Upload
phamanh
View
218
Download
3
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
0 | P a g e
Contribution towards Developing a Roadmap for Biodiversity and
Climate Change
Indian Part of East Himalaya
Contribution from:
G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development
Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263 643 (Uttarakhand), India
eMail [email protected], [email protected]
Draft prepared by: L.M.S. Palni, Ranbeer S. Rawal & K.C Sekar
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
1 | P a g e
Contents
Scope of the Report 2
Introduction 3-6 The Mountains
The Himalayan Region
Indian East Himalaya
Indian East Himalaya-
Indian East Himalaya- 6-9
Ecological & evolutionary significance
Socio Economic & Demographic Considerations 9-11
Land-use & Practices – A cultural landscape 11-15 Forest as major land cover class
Shifting cultivation landscape
Indian East Himalaya – Biodiversity 15-33 Flora
Fauna
Biodiversity of economically important groups
Effective valuation – forests of NE region
Biodiversity conservation initiatives
Key threats to biodiversity
Climate Change Vulnerability of NE region 33-36
Biodiversity & Climate Change – Key Challenges 36-40
Challenges & Opportunities in NE Region 40-42
National Commitments 42-46
Recommendations & Suggested Action Areas 46-54
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
2 | P a g e
Scope of the Report:
As per the decisions taken in the meeting of „Consultative Group on
Himalayan region for Water Livelihoods and Bio-cultural heritage‟ on
March 28, 2011, under the chairmanship of Shri. J.M. Mauskar, Special
Secretary, MoEF, the report considers the North Eastern States of Indian
Himalayan Region (IHR).
The report considers diversity of biological components, including wild and
domesticated, social and ecological systems prevailing in the NE States of
India and provides insight on hitherto underexplored biological resources
with potential role in food security and the improvement of rural
livelihoods towards adaptation to changing climate.
The broad challenges, opportunities and possible priority areas of action
have been described for the target region. Also, the major commitments
of India towards maintenance and sustainable use of biodiversity and
addressing the issues of climate change have been highlighted.
Recommendations and suggestions have been drawn on the basis of the
existing state of knowledge for the Indian part of east Himalaya, for
consideration of inclusion in the regional roadmap.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
3 | P a g e
1. Introduction
1.1. The Mountains
The mountains, which cover nearly one quarter of Earths‟ land area, host over
12% of global human population. More importantly, >50% of global human
population draws benefits directly or indirectly from resources and services
emanating from the mountains. These regions are repositories of biological and
cultural diversity and provide vital services with tangible economic value-such as
water, power, tourism, minerals, medicinal plants, and fibres – to mountain
communities and, even more importantly, to often heavily populated
downstream areas. Mountains also influence the climates of their surroundings
and serve as important carbon sink1.
Across the globe, traditional production agriculture and extractive forestry is the
mainstay of food security and subsistence livelihoods in mountain regions.
Livelihood strategies in these areas are largely built around indigenous
knowledge and traditional practices of ecological sustainability in natural resource
management. Mountain farming systems integrating arable agriculture,
horticulture, livestock, and silviforestry have moderated utilization with
conservation ethos to ensure that ecosystem services are not exploited beyond
their renewable capacity2.
Mountain regions, although well recognized for their evolutionary significance
and ecological value manifested by ecosystem integrity, adaptability and
services, have largely remained marginalized from economic development
perspectives3. These ecosystems and their inhabitants are subject to a variety of
drivers of change including globalization, economic policies, and increasing
1 ICIMOD (2010): Mountains of the World – Ecosystem Services in a Time of Global and Climate Change. 2 Tse-ring, K, Sharma, E., Chettri, N. & Shrestha, A. (2010 eds): Climate Change vulnerability of Mountain
Ecosystems in the Eastern Himalayas. ICIMOD. 3 Palni, L.M.S. & Rawal, R.S. (2010): in Nature at Work: the ongoing saga of evolution at play (VP Sharma,
ed). Springer.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
4 | P a g e
pressure on land and mountain resources due to economic growth and changes
in population and lifestyle. Global climate change acts as an additional stress
which is expected to exacerbate the impacts of other drivers of change1.
1.2. The Himalayan Region
Amongst the global mountains, the Himalaya, which represents the youngest,
still evolving, and a complex mountain system on the surface of earth has been
recognized as one of the 34 global biodiversity hotspots4. On account of it being
in a evolving state, the ecosystem components in the region exhibit great
dynamism. The region has a discrete geographic and ecological entity. It
produces a distinctive climate of its own and influences the climate of much of
Asia5. The region serves as a rich repository of plant and animal wealth in
diverse ecological systems. These ecosystems reflect a mosaic of biotic
communities at various spatial and organizational levels.
The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), with geographical coverage of over 5.3 lakh
Km2, constitutes a large proportion of this hotspot and, therefore, contributes
greatly to richness and representativeness of its biodiversity components at all
levels (i.e., genes, species and ecosystems). Administratively IHR (Figure 1)
covers 10 states entirely (i.e., Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura,
Meghalaya), and two states partially (i.e., hilly districts of Assam and West
Bengal). The region represents nearly 3.8% of total human population of the
country and exhibits a great diversity of ethnic groups (171 out of a total 573
scheduled tribes in India) which inhabit remote inhospitable terrains6.
4 Conservation International [http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org] 5 Zobel DB, Singh SP (1997): Himalayan forests and ecological generalizations. BioScience, 47: 735–745. 6 Samal PK, Palni LMS, Agrawal DK (2003): Ecology, ecological poverty and sustainable development in
central Himalayan region of India. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol, 10:157-168.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
5 | P a g e
1.3. Indian East Himalaya
Broadly the Indian East Himalayan region(sensu lato), which constitutes almost
52% of total East Himalaya (total 524,190 sq km), is often referred as North
Eastern Region (NER). It consists of the contiguous „Seven Sister‟ states namely
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, & Tripura
along with Sikkim7. This region is officially recognized as a special category of
states and covers an area of 2,62,179 km2, constituting 7.9% of the country‟s
total geographical area. Located at the tri-junction of Indo-Chinese, Indo-
Malayan and Palaearctic biogeographic realms8, the region exhibits diverse hilly
terrain with wide ranging altitudinal range. It is a true frontier region as it has
over 2000 km of common borders with Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar,
and Nepal7 (Fig 1).
Figure 1. The North Eastern Region and its constituent states in India (based on 7)
The temporal and spatial variations caused by diversity in geological orogeny has
resulted in to a marked difference in climate and physiography, and
7 Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI (2010) Climate Change and India – A 4X4 assessment a sectoral
and regional analysis for 2030. 8 Takhtajan A (1969) Flowering plants: origin and dispersal. Oliver Byod, Edinburgh, U.K.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
6 | P a g e
consequently in distribution pattern of biotic elements, including the
domesticated ones. Also, the spatial position and heterogeneous dispersion of
biodiversity elements has caused complexity in biogeographical patterns of the
region. Following the more recent biogeographic classifications9,10,11 the region
represents three biogeographic zones (Trans Himalaya, Himalaya and NE India)
and 5 provinces (Table 1).
Table 1: Biogeographic divisions of Indian East Himalaya 9,10,11
2. Indian East Himalaya -Ecological and Evolutionary Significance
The region holds great significance from ecological and evolutionary point of
view. This region is rich in biodiversity and harbours largest number of endemics
and Schedule I species as compared to any other part of India12. This region
represents a confluence of the Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese biogeographical
realms. Also, it exhibits intermixing of the Himalayan and Peninsular Indian
elements. The region was considered a cradle of flowering plants7, which
represents some of the primitive angiosperm families including Magnoliaceae,
Degeneriaceae, Himantandraceae, Eupomatiaceae, Winteraceae,
9 Rodgers WA & Panwar HS (1988): Planning Wildlife Protected Area Network in India. Vol 1&2. Dehradun:
Wildlife Institute of India. 10 Rodgers WA, Panwar HS, Mathur VB (2000): Wildlife protected areas network in India: a review
(executive summary), Dehradun: Wildlife Institute of India. 11 Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI (2009): India‟s Fourth National Report to the Convention on
Biological Diversity 12 MacKinnon J, MacKinnon K (1986): Review of the Protected Areas System in the Indo-Malayan Realm.
