ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two case studies of contemporary landscape change in the alpine zones of Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu, Nepal and the Huascarn National Park, Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Research methods employed here include systematic belted line transects, random plot sampling, repeat photography and oral testimony of local residents. Set high in the Ancash Department of the Peruvian Andes, the 3,400 km2 Huascarn National Park (HNP) is one of the world's premier mountain protected areas. Designated a national park in 1975, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and a World Heritage Site in 1985, HNP encompasses nearly all of the Cordillera Blanca, the highest glaciated mountain range within the tropical zone. The Sagarmatha National Park, officially created in 1976, is located in northeastern Nepal in the Solu Khumbu District of the Sagarmatha Zone. This 1,113 km2 park is roughly triangular in shape and virtually enclosed by mountain peaks in excess of 6,000 m.
