Paper short abstract:

The unfolding tragedy of decline in Cordyceps availability and gathering by Himalayan communities metaphorically captures the ecological fragility of the Third Pole in the age of the anthropocene.

Paper long abstract:

Himalayan Viagra is a popular term used for Cordyceps (caterpillar fungus) that is found at very high altitudes currently fetches $100,000 in the global market. Its high-value use in Chinese medicine as an aphrodisiac has propelled its high market demand and often it’s unsustainable collection (wild cultivation) in the Indian Himalayas for the global market. Based on a review of literature and some exploratory discussions, I use the case of Cordyceps as a species to understand glocal ecological ramifications among Himalayan communities and as a key to unlock the climate change narrative. Its is widely acknowledged that Indian Himalayan communities dwell in precarious and ecologically sensitive landscapes, and challenges of meeting livelihood needs are a supra-indicator of not merely a declining ecologism but how concurrent with climate change, human greed and globalization has undermined landscape sustainability. Following Ingold, landscape tells us a story, it becomes a chronicle of life and dwelling although it is not merely a space. We gather meanings from it, and local communities attach meanings to it. Nonetheless the landscape is not merely a scape of inscription but comprises a movement of incorporation and its life cycle indicated temporality as it unfolds our story and becomes the homeland of our thoughts. The unfolding tragedy of decline in Cordyceps availability and gathering by Himalayan communities metaphorically captures the ecological fragility of the Third Pole in the age of the anthropocene.