IHRR

Program Overview

The Himalayan Planetary Health Transect 2026 is the second edition of the 2025 L2L Field School, which brought together a multidisciplinary cohort of undergraduate students, faculty, and professionals for an interdisciplinary, altitude-based field learning experience spanning the Terai Plains of Nepal to the Nepali Himalayas. The 2026 cohort was composed of 20 participants: 7 students from Nepal, 7 from Duke University, USA, and 7 from Duke Kunshan University, China (our newest collaborative partner). The two-week field program, stretching from the biodiverse lowlands of Chitwan to the arid landscapes of Lo Manthang, served as an immersive platform to explore the interactions between climate, health, biodiversity, ecological restoration, culture, gender, and how global change shapes each of these dimensions across dramatically shifting ecological zones.

Study map of the Himalayan Planetary Health Transect 2026 from Chitwan to Lo Manthang.

Elevation Profile of the Himalayan Planetary Health Transect 2026 from Chitwan to Lo Manthang.

Itinerary

Transect map — Study map of the Himalayan Planetary Health Transect 2026 from Chitwan to Lo Manthang.

01

Chitwan 100 masl

Students explored Chitwan National Park, engaged with Tharu and Bote indigenous communities, and examined human-wildlife conflict, flood risk, and community health.
02

Bandipur 1030 masl

A heritage stop examining how a historic hilltop settlement has navigated tourism, urbanisation, and climate change.
03

Pokhara and Surrounds 800–2,100 masl

Students examined the Fewa watershed through an Ecosystem-Based Adaptation lens, observed siltation dams, engaged with local communities, and explored urban health at Manipal Medical College.
04

Lower Mustang — Marpha & Jomsom 2566 masl

Students engaged with apple farming communities, examined high-altitude health systems, and interacted with a women-led agricultural cooperative on community resilience.
05

Lupra → Muktinath → Kagbeni 2804-3800 masl

Students explored indigenous Bon ecological knowledge in Lupra, trekked to the sacred site of Muktinath, and descended to Kagbeni — site of the 2023 landslide lake outburst flood.
06

Ghami to Lo Manthang 3,510–3,840 masl

Students concluded the transect exploring climate migration at Samdzong, the 2025 GLOF sites at Dhee and Chunjung, nomadic livelihoods, traditional Amchi healing, and conservation governance in Upper Mustang.

Learning Objectives

01

Planetary Health

Understanding the interconnections between human health, ecosystems, and global environmental change.

02

Climate

Observing and analyzing how climate change manifests across ecological zones, from the Terai to the Himalayas

03

Biodiversity

Exploring the diversity of species, habitats, and ecosystems and the pressures they face from global change

04

Health

Assessing environmental and social drivers of disease burden, health systems, and community well-being across altitudes

05

Human Settlement

Witnessing migration, urbanization, indigenous land use, and the changing dynamics of mountain and lowland communities

06

Local & Indigenous Knowledge

Understanding the ethnic, religious, and traditional framings of environmental change, conservation, and resilience

07

Community Engagement

Engaging with communities, practitioners, policymakers, and knowledge holders across Nepal

Cross-cutting themes

Systems thinking Transdisciplinarity Sustainability Community resilience Equity and inclusion Photojournalism & science communication

Methodology

The program incorporated the following frameworks, materials and experiential learning activities to engage students:

Conceptual framework

Planetary health

Planetary Health provides the central conceptual lens for the Transect, situating human well-being within the boundaries of Earth's natural systems. As articulated by Myers and Frumkin (2020), the rapid expansion of population, resource consumption, and high-impact technologies has pushed human activity beyond the planet's regenerative capacity; disrupting climate, biodiversity, freshwater, and land systems in ways that profoundly shape health outcomes. These disruptions alter nutrition, disease dynamics, mental wellbeing, and exposure to extreme events, with vulnerable communities bearing disproportionate burdens. Planetary Health therefore calls for a systems-oriented, equity-driven approach that recognises both risks and co-benefits. Within the Transect, this framework connected global drivers of environmental change to the local realities students witnessed on the ground.

Methodology illustration — Planetary Health infographic illustrating the balance between social foundations and ecological ceilings, as adapted by Duke University’s Planetlab

References

DEAL. (Doughnut Economics Action Lab), (2025)
Raworth, K., (2017) Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. London: Random House.
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K. et al. A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461, 472–475 (2009).