One of the silent crises confronting our world today is the pervasive and unprecedented degradation of biological diversity on our planet. Consider that the current extinction rate is more than 1,000 times the baseline extinction rate. According to IUCN, 18,788 species out of 52,017 assessed are facing extinction. Of the 5,490 mammals found in the world today, 78 are already extinct in the wild and another 728 are endangered. Imagine that of the world's 6,285 amphibian species, 1,895 are endangered.

In the context of Nepal, the story is not much different. According to the UN state of world reports (2007), between 1990 and 2005, the country lost 4,500 square miles of forest, or one-fourth of its total forest coverage in just 15 years.

This was due largely to haphazard urbanization secondary to rural road construction, the lack of sustainable economic alternatives, inadequate environmental education and agro-forestry related support to farmers, and the complete absence of an economic model that incentivizes biodiversity and habitat conservation at the village level.

What is astounding is that even as huge swaths of forest are being cut down in the country, according to WWF, between 1998 and 2008 alone, 353 new species were discovered in the Himalayas, which is equal to the discovery of 35 new species each year. The tragedy of this is that some species that go extinct in the coming years, will never even have been discovered or known to science.

Confronted with such challenges, can anything be done to avert dangerous tipping points? What are the models to emulate and how can conservation of biodiversity and habitats be incentivized using policy and economic levers? What are the scalable ideas that can create real change on the ground, but also meet the scale of the problem?

In Nepal, where more than 85 percent of the country practices agriculture, what is the role for farmers in conservation? In a youthful country where 34.6 percent of the population is under the age of 14, what is the proper role of youth and the education system?

The eastern region of Nepal comprises one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots, with more species found here than most places in the world. This biological diversity is predicated on the intense physical heterogeneity associated with the Himalayan range, which has given rise to 118 different forest types and 27 important bird areas (IBAs). The 'island biogeography' effect, usually discussed in the context of oceanic islands, can also be observed in Nepal, where the folds of the terrain give rise to many, isolated micro-climates depending on exposure, rain shadow and other factors.

Two years ago, as a response to the biodiversity emergency facing Nepal and the world, in thinking about the proper role of education in safeguarding the environment, I helped co-founded KTK-BELT, with Canadian Architect Priyanka Bista and local teacher and conservationist Kumar Bishwakarma, to build a continuous forest corridor from Koshi Tappu (67 m.), Nepal's first RAMSAR site and largest aquatic bird reserve, to Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 m.), as an 8,000 m. 'vertical university' to teach and conserve the more than 6,600 flowering plant species, 1,200 angiosperms, 800 bird species and 180 different kinds of mammals found in eastern Nepal.

The 'vertical university' was born from the simple proposition that in a mountainous country like Nepal, where there is exceptional diversity from the tropical plains to the alpine Himalayas, conventional education paradigms where students sit in a stationary classroom, divorced from their surroundings, make little sense. The "professors" of the vertical university may not hold a Ph.D. or even have set foot in school, but as local farmers, they possess intricate, inter-generational knowledge regarding native species and habitats which is critical for Nepal's youth to attain.

The vertical university will deepen place-based skills in sustainable technology, craft, and medicinal plants, and seeks to conserve and to stimulate local knowledge while also creating sustainable livelihood opportunities. It does this through establishing "learning grounds," which are micro-conservation hubs the "classrooms" of the university at different locations across the landscape, each offering something new.

Nepal is a paradoxical country. Everywhere there are shortages of energy, water, fuel, and supplies. Yet few places in the world are endowed with more natural resources, physical diversity, and diversity of culture and languages. It's also a country where education is deeply valued. Putting all of this together, it is the perfect melting pot to realize an idea like this.