Gland:IUCN.
Bio geographic Zones
Bio geographic Provinces % of India
Representative Indian States
Trans Himalaya 1 C: Trans Himalaya Sikkim <0.1 Sikkim
Himalaya 2C: Central Himalaya
2D: East Himalaya
0.2
2.5
Sikkim & West Bengal Hills
Arunachal Pradesh
Northeast India 9A: Brahamputra Valley
2.0 Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya
9B: Northeast Hills 3.2 Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Assam
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
7 | P a g e
Trochodendraceae, Tetracentraceae, and Lardazabalaceae. The specific primitive
genera include Alnus, Aspidocarya, Betula, Decaisnea, Euptela, Exbucklandia,
Haematocarpus, Holboellia, Houttuynia, Magnolia, Magnolietia, Pycnarrhena and
Tetracentron13,14. The region is known for high evolutionary activities
which are clearly evident from the cytogeographic studies on selected genera like
Rhododendron, Camellia, Magnolia, Budleia, etc.
The region contributes considerably in the form of wild relatives of several crop
plants and domesticated animals. Of the total 8 sub-centers of plant origin, the
region represents 2 sub-centers (i.e., Eastern Himalaya and North Eastern
Region, Fig. 2). These sub-centers respectively contribute 82, and 132 species of
wild relatives - Table 215,16.
Table 2: Distribution of diversity of wild relatives in the Himalayan sub centers
Category Distribution in Himalayan Sub-Centers
West Himalaya Eastern Himalaya North Eastern Region
Cereals and millets 29 07 16
Legumes 09 05 06
Fruits 37 32 51
Vegetables 25 12 27
Oilseeds 06 03 01
Fibers 04 04 05
Spices and condiments 10 09 13
Miscellaneous 05 10 13
Total spp. Diversity 125 82 132
13 Khoshoo TN (1996): In Banking on Biodiversity (Pei Shengji, ed.). Nepal: ICIMOD. Pp. 181-256 14 Malhotra CL, Hajra PK (1977): Status of floristic studies in Arunachal Pardesh. Bull. Bot. Surv. India,
19:61-63. 15 Arora RK, Nayar ER (1984): Wild relatives of crop plants in India. New Delhi : National Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources, Monogr. No. 7. 16 Arora, RK (1997): Diversity and distribution of wild relatives of crop plants in the Himalaya. In Himalayan
Biodiversity: Action Plan (Dhar U, ed.). Nainital: Gyanodaya Prakashan. Pp 43-52.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
8 | P a g e
Figure 2: Indian Himalayan Region with three centers of plant origin (based on17 ).
Based on extensive explorations across the world, Vavilov considered the north
eastern region of India as „Hindusthan Centre of Origin of Cultivated Plants‟,
which is very important for tropical and subtropical fruits, cereals, etc.
This region forms the richest reservoir of genetic variability of many groups of
crop plants. The taxonomical and cytogenetic studies have revealed Assam-
Burma-Siam-Indo-China region as the center of origin of Musa18. Greatest
diversity, with some being endemic, of this genus is known from this region.
Banana in north east India grows wild along the hilly slopes of Arunachal
17 Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI (2009) Governance for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem
(GSHE): Guidelines and Best Practices. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests. 18 Chakravorty AK (1951): Origin of cultivated banana of south-east Asia. Ind Jour Genet, 11:34-46.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
9 | P a g e
Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Assam. The region is also rich in Citrus wealth with
nearly 64 taxa of Citrus growing wild. Also, it is regarded as the center of origin
for 5 species of palms of commerce – coconut, areca nut, palmyra palm, sugar
palm and wild date palm 19.
In addition, it contributes a whole range of medicinal and aromatic plants with
their origin in the region and wild progenitors of a number of ornamentals like
Primula, Rhododendron and a huge diversity of Orchids. Among wild and
domesticated faunal elements, region harbours wild chicken, zebu, mithun, yak,
etc13.
The prevailing primitive agricultural system of raising crops under stress
conditions in the region have resulted in much variability, particularly in adaptive
traits. Most of the hilly terrain in the eastern Himalaya is under shifting
cultivation and several promising, agronomically and physiologically well adapted
types/land races belonging to diverse crop species occur in this region. In
addition, in isolated pockets, various ethnic groups grow their own preferred
locally selected cultivars. All these factors have contributed to enormous
enrichment of genetic diversity in land races through conscious and unconscious
selections by indigenous farming communities in the Himalaya16.
3. Socio-Economic and Demographic Considerations
The region is marked by uneven spatial distribution of population among the
constituent states. The plains and valleys support a higher population density
than the difficult hilly terrains. About 38.5 million people inhabit the region of
which 88% population is rural and 12% urban20. The human population and
growth in different NE states of IHR is presented in Table 3. During the last two
19 Rao RR (1993): In Himalayan Biodiversity (Dhar U, ed). Nainital: Gyanodaya Prakashan. Pp. 133-151. 20 Kushwaha, SPS (2006): In (PS Ramakrishnan et al, eds), Shifting Agriculture and sustainable
development of North Eastern India: Tradition in Transition. UNESCO, Oxford & IBH Publ Co., New Delhi
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
10 | P a g e
decades most of the NE states (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur,
Mizoram, Megalaya) have consistently registered higher percent decadal growth
rate as compared to the National average (Table 3). Other selected demographic
parameters of NE states are given in Table 4.
Table 3: Human population and growth in various NE states of the IHR
India/ NE States
Geographical Area
(Km2)
Human Population 2001 Percent Decadal Growth
Male Female Total 1981-1991 1991-2001
Sikkim 7,096 288,484 252,367 540,851 28.47 33.06
Arunachal
Pradesh
83,743 579,941 518,027 1,097,968 36.83 27.00
Nagaland 16,579 1,047,141 942,895 1,990,036 56.08 64.53
Manipur 22,327 1,161,952 1,131,944 2,293,896 29.29 24.86
Mizoram 21,081 459,109 429,464 888,573 39.70 28.82
Meghalaya 22,429 1,176,087 1,142,735 2,318,822 32.86 30.65
Tripura 10,486 1,642,225 1,556,978 3,199,203 34.30 16.03
Assam 78,438 13,777,037 12,878,49
1
26,655,528 24.24 18.92
Assam Hills
15,322 NA 3,313,896 NA NA
WB Hills 3,149 NA 1,605,900 NA NA
India 3,287,263 532,223,090; 496,514,346
1,028,737,436 23.87 21.54
Source: Human Population- Census of India 2009, Registrar general Of India, New Delhi
Table 4: Comparative scenario of selected Demographic Parameters for NE States
State %
contribution to the total
IHR
population
Decadal
Growth rate
Annual
average exponential
growth rate
Population
density
Sex
ratio
Literacy
rate (+7yr)
Sikkim 1.36 (0.05) 32.98 3.01 76 875 69.68
Arunachal
Pradesh
2.75 (0.11) 26.21 2.94 13 901 54.74
Meghalaya 5.82 (0.22) 29.94 2.74 103 975 63.31
Mizoram 2.25 (0.09) 29.19 3.02 42 938 88.49
Manipur 6.03 (0.23) 30.02 2.8 107 978 68.87
Nagaland 5.02 (0.19) 64.41 4.21 120 909 67.11
Tripura 8.05 (0.31) 15.74 2.57 304 950 73.66
Assam
Hills
2.52 (0.10) 22.74 2.56 65 915 60.68
WB Hills 4.05 (0.16) 23.54 2.38 510 943 72.87 Source: Census of India 2001
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
11 | P a g e
Considering the socio-economic status of the inhabitants, as per the records for
year 2000, barring Mizoram (19.47%) the NE states have higher proportion of
the people below poverty line (Arunachal Pradesh – 33.47; Meghalaya-
33.87;Manipur -28.54; Nagaland -32.67: Tripura- 34.44; Sikkim-36.55%) as
compared to the national average (26.10%).
