The production of cheese has been regarded as one of the few rural successes of the Nepali Government´s development programme. One of the main areas of this success has been the Langtang region north of Kathmandu. The Langtang valley, a National Park in 1977, has two cheese "factories" that produce a total of i4,000 kg of cheese a year. The two units collect about 140,000 litres of milk annually and process it into cheese.
The cheese production in Lang tang, centred in the villages of Syabru and Langtang, each with population of about 500, has brought with it severe challenges. The introduction of cash economy into the highland communities has made the use of the natural resources unsustainable. The impact on the area´s wildlife has been especially worrisome.
AttheequivalentofU$4.30perkg,thecost of cheese in Kathmandu is too expensive for most Nepalis, whereas it is relatively cheap by the standards of the urban expatriate community and Western tourists. Because cheese production: is ruining the natural environment of the upper Langtang Valley, the ideal response would be to produce Jess cheese, but raise its price. The Langtang income from cheese would not dip, while the enormous pressures on the environment would be lessened.
The increased price of cheese will have little impact on the upscale market but would translate into a substantial benefit to the farmers, whose grazing activity must be made more sustainable. The red panda and other wildlife in the park would also win back some of their habitat which has been taken over by ever increasing numbers,the yak and hill-cow crossbreeds which is the livestock of choice in Langtang.