The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region forms one of the most fragile mountain chains in the world. The region is endowed with diverse ecosystems that provide numerous goods and services to millions of people within and outside its geographical boundaries. However, population growth and increasing anthropogenic pressures on these resources are increasingly besieging the region’s irreplaceable biodiversity. The HKH region features parts of four of the 34 global ‘biodiversity hotspots’ that harbour a large number of endemic and endangered species. The region’s biodiversity is also subject to acute human pressure. With regards to conservation significance in the HKH, about 39 per cent of its geographical area is under protected area (PA) networks. Many of the PAs are transboundary in nature and are significant to more than one country in terms of the ecosystem goods and services they provide. However, the conservation benefits of such transboundary, protected areas are still understated, and conservation and development issues are still considered separate entities. Cooperation and coordination among the countries that share such critical landscapes is still in nascent stages.