Himalayan biodiversity hotspot
Stretching
in an arc over 3000k.m of northern Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the
northwestern and northeastern states of India, the Himalayan
Biodiversity Hotspot includes the Mount Everest and the deepest river
Ganges. The 'Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot' is indeed a "store house of
biodiversity" because of its rich spectrum of species of flora and
fauna. The ultimate goal of the Hotspot is to keep nature intact and
stop anthropogenic species extinctions. Nibedita Sahoo and Rajesh Kumar
Mohapatra
Himalayan biodiversity hotspot
HIMALAYAN BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT
Nibedita Sahoo and Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra
Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa-751004
INTRODUCTION Biodiversity (Gr. Bios- life, L. diversus- widely varied) is defined as the variety of plant and animal life in the biosphere. This variety can be observed at 3 levels i.e. the genetic variability within a species, the variety of species within a community and the organization of species in an area in to distinctive plant and animal communities. Areas that are rich in species diversity are called 'Hotspots' of biodiversity. The concept of 'Biodiversity Hotspot' was first defined by Norman Myers in 1988. To qualify as a 'Biodiversity Hotspot' , a region must meet these criteria i.e (i) it must contain at least 1500 species of endemic vascular plants and (ii) all hotspots contain at least one 'Global 200 Ecoregion' and 'Endemic Bird Area' , 60% of 'Global 200 Ecoregions and 78% of 'Endemic Bird Areas' overlap with hotspots. The total number of Biodiversity Hotspots on earth is 34, out of these 'Himalaya' is one of them. SITUATION Stretching in an arc over 3000k.m of northern Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the northwestern and northeastern states of India, the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot includes the Mount Everest and the deepest river Ganges. This immense mountain range, which covers nearly 750000 km2 has been divided in to two regions: the eastern Himalaya covers parts of Nepal, Bhutan, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and the western Himalaya covers north west Kashmir and northern Pakistan. The mountains rise abruptly, resulting in a diversity of ecosystems that range from alluvial grasslands and subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine meadows above the tree line.
VITAL SIGNS
1. Hotspot original extent (in km²)----------------------------------------------741706
2. Area protected (in km²)--------------------------------------------------------112578
3. Area protected in IUCN categories I-VI (in km²)---------------------------77739
4. Hotspot vegetation remaining (in km²)--------------------------------------185427
5. Human population Density (people/ km²)-----------------------------------123
6. Endemic plant species ----------------------------------------------------------3160
7. Endemic threatened amphibians ---------------------------------------------4
8. Endemic threatened birds------------------------------------------------------8
9. Endemic threatened mammals ------------------------------------------------4
10. Extinct species--------------------------------------------------------------------0
UNIQUENESS The unique feature of the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot is the percentage of endemic species present to that of other Hotspots. Plants: Of the estimated 10000 species of plants in the Hotspot, about 3160 are endemic. 5 plant families are endemic to the region; these are Tetracentraceae, Hamamelidaceae, Circaesteraceae, Butomaceae and Stachyuraceae. In this Hotspot a zone of permanent rock and ice begins at about 5500-6000 meters, inspite of this harsh condition there are records of vascular plants occurring at some of the highest elevations on Earth. Cushion plants have been recorded at more than 6100 meters, while a high altitude scree plants are found at about 6300 meters on the northwestern Himalaya. Freshwater fishes: Fish species from 3 major drainage systems, the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, inhibit the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot. Of the estimated 269 species of fresh water fishes, about 33 are endemic. Cyprinidae, Cobitidae, Pillaiidae, Psilorhynchidae and Sisoridae are having many endemic species. The genus Schizothorax is represented by at least 6 endemic species in high mountain lakes and streams while two other genera Ptychobarbus and Gymnocypris are also unique to this Hotspot. Amphibians: Among amphibians, there are 105 species known to occur in the Hotspot, of which 42 are endemic. Most of these are frogs and toads, although there are also two species of order Apoda, one of which Ichthyphis