My Story Eco-Montane Consulting offers information and consulting services on issues related to the environment, conservation and development of the Tibetan Plateau, Southwest China, and the Himalayas. In 2000 I finally gave my consulting services a more formal frame. Down below I am giving some background beyond my CV. In 1986 while trekking in Nepal's Solu Khumbu region up to the Mt. Everest / Qomolangma base camp I became fascinated by the great diversity of the environment and cultures of the Himalayas and adjacent Tibet. Ever since, I focused my geography and environmental science studies on this region with a special interest in development, resource management and ecology. In 1989, I started focusing on the forest ecosystems of the Tibetan Areas of Southwest China, a topic that was hardly dealt with in western research since the 1940s. In 1991 I conducted fieldwork in Zitsa Degu / Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, West Sichuan for my master thesis researching the local forest vegetation and soils. To the best of my knowledge this "three dimensional forest vegetation zonation" remains one of the few localized studies published in a western language of the Eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau (The text of an English "extended summary" is contained in my web page). Ever since this study I have worked on issues related to vegetation and landuse in southwest China and the Himalayas. My main research focus is landuse issues, especially changes in forest and vegetation distribution through traditional landuse practices (grazing etc.). Through the years I kept on presenting and publishing scientific papers on these issues. My personal interest is directed at the local flora, mycota and fauna and the processes, which shaped and are shaping the current eco-system. Studying forest vegetation I found myself confronted with modern-day logging operations in the Tibetan areas of China, which too often were not based on sustainable principles. Being not satisfied with researching deforestation alone and sharing depressing facts, but rather wanting to have a positive input, I actively involved myself in reforestation and nature conservation through NGO work. Thus, I am working as a freelance consultant integrating my ecological background in order to facilitate sustainable development and conservation. Through the years, I have familiarized myself with the specific situation in China and especially in China's remote `minority' areas ["We are all a minority"]. I learned working with local people and officials, as well as Chinese administrations. I am studying Mandarin, a process far from being finished. From 1998 to 2002 I was consulting The Bridge Fund, working in the Tibetan areas of SW China. I designed and monitored TBF's environmental projects. These projects supported sustainable development and conservation in forest related issues, i.e. reforestation, forest conservation, nurseries, cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, erosion control, fruit trees and non-timber forest products. Being a dedicated gardener may be better described as a serious plantaholic, dedicating myself to generating rural income through cultivation and gathering of medicinal plants is a natural. In the last years I developed a professional interest in local practices of mushroom and medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) gathering and their marketing. I am completely fascinated by mushrooms and their ecology. I grew up collecting wild mushrooms and keep on learning about fungi. I have collected mushrooms in North and South America, all over Europe and Asia. Looking into MAPs and mushrooms for generating rural income sustainability of harvesting is a central issue. Mushroom conservation, especially matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake) is a major issue in the southeastern region of the Tibetan Plateau. Caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis), a high altitude grassland fungus has a much wider distribution area and generates in Tibet AR rural income 100 times higher than matsutake. In addition, its lifecycle, which is completely dependent on the ghost moth, is a story right out of `x-files'. Currently I am clearly infested myself. In 2005, I researched mushroom markets in Nyingchi, Chamdo and Nagchu with Tibetan colleagues, collecting unpublished data on the fungal and herbal economy in TAR. So far, we have no reliable knowledge regarding the long-term impact of ever-increasing collection pressures while retail prices peaking at ¥120,000 per metric pound ($15,000, €12,000) in coastal cities in China in late 2006. Loss of fungal income would devastate rural Tibetan economies, the world's most dependent on fungal activity, which keeps mushrooming.