The Lepcha are a unique Himalayan community in the remote reaches of the Myal Lang, or the Kanchenjunga National Park. The community has been granted scheduled tribe status in 1956 and as per the 2011 Indian Census, the total population of Lepchas of Sikkim is 42,909. Today, the Lepcha are losing ground to climate change which is causing cultural erosion. Loss of land and biodiversity as a result of climate change is damaging the traditional practices such as nature-worshiping. The Lepcha believe that mountains, peaks, rivers, and lakes are organic entities that live and breathe. Their rituals call for the involvement of the environment around them and they are deeply dependent on the natural world for not only physical sustenance, but for their mental well-being too. The Janjati can potentially lose their nature-inspired deities caused by climate-change induced migration, displacement, territorial dispossession, and deletion of 'inherited heritage-knowledge through innumerable generations'. There is a need to delve into the foundations of the sacredness of the region to highlight its bio-cultural diversity and provide a way forward in ecosystem conservation through climate change preparedness. The Lepcha are the keepers of the region