sikkimensis is endemic. Ranidae, Rhacophoridae, Microhylidae, Hylidae and Bufonidae are 5 families in this hotspot having many endemic species. Reptiles: Among reptiles, 176 species have been documented of which 48 are endemic. There is 1 endemic lizard Takydromus sexllineatus khasiensis some other endemic genera are Oligodon, Japaluca and Cyrtodactylus. Lacertidae, Emydidae and Testudinidae are 3 families in this hotspot having many endemic species. Birds: Nearly 977 birds have been recorded in the Hotspot, but only 15 are endemic. Bird life International has identified 4 Endemic Bird Areas' that overlap with the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot. The western Himalayan EBA have 11 species restricted to it, including the critically endangered Himalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa), cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii ) and the western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus ). The Eastern Himalaya EBAs have 4 species restricted to it, including the chestnut-breasted partridge (Arboraphila mandellii), rusty-throate wren babbler (Spelaeomis badeigularis), white throated tit (Aegithalos niveogularis) and orange bullfinch (Pyrrhula aurantiaca). Mammals: About 300 mammal species have been recorded in the Himalayas, including a dozen that are endemic to the Hotspot. Among the endemic species are the golden langur (Presbytis geei), the Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemiahicus) and the pygmy hog (Sus salvanius). The only endemic genus is the Namadapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi). The alluvial grasslands support some of the highest densities of tiger (Panthera tigris), while the Brahmaputra and the Ganges river support the freshwater Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica), wild water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and swamp deer (Blastocervus bezoarticus) are restricted to protected areas in northeastern India. The mammalian fauna in the low lands is typically consisting of Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), gaurs (Bos gaurus), langurs (Semnopithecus), Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and sambar (Cervus unicolor). In the mountains, the fauna is consisting of snow leopard (Panthera uncia), brown bear (Ursus arctos), black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur ).
THREATS TO THE HOTSPOT Increasing human population: The steadily increasing population in the Hotspot has led to extensive clearing of forests and grasslands for cultivation and wide spread logging. The conversion of forests and grasslands for agriculture and settlements has led to large scale deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Over grazing: Overgrazing by domestic livestock (including cattle and domesticated yaks) is wide spread in the low lands and alpine ecosystems. Therefore large areas of remaining habitat in the Hotspot are highly degraded. Poaching: It is a serious problem in the Hotspot with tigers and rhinoceros hunted for their body parts for various purposes, while snow leopards and red pandas are sought for their beautiful pelts. Collection of medicinal plants and woods: The flora of alpine meadows has been over exploited for traditional medicine because medicinal plant collectors in variably uproot the entire plant, re growth is retarded. Fuel wood collection and non-timber forest product extraction has inflicted severe damage to some forest ecosystems. Development pressure: Other threats to the Hotspot include mining, the construction of road, oil drilling, pollution, resource extraction etc.
CONSERVATION ACTION AND PROTECTED AREAS IUCN category I-VI: About 113000 km² (15% of the land area of the Hotspot) is under some form of protection in the Himalaya region, although only 78000 km² are in protected areas in IUCN category I-VI. Projects: Many projects are targeted towards the conservation of specific species such as the snow leopard. Other projects target communities living in and around forest areas, with the idea that decreasing poverty and increasing awareness and ownership over resources will result in greater biodiversity conservation. National parks (NP) and Sanctuaries: The Hotspot can be well conserve by National parks and sanctuaries. The Hotspot includes 6 NPs i.e Corbett NP, Manas NP, Kaziranga NP, Rajaji NP, Khangchendzonga NP and Sagarmatha NP. Endemic Bird Areas: Bird Life International has identified 4 'Endemic Bird Areas' in this Hotspot. Key Biodiversity Areas: In addition to biological corridors and conservation landscapes, biodiversity is best conserved through the conservation of Key Biodiversity Areas; sites holding populations of globally threatened or geographically restricted species. 175 KBAs have identified in the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot.