Another striking feature of the socio-economic profile of the region is prevalence
of tribal culture. The region is predominantly inhabited by distinctive ethnic
groups (often referred to as „tribals‟) having unique socio-cultural practices17.
From time immemorial, the region has been the meeting point of many
communities, faiths and cultures. It is the home for over 166 separate tribes, 160
schedule tribes and over 400 other tribal and sub-tribal communities and groups,
speaking a wide range of languages. These groups retain their cultural traditions
and values but are beginning to adopt to contemporary lifestyles7.Table 5 gives
an account of the contribution of NE states to total tribal population of India and
to the population of the state. As reflected, the tribal population in these states
contributes significantly to the state‟s population. In this context, it is worth
mentioning that states like Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland are having >85% of
the population as tribal (Table 5).
Table 5: Tribal Population in the NE States of India (2001)
States % to India’s total
Scheduled Tribe
Population
% of total population of State
Sikkim 0.13 20.6
Arunachal Pradesh 0.84 64.2
Manipur 0.88 32.3
Meghalaya 2.36 85.9
Mizoram 1.0 94.5
Nagaland 2.1 89.1
Tripura 1.18 31.1
Assam 3.9 12.4 Source: Census of India 2001
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
12 | P a g e
4. Landuse & Practices – a cultural landscape perspective
The broad land-use classification of the region is presented in (Table 6). The
statistics is indicative of the fact that most of the states in the region have large
proportion of land under forests. In general over 54% of the geographic area of
the region is recorded as notified forests – reserve, protected and un-classed
forest under the control of forest Department20.
Table 6. Land Use Classification of different NE States (thousand ha)
Source: 2006-07 Ministry of Agriculture, GoI
Besides forests, a large chunk of the land is not available for cultivation due to
various reasons (Table 6).
4.1. Forests as major land cover class
Details of the predominant land cover class (i.e., forests) under different classes
are given in Table 7. The statistics is indicative that Assam (34.21%) and
Sta
te
Geo
gra
ph
ica
l
are
a
Rep
ort
ing
are
a f
or
lan
d u
tili
zati
on
sta
tist
ics
Fo
rest
Not available for cultivation Other uncultivated land
excluding fallow land
Are
a p
ut
to n
on
ag
ricu
ltu
ral
use
s
Ba
rren
& u
ncu
ltu
r-a
ble
la
nd
Total
Per
ma
nen
t p
ast
ure
s &
oth
er
gra
zin
g l
an
ds
Land
under
Misc.
Tree
Crops
&
groves
not
inc. in
net
area
sown Cu
ltu
rab
le w
ast
e la
nd
To
tal
Sikkim 710 728 319 143 107 250 4 5 2 12
Arunachal Pradesh 8374 5547 5154 32 32 46 28 74
Manipur 2233 1950 1693 26 1 27 1 66 1 8
Meghalaya 2243 2227 942 90 137 227 158 453 611
Mizoram 2108 1951 1594 125 9 134 5 10 5 21
Nagaland 1658 1582 863 75 75 120 56 177
Tripura 1049 1049 606 131 3 134 27 1 28
Assam 7844 7850 1933 1081 1453 2533 160 209 77 445
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
13 | P a g e
Meghalaya (42.34%) are having relatively less forested area. Sikkim has the
highest forest land under government control managed by the Forest
Department. Among other states, the land is owned by communities, and the
land is often allotted to villagers for jhum and other uses by the village headman
or the land council.
The overall status of forest area in different states of the region, between 1997
to 2007, is presented in Table 8.
Table 7: Recorded Forest Area in NE states (2007)
State Recorded Forest Area (sq.km)
% of Forest
Area to G.A. Reserved
Forest
Protected
Forest
Un-classed
Forest
Total Forest
Area
Sikkim 5452 389 -- 5841 82.31
Arunachal Pradesh
10546 9528 31466 51540 61.65
Manipur 1467 4171 11780 17418 78.01
Meghalaya 1113 12 8371 9496 42.34
Mizoram 7909 3568 5240 16717 79.30
Nagaland 86 508 8628 9222 55.62
Tripura 4175 2 2117 6294 60.02
Assam 17864 -- 8968 26832 34.21 Source: State Forest Report (2001, 2005, 2009) FSI, Dehradun
Table 8: Forest Cover over time in different NE States (1997-2007)
State Assessment Year (Area Km2)
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
Arunachal Pradesh
68,602 68,847 69,760 67,692 67,777 67,335
Sikkim 3,129 3,118 3164 3,262 3,262 3,357
Manipur 17,418 17,384 17,889 17,259 17,086 17,280
Meghalaya 15,657 15,633 16,535 16,925 16,988 17,321
Mizoram 18,775 18,338 16,397 18,583 18,684 19,2401
Nagaland 14,221 14,164 13,980 14,015 13,719 13,464
Tripura 5,745 5,745 8,869 8,123 8,155 8,073
Assam 23,824 23,688 25,290 27,735 27,645 27,692
Assam Bengal
Hills
-- -- 2,196 2,221 2,221 2,289
Assam Hills - -- 13.024 13,158 13,051 13,003
Source: State Forest Report (2001, 2005, 2009) FSI, Dehradun
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
14 | P a g e
Reports of RS data analyses suggest that the forests in the region, however,
exhibit varying ranges of fragmentation (Table 9). The statistics is indicative that
states like Meghalaya and Tripura have no forest which can be considered intact.
Forests in Mizoram (71.7%) and Nagaland (53.3%) are relatively intact. Sikkim
and Manipur, Tripura have considerable area of forests which is facing high to
very high degree of fragmentation (Table 9).
Table 9: Status of Forest Fragmentation in different NE states of India
State Fragmentation (%Forest)
Intact Low Moderate High Very High
Sikkim 30.3 31 33.6 5.15
Manipur 27.4 31.6 38.2 27.2
Meghalaya 40.1 32.9 10.5 15.9
Mizoram 71.7 24.4 2.74 1.1
Nagaland 53.3 27.9 16 2.72
Tripura 33.9 28.7 20.8 16.6 Source: Biodiversity Characterization at Landscape level in Western Himalayas, India using Satellite Remote sensing and GIS, 2002, IIRS, Dehradun
4.2. Shifting-Cultivation Landscape
The landscapes in eastern Himalaya are predominated by a prevailing age old
agricultural practice – Jhum (shifting cultivation). It is a predominant traditional
land use associated with the socio-cultural framework of the local communities of
the region21, 22. It has been emphasized by the workers that in this region Jhum
does not operate in isolation rather there exist various other traditional land-use
practices linked with Jhum, namely valley rice cultivation, home gardens and
traditional plantation systems23. The area under Jhum cultivation differs widely
amongst the states (Table 10).
21 ICIMOD (2006): Debating shifting cultivation in the eastern Himalaya. 22 Planning Commission, GoI (2010): Report of the Task Force to look into problems of hill states and hill
areas and to suggest ways to ensure that these states and areas do not suffer in any way because of their peculiarities.
23 Ramakrishnan, PS et.al. eds (2006): Shifting Agriculture and sustainable development of North Eastern India: Tradition in Transition. UNESCO, Oxford & IBH Publ Co., New Delhi
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
15 | P a g e
Table 10: Variation in the Estimates of Area under Jhum Cultivation in Different NE
states of India
Source: Report on Task force on Mountain Ecosystem (Enviornment and Forest sectrol) For Elevanth Five Year Plan. Planning Commission, GOI. 2006
In the past traditionally the Jhum cycle was used to be longer than 15 years and
enabled regeneration of forests before the same land was cultivated again.
