
Stanley Stevens brings new ecological and historical perspectives to his
study of a subsistence society in ever-increasing contact with the outside
world. The Sherpas of the Mount Everest region, famous for their
mountaineering exploits, have frequently been depicted as victims of the
world's highest-altitude tourist boom. But have the Sherpas and their
homeland been transformed by tourism? He is the first to analyze the
complex interaction of local environmental knowledge, cultural beliefs, and
socio-economic and political conditions in changing sherpas subsistence
strategies, land use practices, and local resources management
institutions. Claiming the High ground is must reading for all those
interested peoples and concerned about the conservation of the earth's high
places.
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