CONCLUSION The'Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot' is indeed a "store house of biodiversity" because of its rich spectrum of species of flora and fauna. The ultimate goal of the Hotspot is to keep nature intact and stop anthropogenic species extinctions.
Nibedita Sahoo and Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra
Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa-751004
INTRODUCTION Biodiversity (Gr. Bios- life, L. diversus- widely varied) is defined as the variety of plant and animal life in the biosphere. This variety can be observed at 3 levels i.e. the genetic variability within a species, the variety of species within a community and the organization of species in an area in to distinctive plant and animal communities. Areas that are rich in species diversity are called 'Hotspots' of biodiversity. The concept of 'Biodiversity Hotspot' was first defined by Norman Myers in 1988. To qualify as a 'Biodiversity Hotspot' , a region must meet these criteria i.e (i) it must contain at least 1500 species of endemic vascular plants and (ii) all hotspots contain at least one 'Global 200 Ecoregion' and 'Endemic Bird Area' , 60% of 'Global 200 Ecoregions and 78% of 'Endemic Bird Areas' overlap with hotspots. The total number of Biodiversity Hotspots on earth is 34, out of these 'Himalaya' is one of them. SITUATION Stretching in an arc over 3000k.m of northern Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the northwestern and northeastern states of India, the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot includes the Mount Everest and the deepest river Ganges. This immense mountain range, which covers nearly 750000 km2 has been divided in to two regions: the eastern Himalaya covers parts of Nepal, Bhutan, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and the western Himalaya covers north west Kashmir and northern Pakistan. The mountains rise abruptly, resulting in a diversity of ecosystems that range from alluvial grasslands and subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine meadows above the tree line.
VITAL SIGNS
1. Hotspot original extent (in km²)----------------------------------------------741706
2. Area protected (in km²)--------------------------------------------------------112578
3. Area protected in IUCN categories I-VI (in km²)---------------------------77739
4. Hotspot vegetation remaining (in km²)--------------------------------------185427
5. Human population Density (people/ km²)-----------------------------------123
6. Endemic plant species ----------------------------------------------------------3160
7. Endemic threatened amphibians ---------------------------------------------4
8. Endemic threatened birds------------------------------------------------------8
9. Endemic threatened mammals ------------------------------------------------4
10. Extinct species--------------------------------------------------------------------0
UNIQUENESS The unique feature of the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot is the percentage of endemic species present to that of other Hotspots. Plants: Of the estimated 10000 species of plants in the Hotspot, about 3160 are endemic. 5 plant families are endemic to the region; these are Tetracentraceae, Hamamelidaceae, Circaesteraceae, Butomaceae and Stachyuraceae. In this Hotspot a zone of permanent rock and ice begins at about 5500-6000 meters, inspite of this harsh condition there are records of vascular plants occurring at some of the highest elevations on Earth. Cushion plants have been recorded at more than 6100 meters, while a high altitude scree plants are found at about 6300 meters on the northwestern Himalaya. Freshwater fishes: Fish species from 3 major drainage systems, the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, inhibit the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot. Of the estimated 269 species of fresh water fishes, about 33 are endemic. Cyprinidae, Cobitidae, Pillaiidae, Psilorhynchidae and Sisoridae are having many endemic species. The genus Schizothorax is represented by at least 6 endemic species in high mountain lakes and streams while two other genera Ptychobarbus and Gymnocypris are also unique to this Hotspot. Amphibians: Among amphibians, there are 105 species known to occur in the Hotspot, of which 42 are endemic. Most of these are frogs and toads, although there are also two species of order Apoda, one of which Ichthyphis sikkimensis is endemic. Ranidae, Rhacophoridae, Microhylidae, Hylidae and Bufonidae are 5 families in this hotspot having many endemic species. Reptiles: Among reptiles, 176 species have been documented of which 48 are endemic. There is 1 endemic lizard Takydromus sexllineatus khasiensis some other endemic genera are Oligodon, Japaluca and Cyrtodactylus. Lacertidae, Emydidae