Edmund Hillary spent his long and productive life giving back to the mountains and mountain people he loved. He will be greatly missed.

From the Executive and Members of the IUCN WCPA Mountains Biome

11 January 2008

This tribute has been prepared by the Executive and Members of the IUCN WCPA Mountains Biome to honour the mountain conservation work and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary, who passed away today at the age of 88 years.

From Dr. Lawrence Hamilton
The passing of this heroic figure shortly after our last UPDATE was issued in late December 2007, was a personal loss to his co-workers and friends such as Bruce Jefferies (and Margaret). It was a loss to the Nepalese children educated in the schools he established, and a loss to all those who know Sagarmatha NP whether from personal experience or from books. We have extracted from a tribute that Bruce wrote that illumines the role Sir Edmund played in establishing this great World Heritage Site.

Links to more information:
Radio New Zealand: a wealth of information
International Everest Day proclaimed
Sherpas mourn, world grieves passing of Sir Edmund Hillary
A Photo Tribute from Ang Tshering Sherpa
Wikipedia
NZEdge
Academy of Achievement
Ed's contribution to the establishment of Sagarmatha National Park and World Heritage Area - from Bruce Jefferies of NZ

From Bruce Jefferies

One of the early suggestions for establishing this iconic place as a national park came from Louise Hillary. In 1973 the Government of Nepal announced their in-principle decision to establish the park. In 1974 an appraisal mission from New Zealand which included "Bing Lucas" (our late beloved friend and Chair of WCPA), undertook an appraisal mission to evaluate the feasibility for establishing the national park. This was followed in 1975 by a commitment from the New Zealand Government, undoubtedly under Sir Ed's guidance, to provide finance and technical assistance to the Nepalese Government to help set up the park.

I spent nearly 3 years living and working in the park and Sir Ed visited us on many occasions to discuss our work and share his perspectives. Conservation activities in Nepal were supported by educational opportunities in New Zealand where a small International Ranger Training facility at Turangi provided a platform for Nepalese staff to increase their English language ability and gain knowledge of a wide range of practical protected area management skills. The early Sherpas that participated in this scheme were handpicked by Sir Ed and the first year at Turangi was a precursor to their entrance at Lincoln University where, under Dr. Pat Devlin, many students including several who later became Chief Wardens in Sagarmatha NP as well as prominent international conservation professionals, completed undergraduate studies.

Our late colleague Mingma Sherpa was one of the first children to graduate from a school that Sir Edmund established in the Khumbu region. Linda McMillan aptly states that this is "a testament to the power of education to help conserve our planet."