When Nature Changes Its Rhythm, Communities Suffer

In Bhutan’s high Himalayan pastures, villagers say the alpine plants they’ve used for incense, medicine and fuel for generations are disappearing. But new ecological research shows that many of these plants are still growing, and some are now found in greater numbers. The study raises questions relevant not only in Bhutan but also in the mountains of India, Nepal and Tibet, where people depend on nature’s cycles, as well as across South Asia, where similar shifts are already underway.