However, in recent decades, due to increased population pressure and socio-
cultural changes in traditional lifestyle of indigenous communities, the Jhum cycle
has come down to 5-6 years and even 1-2 years in extreme cases. With this
shortening of Jhum cycle, these Jhum sites are unable to regenerate and hence
have become severely degraded22.
5. Indian East Himalaya - Biodiversity
The region is considered a geographic gateway for much of India‟s flora and
fauna, and harbours exceptional biodiversity and has relatively complex
biogeography. Roughly, the region contains more than one-third of the country‟s
total biodiversity. Besides representing the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot, the
State Sources and Area under Shifting Cultivation (Km2)
Task Force MoA, 1983 Wasteland
Atlas 2000
Satapathy2003 NRSA
2005 No of Families
Area
Arunachal
Pradesh
54000 700 3088.08 2610 1613.1
Assam 58000 696 8046.75 3100 3930.9
Manipur 70000 900 12014.10 3600 4816.6
Meghalaya 52290 530 2086.77 2650 743.8
Mizoram 50000 630 3761.23 450 4071.9
Nagaland 116046 192 5224.65 6330 1917.9
Tripura 43000 223 400.88 1080 395.2
Total Area Under Jhum Ciltivation
3869 34622.40 19820 17435.4
% of total Geographical
area
2.0 17.7 10.1 8.9
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
16 | P a g e
region also represents an important part of the Indo-Burma (Myanmar) global
biodiversity hotspot, amongst the 34 recognized global biodiversity hotspots24,25.
5.1. Flora
The region has at least 7,500 species of flowering plants, including 700 orchids,
58 bamboos, 64 citrus. Besides, it has over 28 conifers, 500 mosses, 700 ferns,
and 728 lichen species. Some of the important gene pools of citrus, banana, and
rice are reported to have originated from this region. About one-third of the flora
of northeast India is endemic to this region. The eastern Himalaya supports one
of the world‟s richest alpine flora, with high level of endemism and the temperate
broadleaved forest type in the eastern Himalaya is among the most species-rich
temperate forests in the world24. Nearly 50 percent of the total flowering plants
recorded from India are found in the Northeastern Region of India26. As indicated
earlier, Takhtajan8 had termed this region as the “cradle of flowering plants”.
The region is the habitat of many botanical curiosities and rarities, including
Sapria himalayana Griff. (family Rafflesiaceae) - one of the largest root parasites.
Among insectivorous plants Nepenthes khasiana Hk. f., endemic to Meghalaya
and listed in Appendix I of CITES and placed in Schedule VI of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972, and two species of Drosera peltata Sm. and D. burmanii
Vahl. are important. Many families represented in India by a solitary genus with
one or two species are found in this region, for example Coriariaceae,
Nepenthaceae, Turneraceae, Illiciaceae, Ruppiaceae, Siphonodontaceae, and
Tetracentraceae27.
24 Chettri N, Sharma E, Shakya B, Thapa, et al (2010): Biodiversity in the Eastern Himalayas: Status, trends
and vulnerability to climate change; Climate change impact and vulnerability in the Eastern Himalayas – Technical report 2. Kathmandu: ICIMOD, Nepal.
25 Pawar, S, Koo MS, Kelley C, et al. (2007) Conservation assessment and prioritization of areas in Northeast India: priorities for amphibians and reptiles. Biol. Cons 136:346-361.
26 Mao, AA & Hynniewta, TM (2000): Floristic diversity of North East India. J. Assam Sci. Soc. 41(4): 255-266.
27 Rao, RR and Murti, SK (1990): North-East India: A major centre for plant diversity in India. Indian J. For. 13 (3): 214-222.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
17 | P a g e
Of an estimated 800 species consumed as food plants in India, about 300
species occur in the eastern Himalaya alone28. Diversity of Orchidaceae, the most
fascinating and highly evolved group of plants, in NE region is amazing and it
represents over 57% of total orchids in India. In particular, Arunachal Pradesh
with 545 species (122 genera) of orchids [12 species - endangered, 16-
vulnerable, and 31 – threatened] holds a unique position29.
The genus Rhododendron (family Ericaceae) is another remarkable group of
showy plants with nearly 98% of the total Rhododendrons reported from India
(72 species, 20 subspecies, and 19 varieties) are confined to the Himalayan
region30. Of these, 98.6% (71 species) representation is in NE region wherein
Arunachal Pradesh has 9 species and 1 subspecies endemic, followed by Manipur
and Sikkim with 3 species and 1 subspecies, and Mizoram with 2 species31 as
endemic.
Rattan, commonly known as cane, is one of the most important no timber forest
products from northeast India. Of 60 species of canes reported from India, the
NE Region has over 26 species28. Likewise, of 150 species of bamboo found in
India, 63 species in 22 genera are found in target region. About 25 species of
bamboo are considered rare in NE region.
The region, being remote and inaccessible in most cases has not been explored
completely and holds great potential for new plant discoveries. For an instance,
during year 2010, two new genera and 24 new plant species have been
discovered/ described by different workers from NE region of India (Table 11)32.
28 Ramakantha V, Gupta AK & Kumar, A (2011). Biodiversity of Northeast India: An overview.
http://wiienvis.nic.in/rain_forest/chapter1.htm; accessed on 21.06.2011. 29 Choudhery H J (1998). Orchid Flora of Arunachal Pradesh. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun,
India. 30 Singh KK, Kumar S, Rai LK & Krishna AP (2003). Rhododendrons conservation in the Sikkim Himalaya.
Curr. Sci. 85(5): 602-606. 31 Mao AA, Singh KP & Hajra, PK, (2002). In: Floristic Diversity and Conservation Strategies in India (N P
Singh and D K Singh,Eds.), BSI, Calcutta, pp. 2167-2202. 32 Botanical Survey of India (2011): Plant Discoveries 2010.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
18 | P a g e
Table 11: New plant discoveries during year 2010 from NE region of India32
S.N. New species/var./sub spp. Family NE State from
where discovered
Angiosperms
New Genera
1. Larsenianthus (4 spp) Zingiberaceae NE India
2. Stapletonia (1 sp) Poaceae Arunachal Pradesh
New Species/varieties/sub species
1 Bambusa dampaeana Poaceae Mizoram
2 Boehmeria listeri Urticaceae Arunachal Pradesh
3 Boehmeria manipurensis Urticaceae Manipur
4 Cephalostachyum longwanum Poaceae Nagaland
5 Coelogyne pendula Orchidaceae Mizoram
6 Dendrocalamus manipureanus Poaceae Manipur
7 Epigeneium arunachalense Orchidaceae Arunachal Pradesh
8 Heteropanax dhruvii Araliaceae Arunachal Pradesh
9 Larsenianthus arunachalense Zingiberaceae Arunachal Pradesh
10 Larsenianthus assamensis Zingiberaceae Assam
11 Dendrobium falconeri var. senapatianum
Orchidaceae Manipur
12 Morus macroura var. laxiflora Moraceae Arunachal Pradesh
13 Tibetoseris depressa sub sp gauri Asteraceae Sikkim
Ferns and Fern allies
14 Pteris mawsmaiensis Preridaceae Meghalaya
Bryophytes
15 Leptolejenea mirikana Lejeunaeceae West Bengal Hills
16 Leptolejenea udarii Lejeunaeceae Sikkim
17 Notoscyphus darjeelingensis Jungermanniaceae Sikkim
Lichens
18 Leirreuma subpatellum Graphidaceae Arunachal Pradesh
19 Pyrenula darjeelingensis Pyrenulaceae
Fungi
20 Russula khanchanjungae Russulaceae Sikkim
21 Russula tsokae Russulaceae Sikkim
22 Phallus calongei Phallaceae Sikkim
23 Russula griseocarnosa Russalaceae Sikkim
Algae
24 Stigeoclonium iyengarii Chaetophoraceae Sikkim
5.2. Fauna
Like plants, the region is rich in faunal diversity. The remoteness and difficult
terrain has, however, resulted in poor documentation of the faunal diversity in
NE region. The occurrence of a new species of barking deer, the leaf deer
(Muntiacus putaoensis), recently discovered in Myanmar and reported from the
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
19 | P a g e
forests of Arunachal Pradesh33 and more recent discovery of the Tawang
macaque (Macaca munjala) as a new record for India, justify that much is yet to
be identified, named and studied in northeast region of India28. In general, the
contribution of NE region for faunal diversity can be gauged from following:
Of the 15 known species of primates in India, 9 occur in northeast India28.
The golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) is one of the most localized
species endemic was discovered in the Chakrashilla Hills Reserve in Dhubri
District of Assam34, and the area has been turned into a wildlife sanctuary.
This Schedule-I animal is listed in Appendix-I of CITES. In Tripura, within
5.8 percent of the state‟s protected area, seven species of primates are
distributed35. The stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides) and the
northern pigtailed macaque (M. leonina) have sympatric distributions in
northeast India and both have become endangered. The slow loris
(Nycticebus bengalensis) is an inhabitant of tropical forests south of the
Brahmaputra River in northeast India. This highly endangered animal is
listed in Schedule I, and in Appendix I of CITES.
Among 6 big cats recorded from India, four– the tiger (Panthera tigris),
the leopard (Panthera pardus), the snow leopard (Uncia uncia), and the
clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) have been reported from the region.
Of these, the Indian population of the clouded leopard is restricted to the
Northeastern Region. The tiger, which has become a very rare animal in
the entire region, is still finds good habitats for survival in Assam. In spite
of poor information base, presence of snow leopard has been confirmed
in the Khangchendzonga National Park of Sikkim and the Mago Chu valley
of Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh and is likely to be present in the
Dzong Wildlife Sanctuary and Tolung Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim, and the
Dibang valley and Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh28.
33 Dutta, A., Pansa, J., Madhusudan, M.D. and Mishra, C., 2003. Discovery of the leaf deer Muntiacus putaoensis in Arunachal Pradesh: an addition to the large mammals of India. Curr. Sci. 84(3): 454-458.
34 Budruk M (1996). Chakrashila golden langur haven. Sanctuary Asia XVI(2): 26-31. 35 Gupta AK (1994). In: Current Primatology, Vol.1: Ecology and Evolution (B Thierry, JR Anderson, JJ
Roeder & N Herrenschmidt, Eds.). University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
20 | P a g e
The red panda, protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972, and listed in Appendix I of CITES and listed as
endangered by IUCN, is also reported in the region with nearly 90 percent
of population being in Arunachal Pradesh36. All the bear species that occur
in India are recorded from the Northeastern Region. The region forms the
western end of the range of the Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus).
The foothill grasslands and broadleaved forests of NE region harbor
important populations of Asian elephant, one-horned rhinoceros, and wild
water buffalo. The elephant population of the north bank of the
Brahmaputra River in Assam is one of India‟s largest and most
important28. In northeast India the great Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros
unicornis) is now restricted to Kaziranga, Pabitora, and Orang in Assam.
The brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi), locally known as the sangai, is
endemic to Manipur and is one of rarest and the most localized subspecies
of deer in the world. The pygmy hog (Sus salvanius) is the smallest and
the rarest wild suid in the world, and only a few isolated wild populations
survive in northeast India. Arunachal Pradesh is home to some fascinating
large herbivores, such as the newly discovered Chinese goral
(Naemorhedus goral), the red goral (Naemorhedus baileyi), the takin
(Budorcas taxicolor), and the serow (Capricornis sumatraensis)28.
Of the seven endemic bird areas (EBAs) in the country, two EBAs - the
eastern Himalaya and Assam plains, are in the NE region. This region
perhaps supports the highest diversity of bird species in the
Orient.Arunachal Pradesh alone has over 760 bird species28. Elliot‟s
laughing thrush (Garrulax elliotii) and the brown-cheeked laughing thrush
(G. henrici) are two species that have been recently added to the region‟s
list, from Arunachal Pradesh. Both these species had previously been
recorded only in China. The white-winged duck, which has been reported
from the D‟Ering Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, is identified as
36 Choudhury AU (2002): Tail carriage in Pigtailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina). Tiger Paper XXXIX(1): 1-
2.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
21 | P a g e
highly endangered. The Sangte valley of Arunachal Pradesh is the only
habitat for wintering black-necked crane (Grus nigricolis). The greater
adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) is a globally threatened bird, with the
majority of the world‟s population now found in Assam. The spot-billed
pelican (Pelicanus philippensis), the black-necked stork (Ephippiorhyncus
asiaticus), the lesser adjutant (Leptotilos javanicus), and the pale-capped
pigeon (Columba punicea) are only a few of the globally threatened birds
found in the region. The swamp francolin (Francolinus gularis), found in
northeast India, is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The Bengal
florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis), globally one of the rarest bustards,
has largest global population in the Manas National Park in Assam. The
lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis) is the rarest of the fish and sea
eagles, and there are reports of its sightings in Namdapha in Arunachal
Pradesh. The highly endangered eastern population of the rufous-vented
prinia, regarded as the separate species swamp prinia (Prinia
cinerascens), is reported from the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.
The beautiful nuthatch (Sitta formosa) is a resident of the primary forests
of northeast India.
Among lower vertebrates, so far 137 species of reptiles have been
recorded from northeast India, with greatest affinity to the Oriental, Indo-
Malayan, and Indo-Chinese regions. The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus),
found in the Brahmaputra River, is of great conservation significance.
Northeast India has the highest diversity of turtles. As recently as 2000, a
chelonian species, Amyda cartilaginaea, was reported from Mizoram as a
first record for India, the previous range for this species being from
southern Myanmar to central Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The
black softshell turtle (Aspideretes nigricans), once considered extinct, and
has been rediscovered recently from the Assam valley28. Twenty lizard
species have been recorded from the state of Assam. Of the three species
of monitor lizard found in the region, Varanus flavescens is listed in
Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and also listed in Appendix I of
CITES. The Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) is the largest gecko alive today
and is found in northeast India.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
22 | P a g e
Fifty-eight species of snakes have been recorded in Assam, 34 from
Manipur, and 92 from Arunachal Pradesh. Python reticulatus, the largest
snake in India, is found in northeast India, and Python molurus bivittatus
is the most commonly known in the region. Both species can be seen in
Mouling National Park in Upper Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. The
king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the most awe-inspiring reptile of the
region. Typhlops jerdoni, T. tenuicollis, Stoliczkaia khasiensis, Elaphe
mandarina, Oligodon melazonotus, Xenochrophis punctulatus, Bungarus
bungaroides, and Trimeresurus jerdoni are just a few examples of elusive
and rare snakes of northeast India.
So far 64 species of amphibians have been recorded from northeast India.
A survey of amphibians conducted in Nagaland from 1998 to 2002
resulted in 19 species as new records for the state and 5 species
(Megophrys wuliangshanensis, M. glandulosa, Amolops viridimaculatus,
Rana humeralis, and Rhacophorus gongshanensis) as new records for
India. The Orang Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam is the only known site for
the Orang sticky frog (Kalophrynus orangensis)28.
The northeast ecoregion has reported 3,624 species of insects and 50
molluscs. Butterflies and moths are by far the best-studied invertebrate
organisms in northeast India, and the region contributes the greatest
number of species for the group in the country. Over 689 species of
butterflies have been recorded from the state of Sikkim. One of the
largest known tropical Lepidoptera is the atlas moth (Attacus atlas), not
uncommon in many parts of northeast India. Princeps polyctor ganesa,
which occurs in northeast India, is one of the most beautiful butterflies in
the country, while Erysmia pulchella and Nyctalemon patroclus are very
beautiful moths that occur in the region.
