservation.