I am a Sharwa (Sherpa) anthropologist from Pharak, (also known as southern part of Mount Everest region) in northeastern Nepal. I examine human dimension of climate change in the high Himalaya from an Indigenous perspective. My research, writing, and pedagogy are guided by the question: How do we live in the midst of dying?

I use ethnographic methods to study everyday concerns of Himalayan people in order to normalize our experiences and represent us as equal partners in decision-making spaces. I use multidisciplinary approach in my research projects, and consider plural epistemologies as a necessity, not a choice, in addressing contemporary human problems.

My current research applies community-based approach to exploring the possibilities of collective survival on warming planet. It builds on my nearly two decades of climate change study in the Himalayas and long-term ethnographic study of the Sherpa community at home in the mountains and in the diaspora.

My current collaborative projects include: Knowledge Justice Collective, Biodegradable Blessings and Ecologies of Care.

Courses taught at UBC:
Go Global Nepal
Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change
Indigenous Environmentalism in Asia and Beyond
Biocultural Diversity: Language, Environment and Community

For a complete list of my publication, please visit: www.pasangysherpa.com

Recent publications:

Sherpa (Sherpa), P. Y. (2025). Relevance of the Sixth IPCC Assessment Report to Indigenous lived realities. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801251362621

Stein, S., Ahenakew, C., Valley, W., Sherpa, P. Y., Crowson, E., Robin, T., … & Evans, S. (2024). Toward more ethical engagements between Western and Indigenous sciences. FACETS, 9, 1-14.

Sherpa, P. Y. (2024). Climate Change in Nepal through an Indigenous Environmental Justice Lens. In Environmental Justice in Nepal (pp. 217-224). Routledge.

Sherpa, P. Y., Chakraborty, R., & Carrara, A. (2024). Indigeneity. Introducing Human Geographies, Routledge. 129.