5.3. Biodiversity of Economically & Socio-culturally Important Groups
5.3.1. Medicinal Plants
The rich plant diversity of the Himalaya has been a source of medicines for
millions of people in the country and elsewhere in the world. IHR supports over
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
23 | P a g e
1748 (23.4% of India) plant species of known medicinal value37. Of these,
considerable representation of medicinal plants is from NE region. The unique
diversity of medicinal plants in the region is manifested by the presence of
number of native, endemic and threatened elements. The economic potential of
Himalayan medicinal plants, including those of NE region, and their contribution in
providing novel bio-molecules is well recognized38,39,40.
While setting priorities for medicinal plants of IHR, it is reported that: (i) of the
nearly 280 medicinal plants being used in industry, 175 are from IHR; (ii) more
than two third (122: 69.7%) of identified species from IHR are exposed to
destructive harvesting, thereby adversely affecting the resource base; (iii)
industry extensively uses non-natives, particularly in robust life forms (shrubs
96.8%; trees 90.9%); (iv) native percentage among exploited herbs is relatively
high (20.2%) and most of them are restricted to specialized alpine habitats; (v)
contribution of wild-cultivated forms of medicinal plants is poor (20%).
5.3.2. Wild Edible Plants
Among the economically important bioresources of IHR, the wild edibles have
emerged as potential resources for addressing issues of rural development and
biodiversity conservation, particularly on account of their nutritional and
pharmaceutical potential41,42. Over 675 species (Angiosperms 647,
37 Samant SS, Dhar U, Palni LMS: Medicinal plants of Indian Himalaya. Himvikas Publ 13. Kosi-
Katarmal, Almora:GBPIHED 1998. 38 Nautiyal AR, Nautiyal MC Purohit AN (1997): Harvesting Herbs -2000. Dehradun: Bishen Singh
Mahendrapal Singh. 39 Dhawan BN: Biodiversity (1997): a valuable resource for new molecules. In Himalayan
Biodiversity: Action Plan (Dhar U, ed.). Nainital: Gyanodaya Prakashan, Pp 111-114. 40 Dhar U, Rawal RS, Upreti J (2000): Setting priorities for conservation of medicinal plants – a
case study in the Indian Himalaya. Biol Cons, 95:57-65. 41 Maikhuri RK, Rao KS, Saxena KG: Bioprospecting of Wild edibles for Rural Development in the
Central Himalayan Mountains of India. Mount Res Devel 2004, 24(2), 110-113. 42 Bhatt ID, Rawal RS, Dhar U: The availability, fruit yield and harvest of Myrica esculenta Buch-
Ham ex D.Don in Kumaun (West Himalaya), India. Mount Res Devel 2000, 20: 146-153.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
24 | P a g e
Gymnosperms 7; Pteridophytes 12; Fungi 7 and Lichens 2 species) of wild edible
species belonging to 384 genera and 149 families are known from IHR43,44.
Across biogeographic provinces, richness of known wild edibles is maximum in
West Himalaya (344 spp.; 50.9%); followed by East Himalaya (221;32.7%),
Central Himalaya (173; 25.6%) and Trans/North West Himalaya (169;25.0%). Of
the total reported wild edibles, 39 (5.8%) species were reportedly restricted
range endemics and 93 (13.8%) near endemics44.
Frequent and large consumption of wild edibles poor tribal communities of NE
region meets their protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamin and mineral
requirements45. Other reports suggest wild edibles also generate substantial
income to the poor rural populace in the region.
5.3.3. Orchids and other Wild flowers
Orchids which constitute an order royalty in the world of ornamental plants also
have immense horticultural potential. As indicated earlier largest proportion of
Indian orchid diversity is represented in NE region46. A large number of orchid
genera have been recognized with commercial value (e.g., Dendrobium,
Paphiopedium, Vanda, Phaius, Celogyne, cattleya, Cymbidium, etc.)46. However,
in spite of the great promise and potential, Orchid industry has not taken-up the
desired shape in the region. Likewise, states like Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in
NE region are well known for the diversity of Rhododendrons. The economic
potential is yet to be harnessed.
43 Samant SS, Dhar U (1997): Diversity, endemism and economic potential of wild edible plants of Indian
Himalaya. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol, 4:179-191. 44 Samant SS, Dhar U, Rawal RS (2001): Diversity and Distribution of Wild Edible Plants of Indian Himalaya.
In Plant Diversity of the Himalaya (Pande PC, Samant SS, eds). Nainital: Gyanodaya Prakashan, Pp. 421-482.
45 Sundriyal M, Sundriyal RC (2001): Wild edible plants of the Sikkim Himalaya: nutritive value of selected species. Econ Bot, 55: 377-390.
46 Singh VB et al (1998): In (Sundriyal RC, et al., eds). Perspectives of planning and development in NE India. Pp 120-127.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
25 | P a g e
5.4. Effective valuation – forests of NE region
While considering ecosystem approach, there is a growing concern to effectively
attach monitory value to biodiversity, specifically the ecosystem services and
make provisions for transfer of payments (compensations) to their protectors. An
emerging issue is attaching value to forests. Under the efforts to implement the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with a
growing global realization that fuller valuation of forests is necessary if forests
are to be conserved by local people, progress has been made to develop carbon
markets. The trends on initiatives across the world are indicative of the fact that
forestry efforts could play an increasingly important role in achieving the
emission reduction targets agreed by signatories to the Kyoto Protocol.
The rough value of ecosystem services that have been estimated for forests in
Himalaya, including the forests in NE states is huge (Table 12). There is a need
to recognize value of such ecosystem services and develop mechanisms for
appropriate compensations/incentives for the people who have contributed
towards maintenance of such services.
Table 12: Forest Ecosystem Services Provided by different Northeast states of India47
47
Singh SP 2007, Himalayan Forest Ecosystem Services: Incorporating In National Accounting ,
CHEA, Nainital
Himalayan State Value of Ecosystem Services as of 1994
(billion rupees)
Sikkim 14.02
Arunachal Pradesh 232.95
Manipur 59.67
Meghalaya 55.16
Mizoram 56.61
Nagaland 49.39
Tripura 20.40
Total IHR 944.33
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
26 | P a g e
5. 5. Biodiversity Conservation Initiatives
5.5.1. Protected Area (PA) Network
The Himalaya including the NE region, a global conservation priority, has
increasingly received attention of Government of India under its PA programme.
Till date, a total of 16 National Parks and 53 Wildlife sanctuaries have been
designated in different NE states covering an area of 6912 km2 and 11,261 km2,
respectively. Progression of PA network in NE region of India has been depicted
(Fig 3 & 4).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1950 or
Before
1951-
1960
1961-
1970
1971-
1980
1981-
1990
1991-
2000
2000-
till date
Years
Nu
mb
er
National Park
Wildlife Sanctury
Figure 3. Progression of PA numbers in Northeast region of India
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
27 | P a g e
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
1950
or
Before
1951-
1960
1961-
1970
1971-
1980
1981-
1990
1991-
2000
2000-
till date
Years
Are
a in
Sq
Km
National Park
Wildlife Sanctury
Figure 3. Progression of coverage area of PAs in Northeast region of India
In general, the PA coverage in the IHR (7.6%) is higher than the national
average (4.75%). The existing figures of PAs are apparently indicative of the
satisfactory state of network system for conservation of representative
ecosystems in the region. However, a more objective analysis of facts reveals the
following:
Broadly the random distribution of PAs and representative coverage is well
above the national average (4.75%) in each province, barring NE Hills
[Ladakh Mtn-3 units (8.22% of area); Tibetan Plateau-4 (9.63%); North
west- 29 (7.18%); West- 18 (12.02%); Central- 10 (10.29%), East- 13
(11.82%); Brahmaputra Valley- 23(5.96%) and NE Hills- 25 (2.29%)],
which supposedly takes care of representative habitats, ecosystems and
biota along longitudinal-east to west gradient of the region. The
representativeness of these elements along horizontal (latitudinal-South to
North) and vertical (low to high elevation) gradients needs to be looked
into for individual province. In this regard bigger PAs with adequate
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
28 | P a g e
vertical and horizontal expanse emerge as better candidates. The analysis
of size of existing PAs in IHR, however, reveals that: (i) PAs in Himalayan
zone have smaller average size (310.0 km2; n-=70) is small. Within this
zone, East Himalayan province (average size 761.3 km2, n=13) has
relatively large PAs; (iii) PAs in NE biogeographic zone are invariably
smaller in size- average size 132.3 km2 (Brahmaputra Valley – 171.8 km2,
n=23; NE Hills – 96.0 km2, n=25.These figures need to be viewed for
wider conservation implications, particularly considering the fact that small
PAs are usually considered inadequate to (a) preserve large contiguous
tracts of representative ecosystems/habitats, (b) viable populations of
large key stone species, and (c) safeguard overall ecological value of
ecosystems.
