Qomolangma National Nature Preserve

Qomolangma National Nature Preserve
IUCN category II (national park)
Entrance Gate of the National Park
Location	Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Nearest city	Shigatse
Coordinates	28°10′52″N 86°48′11″E / 28.18111°N 86.80306°E / 28.18111; 86.80306
Area	36,000 km2
Established	March 18, 1989

The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve (QNNP), also known as the Chomolungma Nature Reserve (QNP), is a protected area 3.381 million hectares in size in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. Located on the Roof of the World ("Qomolangma" is the Tibetan name for Mount Everest), the QNNP was one of the first nature preserves in the world to be administered and protected entirely by local volunteers. Through their continued efforts, significant achievements have been made in halting rampant deforestation, unregulated tourism and illegal hunting of rare wildlife in the Qomolangma region. Active reforestation and garbage collection programs have also been undertaken to restore the environment.

The protected area, initially named Qomolangma Nature Preserve, was created on March 18, 1989 at the Tibet regional level. Support from then-Governor of Tibet, Hu Jintao, was instrumental in shaping the community-based management design summarized below and also pushing through the landscape level size (in 1983, QNP was the largest nature reserve in Asia). In 1993, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China elevated its protection to the national level and the QNP became QNNP.^[1]