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cherishes any time she can spend in Nepal鈥檚 mountainous region, where she grew up in a Sherpa village. Now, as an adult, she loves introducing her two young children to the beautiful natural setting and the joys of living off the land.

鈥淭hat is where [my] heart is,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verything is back to nature. . . . You have all the food on your farm.鈥�

But the scenery Dolma Sherpa adored as a kid has changed significantly鈥攁nd for the worse.

The shift in rainfall and snowfall patterns, rise of vegetation-destroying worms and insects, and other climate change颅-driven issues are causing severe damage to vital crops, such as potatoes, garlic, rice and barley, and making it more challenging to raise livestock. Some Sherpa communities live in fear of avalanches and landslides, which have also destroyed spiritual sites鈥攄evastating events that people sometimes blame on themselves or an evil spirit because they don鈥檛 understand climate change, she said.听

鈥淲hen I was a little girl, I never heard of climate change,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 never heard of floods or disasters. It was not that common.鈥�

As a result, Sherpa people choose to migrate, leaving their homelands behind and restricting their chance to pass down spiritual, cultural and social values to younger generations.

Experiencing the changing weather鈥檚 harmful effects on Nepal鈥檚 Sherpa villages led Dolma Sherpa to become an advocate for Indigenous communities, specifically in the areas of climate change and environmental protection.

After working behind the scenes for the Center for Indigenous Peoples Research and Development (CIPRED) for several years, she became the organization鈥檚 executive director in 2016. The role enables her to lead efforts to address Indigenous peoples鈥� issues and concerns鈥攊ncluding those related to climate change, biodiversity conservation and the management of natural resources鈥攙ia policy advocacy, resources documentation, traditional livelihood empowerment and more.

Part of Dolma Sherpa鈥檚 work includes bringing the voices of Indigenous community members to relevant local, national and global government agencies and other bilateral groups to raise awareness about their contributions to the resilience and adaptation of biodiversity. Even though Indigenous peoples only make up about 6.2% of the world鈥檚 population, they protect more than 80% of the world鈥檚 biodiversity and have ancestral expertise on how to adapt and reduce climate change and disaster risks.

Dolma Sherpa said the preservation of Indigenous peoples鈥� cultural values and skills, such as farming native fruits and creating various handcrafts, is also important. That allows them to pass that knowledge along to young people鈥攚ho can learn to value their roots and be inspired to fight the effects of climate change in the future.

鈥淲e need to balance science knowledge and the Indigenous knowledge so that our future generation will have an option in life,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen you know cultural values, that gives you the option to bring the science knowledge [you learn in the city] and also support your community on the ground.鈥