As reflected, the PA coverage in NE biogeographic zone, particularly in NE
hill province, is poor. Whereas, from the biodiversity point of view
especially considering the evolutionary significance as one of the center of
plant origin, this region holds great conservation significance. Therefore, it
would require immediate attention for bringing in adequate and
representative areas under PA network to ensure in situ protection of
important bioresources of the region.
Besides the legally designated PAs, the NE region of India is well represented
under coverage of Biosphere Reserves. A total of five biosphere reserves to
conserve the representative habitats, biota and to support the harmonious co-
existence of man and nature have been established in the Northeastern region
(Table 13).
Among others, three wetlands (i.e., Deepor Beel –Assam, 4000 ha; Rudrasagar
Lake – Tripura, 240 ha; Loktak Lake – Manipur, 26600 ) with global significance
in NE region have been listed as Ramsar sites48.
48
http://ramsar.org
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
29 | P a g e
Table 13. Biosphere Reserves in Northeast region of India.
S.
No.
Name of the
Biosphere Reserve
Area (in Km2) Location
1 Dehang-Dibang 5111.50 (Core 4094.80 & Buffer
1016.70)
Part of Siang and Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh.
2 Dibru-Saikhowa 765
(Core 340 & Buffer 425)
Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts
(Assam)
3 Khangchendzonga 2619.92 (Core 1819.34 & Buffer
835.92)
Parts of Khangchendzonga hills and Sikkim.
4 Manas 2837 (Core 391 & Buffer
2,446)
Part of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamprup and Darang districts
(Assam)
5 Nokrek
820 (Core 47.48 & Buffer
227.92, Transition Zone 544.60)
Part of Garo hills (Meghalaya).
5.6. Key threats to Biodiversity of NE region
Among the major threats to biodiversity of the target region following deserve
mention:
The primary vegetation in extensive areas of the Northeast India has been
disturbed and modified both through natural and anthropogenic causes.
However, the first one has contributed only marginally to the change in
vegetation type; human induced activities have led to irreversible
transformation in the landscapes and resulted in colossal loss of
biodiversity in the entire region. The region has witnessed excessive
logging since the colonial days for revenue generation. Northeast India is
often quoted that it continues to be a forest surplus region. However, the
forest cover is rapidly disappearing from the entire region.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
30 | P a g e
Shifting agriculture or slash-and-burn agriculture is the major land use in
Northeast India. This traditional practice has largely been blamed for
deforestation in the region.
The economy in the entire Northeast India is agrarian in nature and as
mentioned in the preceeding paragraph, little land is available for settled
agriculture. Agriculture has been the main source of livelihood amongst
the tribes and along with the settled agriculture (e.g., paddy cultivation),
„jhum‟ (shifting cultivation) is often carried out by many tribal groups.
Jhumming is one of the most ancient systems of farming, believed to have
originated in the Neolithic period, around 7000 BC. It is intricately linked
with the ethos of the social and cultural values of the tribal communities.
Literature available in general has blamed jhumming for the adverse
effects on ecology and conservation – including, destruction of soil
fertility, soil erosion in upper catchments resulting insedimentation of
water bodies, poor yield of crops, destruction of wildlife and natural
habitat, and floods.
Encroachment situation of forest land is alarming in some areas of NE
region. This has not only caused loss of forest area but has also created a
tool for perpetual degradation of forest resources.
Grazing pressure on forests and grassland of the region far exceeds the
carrying capacity and is one of the major factors for degradation of forests
especially near human habitations. Grazing therefore constitutes a threat
to forest conservation and biodiversity in the State. Enforcement of strict
control or imposition of restriction to such disturbance under existing
socio-economic conditions is practically impossible.
The North Eastern Region harbours important corridors for movement of
wild animals like elephants and reports of human-wildlife conflict are
widespread in locations like the foothills of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh
border along the North bank of Brahmaputra. Human deaths and crop
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
31 | P a g e
depredation are common and efforts of various organizations in mitigating
the conflicts have remained ineffective49.
Forest fires are common and frequent in the region. The fires at the end
of winters are a rule rather than exception. The villagers set fire to forest
floor, which is littered with inflammable dry leaves and twigs.
Regeneration (natural as well as artificial), is affected and wildlife is
impacted negatively50. The hill forests also get burnt due to jhum fires
going out of control and spreading to the surrounding areas.
The uncontrolled movement of forest produce across the borders at
several locations of NE region is not uncommon. This is amongst the
major problems faced by the respective State Forest Departments. The
enormity & extent of such feelings can be judged from the annual revenue
earned from intercepted forest produce which may represent only a small
portion (around 10%) of the produce moved across the border.
Replacement of original mixed vegetation with monoculture plantations
like rubber in Tripura, Tea plantations in Arunachal Pradesh, etc. are also
posing threats to the unique biodiversity of the region. These commercial
plantations are not only replacing the original vegetation and flora but
also add to the damage through larger influx of people and by adding to
pollution through the enormous chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides
applied in the plantations.
Towards meeting the increasing demand of certain products such as food
grains, vegetables, milk and meat, some high yielding varieties of plants
and animals have been introduced in the region leading to reduced
propagation of indigenous varieties. In some cases, the indigenous
varieties have been altogether ignored. The current dominance of
49 Chatterjee, S., Saikia, A., Dutta, P. et al (2006): Background paper on Biodiversity significance of
Northeast India: for the study on Natural Resources, Water and Environment Nexus for Development and Growth in North Eastern India, WWF-India, http://mdoner.gov.in/writereaddata/sublink3images/40.pdf, accessed on 21.06.2011.
50 Semwal et al. (2003): Forest Fires in India. Lessons from case studies. WWF-India. New Delhi.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
32 | P a g e
intensive agricultural production of HYV rice and vegetables has led to
significant reduction in the genetic diversity of these species. Similarly,
new varieties of poultry, fish, livestock and fruits have been brought in the
region for mass propagation and higher production. Though production
has increased, the cross-breeds are susceptible to diseases, sometimes
causing huge losses of livestock and birds. The major exotic flora are the
water hyacinth, hydrilla, water lily and lotus. Population increase of
aquatic insects like Notonecta sp., Ranatra sp., Geris sp., Nepa sp.,
Lithocerus sp., Cybistra sp., Dytiscus sp., Gyrinus sp., and dragon fly
nymph, are causing management problems51. Invasion of alien flora like
Parthenium, Tagetes minuta and Xanthium strumarium are causing
threats to the native flora of the region.
Unplanned activities of development infrastructure is resulting into a great
pressure on fragile ecosystems of NE region. The adequate facilities for
monitoring, baseline data, impact assessment and threat or risk
assessment still need to be developed in the NE states. Lack of
coordination between developmental departments and proper planning
may be taken as major factors. Mining has been a cause of concern in
Meghalaya. Coal extraction is done following primitive mining method
commonly called rat hole mining. Dumping of coal has been the cause of
air water and soil pollution.
