Characterized by longitudinal mountain ranges, major rivers and deep valleys, the longitudinal range-gorge region (LRGR) in southwest China is regarded as unique worldwide in terms of landscape and biodiversity. The distinct “corridor-barrier” phenomenon caused by energy transportation and human activities makes the region an important ecological and economic corridor that links China and the Southeast Asian countries. While it houses every ecosystem in the northern Hemisphere except desert and ocean types, and is widely acknowledged as the concentrated area for various species and global gene reserve, it is subject to ecological vulnerability and frequent occurrences of natural disasters. Different ethnic groups scatter in small basins embraced by big mountains and present vast differences in respect of social and economic development. As a result, LRGR has long been regarded as a key area for earth sciences and biology research in search of environment and ecosystem change; meanwhile, LRGR is also a typical area in Western China characterized by high concentration of resources, worsening of environmental deterioration, impoverished rural poor, as well as contradiction between protection and development.Located in the upstream of the four major international rivers in Asia, LRGR is the hinge for China's regional cooperation with southeast and south Asia. At present, the region is under multi and large-scale disturbance, projecting serious ecological problems. For example, in China's ongoing development programs such as West Development, the region serves as resource bases for biology, ferrous metal and hydropower (with more than 30 cascade dams); while in the international passage program, 3 international expressways, 3 railways and 3 navigation channels will span the region. Along with the construction of such major engineering projects, ecosystem degradation and transboundary ecological security will become increasingly serious, which in turn makes LRGR a sensitive area that deserves global attention. Multi-disciplinary and cross-sector studies on transboundary resources in the region are directed to serve 3 major national needs: ①targeting at the national West Development Strategy to identify core scientific issues of ecological development and infrastructure construction in plateau mountains; ②targeting at national ecological security to develop maintenance mechanism and control methodology for transboundary ecological security and resource bases development; ③targeting at the national opening-up to south Asia to provide scientific grounds for multi-lateral diplomacy, trade and economic cooperation, as well as conflict resolution.