In the irrigated agro forestry zone we find the small Tibetan village with 30 households and a total population of 153 persons. The villagers combine fruit trees like pears, apples, walnuts and chestnut with Sichuan pepper, plums and crops like wheat, barley and several vegetables. Around the houses, as a special domain of women they keep home gardens only for own consumption as well as the management of small domestic animals. The family home gardens are realms of abundance of spring onions, sunflowers, stem lettuce, chilli, potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, fuzzy melon, squash and other useful plants. In order to sell and also for own consumption the villagers produce peas, broad bean, soybean, white cabbage, cucumber in the irrigated fields. The villagers put up flags on the roof of their houses to ask for the protection of their families and their crops.

Located at the altitude of the irrigated farmlands zone we find the Lisu Village Chuanchu with 24 households and 107 persons and the Malimasa village Haini with 37 households and 174 persons. They share the same pattern of home gardens around the households and the keeping of small animals that are taken care by the women..

The irrigated farmlands are used to grow mainly high yielding varieties of maize, rice (M4 for example) potatoes, barley and wheat. Here the external agricultural inputs are relatively high not only in terms of genetic material distributed by the local state extension service but also the chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

This area has a special place. Where the Tacheng opens there is a Lama House. The combination of an old building surrounded by three Holy and where two rivers merge, produces a sense of fulfilment to the observer. Villagers say that they feel spiritually refreshed and unhappiness disappears at the sight of that scenic spot. It might be the configuration of the mountains, the influence of the water, the direction of the sunshine, the intensity of the wind, the purity of the air that create the sense of harmony and energy.

The River is a source of local species of fish. Some are extinct and others are endangered due to overexploitation. The riverbank is protected with willow trees against the regular danger of floods during the rainy season.

A fast inventory of agro biodiversity in the four villages yielded a list of more than 80 trees, crops, mushrooms, medicinal plants and animals. Villagers have clear conservation practices that show how much they cherish and care for these resources (See annex).

4. Diversity of Livelihoods

Due to the different resources available in the mountainous regions villagers cannot be specialized in one single activity. They combine different seasonal tasks in the distinct ecological zones. For example, collecting medicinal plants and mushrooms during the summer months, or the semi nomadic pastoralism in the pasturelands, hunting when it is permitted, fishing during the whole year, weaving hemp ropes, baskets or wool textiles when the agricultural occupations allow it. This multi activity is essential to the lifestyle of mountainous people and is the historical result of social creativity responding to the variability of the ecological system