Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
A community-led initiative responding to a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in Thame village, within Nepal's Sagarmatha National Park World Heritage Site, has documented ten intangible cultural heritage elements of the indigenous Sherpa community. The flood caused significant damage and threatened vital traditional practices and knowledge systems essential for climate adaptation.
The project aligns with the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) Programme. It aims to build local capacity to protect living heritage and highlight the importance of traditional knowledge in disaster risk reduction. The process engaged over 50 stakeholders, including representatives from the Nepali Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, UN partners, and indigenous community leaders.
Through fieldwork and workshops, experts and local youth volunteers prepared a draft inventory of ten cultural elements. These include ‘Tho’ (traditional food and related skills); ‘Kshara’ (traditional craftsmanship and technologies); ‘Nawa’ and ‘Dee’ (knowledge about nature and the universe); and ‘Dhubchoa’, ‘Mani Rildhup’, ‘Lhosar’, and ‘Lotok Bulo’ (social practices, rituals, and festivals).
The final workshop featured technical discussions on policy and digital preservation, leading to the presentation of a strategic Action Plan. This plan proposes integrating indigenous knowledge directly into local disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation policies.
The initiative also hosted an open poster competition, encouraging young Nepalis to creatively express climate change issues affecting mountain culture. Winners, recognized during the event, noted the competition helped them understand climate change's impact on intangible cultural heritage.