The wellbeing of mountain people is inextricably linked to biodiversity. Biodiversity is known to be the foundation of human health. With the COVID 19 pandemic, interlinkages between biodiversity, ecosystem, and human health have become starkly apparent. COVID 19 showed that outbreaks and spread of diseases are not just ahealth risk, but regress human civilization by disrupting social life, economy, education, livelihoods, and rob people of basic dignity and wellbeing. The pandemic also highlighted the existing social inequities and further deepened this...