and Testudinidae are 3 families in this hotspot having many endemic species. Birds: Nearly 977 birds have been recorded in the Hotspot, but only 15 are endemic. Bird life International has identified 4 Endemic Bird Areas' that overlap with the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot. The western Himalayan EBA have 11 species restricted to it, including the critically endangered Himalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa), cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii ) and the western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus ). The Eastern Himalaya EBAs have 4 species restricted to it, including the chestnut-breasted partridge (Arboraphila mandellii), rusty-throate wren babbler (Spelaeomis badeigularis), white throated tit (Aegithalos niveogularis) and orange bullfinch (Pyrrhula aurantiaca). Mammals: About 300 mammal species have been recorded in the Himalayas, including a dozen that are endemic to the Hotspot. Among the endemic species are the golden langur (Presbytis geei), the Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemiahicus) and the pygmy hog (Sus salvanius). The only endemic genus is the Namadapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi). The alluvial grasslands support some of the highest densities of tiger (Panthera tigris), while the Brahmaputra and the Ganges river support the freshwater Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica), wild water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and swamp deer (Blastocervus bezoarticus) are restricted to protected areas in northeastern India. The mammalian fauna in the low lands is typically consisting of Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), gaurs (Bos gaurus), langurs (Semnopithecus), Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and sambar (Cervus unicolor). In the mountains, the fauna is consisting of snow leopard (Panthera uncia), brown bear (Ursus arctos), black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur ).
THREATS TO THE HOTSPOT Increasing human population: The steadily increasing population in the Hotspot has led to extensive clearing of forests and grasslands for cultivation and wide spread logging. The conversion of forests and grasslands for agriculture and settlements has led to large scale deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Over grazing: Overgrazing by domestic livestock (including cattle and domesticated yaks) is wide spread in the low lands and alpine ecosystems. Therefore large areas of remaining habitat in the Hotspot are highly degraded. Poaching: It is a serious problem in the Hotspot with tigers and rhinoceros hunted for their body parts for various purposes, while snow leopards and red pandas are sought for their beautiful pelts. Collection of medicinal plants and woods: The flora of alpine meadows has been over exploited for traditional medicine because medicinal plant collectors in variably uproot the entire plant, re growth is retarded. Fuel wood collection and non-timber forest product extraction has inflicted severe damage to some forest ecosystems. Development pressure: Other threats to the Hotspot include mining, the construction of road, oil drilling, pollution, resource extraction etc.
CONSERVATION ACTION AND PROTECTED AREAS IUCN category I-VI: About 113000 km² (15% of the land area of the Hotspot) is under some form of protection in the Himalaya region, although only 78000 km² are in protected areas in IUCN category I-VI. Projects: Many projects are targeted towards the conservation of specific species such as the snow leopard. Other projects target communities living in and around forest areas, with the idea that decreasing poverty and increasing awareness and ownership over resources will result in greater biodiversity conservation. National parks (NP) and Sanctuaries: The Hotspot can be well conserve by National parks and sanctuaries. The Hotspot includes 6 NPs i.e Corbett NP, Manas NP, Kaziranga NP, Rajaji NP, Khangchendzonga NP and Sagarmatha NP. Endemic Bird Areas: Bird Life International has identified 4 'Endemic Bird Areas' in this Hotspot. Key Biodiversity Areas: In addition to biological corridors and conservation landscapes, biodiversity is best conserved through the conservation of Key Biodiversity Areas; sites holding populations of globally threatened or geographically restricted species. 175 KBAs have identified in the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot.
CONCLUSION The'Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot' is indeed a "store house of biodiversity" because of its rich spectrum of species of flora and fauna. The ultimate goal of the Hotspot is to keep nature intact and stop anthropogenic species extinctions.
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