The traditional wisdom of indigenous communities in the North Eastern
states has contributed greatly for the management of biodiversity.
However, the influx of human population from the neighboring states,
largely as laborers, is causing a disruption to this tradition. They have very
poor understanding of local sentiments and values for nature. In addition,
the exposure to western cultures and the so called new education system
51 SBSAP (State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Reports) for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. 2005.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
33 | P a g e
have contributed towards changed lifestyles that in turn affect the bio
resources and their sustenance.
6. Climate Change Vulnerability in NE region
The concern of climate change and its effects on biological diversity, its goods
and services, are now occupying the central stage of negotiations across the
globe. This issue has become more important for the mountain ecosystems
which are considered especially susceptible to global warming. In this context,
recognizing the biodiversity importance of east Himalaya for its diverse range of
goods and services, identification and understanding of ecological and
socioeconomic parameters of these ecosystems, including their sensitivity and
vulnerabilities to climate changes, has become crucial for planning and policy
making in the region2.
In this context the Indian Network for Climate change Assessment (INCCA), in its
report „Climate change and India: a 4x4 assessment a sectoral and regional
analysis for 2030s‟ has attempted to ascertain the impacts of Climate Change in
2030‟s. The report has considered NE region amongst four major eco-sensitive
target regions and biodiversity (i.e., Natural ecosystems and Forests) amongst 4
major targeted sectors in the country7. It would be imperative to take note of the
major outcomes/projections of the report while assessing the climate change
vulnerability of biodiversity in the region. A summary of projections and
vulnerabilities is as follows:
Northeast India is vulnerable to water-induced disasters because of its
location in the eastern Himalayan periphery, fragile geo-environmental
settins and economic-underdevelopment. The powerful hydrological and
monsoon regime of the region, especially the Brahamaputra and the
Barak (Meghna) river systems are both a resource and a source of
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
34 | P a g e
vulnerability. Moreover, the average state of economic development and
growth in the Northeast Indian region is lower than other parts of the
country. The average per-capita income of the region is 30% less than
the national average. Assam and Manipur have the lowest per-capita
income in the region. The region has higher incidence of poverty, even
when compared with states having similar average per-capita income.
Increasing population and decreasing land productivity, relatively higher
dependence on natural resources (e.g., forests) are also constraints for
the region‟s environmental sustainability.
The projected mean annual rainfall for NE region is varying from a
minimum of 940 to 1330 mm. The increase with respect to 1970‟s is by
0.3% to 3%. The NE also show a substantial decrease in rainfall in the
winter months of January and February in 2030‟s with respect to 1970‟s
with no additional rain projected to be available during the period March
to May and October to December. However, the monsoon rainfall during
June, July and August is likely to increase by 5mm in 2030‟s with
reference to 1970‟s. A rise of 0.6%.
Surface air temperature in NE region is projected to rise by 25.8 to 26.8oC
in 2030‟s with a standard deviation ranging from 0.8 to 0.9. The rise in
temperature with respect to 1970‟s is ranging from 1.8 to 2.1oC.
Regarding extreme precipitation projections the simulation suggested
frequency of rain days is more in east and north east India. With respect
to temperature, Minimum temperature are likely to rise from 1oC to 2.5oC
and maximum temperature may rise by 1oC to 3.5oC.
The projected impacts of Climate Change on crops in 2030‟s in the NE
region indicates that the climate change may bring changes in rice yields
by about -10% to 5%, while the impacts on rain-fed rice are likely to be
in the range of -35% to 5%in A1B 2030 Climate scenario in NE region. In
the case of wheat, the yields are projected to b reduce by up to 20%.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
35 | P a g e
Potato yields are likely to be marginally benefitted up to 5% in upper
parts of NE region, but in the central part the yields are projected to
reduce by about 4% while in the southern parts of NE region the
negative impacts will be higher. Maize crop yields are projected to reduce
by 40% in NE region. Maize and mustard are also likely to experience
decrease in productivity in the entire region.
The TH Index (Temperature and Humidity Index) is likely to increase
between April-October months with THI >80 which may impact the
economic viability of livestock production system in this region.
Regarding the projected changes (2035 A1B) in forest vegetation of NE
region, only about 8% of forested grids are projected to undergo
changes. The projections of NPP for this region is projected to witness a
23% increase in NPP on an average. In this context, the region appears
least vulnerable.
The majority of the NE region, but for some parts of Mizoram, Tripura,
Manipur and Assam, shows an increase in ET during 2030s scenario. The
trends in water yield indicate the areas which have shown less increase in
precipitation show a correspondingly low water yield. The reduction in
water yield in Arunachal Pradesh is up to 20%. An increase in water is
seen in Assam and Manipur and the magnitude is up to 40%.
NE region also shows a considerable increase in sediment yield for
majority of the area which are expected to see increase in precipitation.
The increase in the sediment yield in the region is up to 25%.
Recently a report from ICIMOD on „Climate Change Vulnerability of Mountain
Ecosystems in the Easter Himalaya‟ has emphasized upon the fact that the stress
that potential climate change impacts on biodiversity occurs with other well
established stressors. In the context of East Himalaya a few specific examples
have been highlighted (Box 1)
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
36 | P a g e
7. Biodiversity & Climate Change in NE region - Key challenges
(A) Defining conservation and management priorities/targets
Owing to extreme rugged topography, remoteness and lack of
infrastructure, the complete (or even near complete) inventories at
different organizational levels (e.g., genes, species, ecosystem and
landscape) are yet to be achieved in the target region, as a result it
represents very high degree of uncertainty about the status of its
biological resources (both wild and domesticated), and, therefore,
defining conservation targets at different organizational levels under
changing climate scenario is a fundamental challenge.
Considering the heterogeneity in bio-physical conditions and strong
variations in the relationship between people and nature, particularly
along the wide altitude/climate range and the extensive diversity of
scio-cultural systems in the target region, the social and ecological
values do manifest at different scales. Therefore, the successful
Box 1: Synergistic effects of climate change and other ecosystem stressors in the East Himalaya (Adopted from ICIMOD 20102).
1. Habitat loss and fragmentation: with temperature rises and reduced precipitation, alpine meadows and shrubs may migrate to places higher up the mountains. However, this process will be constrained by the environments that do not have soils of sufficient depth for anchorage and nutrient storage. Wetlands will shrink in response to high evaporation, which is further exacerbated by the expansion of settlements and other human activities.
2. Invasive species: The rising temperature of water bodies renders them more suitable habitat for invasive species that outcompete native species and synergistically interact with climate change to threaten native organisms.
3. Species exploitation: Synergistic action between commercial harvesting and climate change will have detrimental impacts on subtropical and temperate timber forests.
4. Environmental Contaminations: Nutrient enrichment from agricultural and runoff could act synergistically with warming water temperatures due to climate change to enhance eutrophication in freshwater systems.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
37 | P a g e
negotiations of trade-offs will come with reasonable attention to
political, social, economic and ecological dynamics at multiple spatial
and temporal scales, and are critically dependent on interaction across
these scales. This understanding of resources and their linkages with
human needs and aspirations is at very low ebb in the region and
poses a big challenge while defining conservation/management and
climate change adaptation targets at different levels and scales.
B. Understanding conservation and development trade-offs
While analyzing conservation and climate change adaptation
imperatives in the target region, the key challenge would be to
effectively use development in the service of conservation. This
implies, utilizing human welfare targets (development means) as the
best choice for achieving conservation and management. It would also
imply that the key challenge for attempting a conservation and/or
climate change adaptation strategy for the region is not to ignore the
human activities under existing socio-cultural systems and changing
perspectives of life, but to understand how they affect the status and
values of ecosystem goods and services.
In the context of above, the most prevalent challenge, to understand
and address, is the ongoing process of rural transformation which
includes rapidly disintegrating (i) socio-cultural value system, (ii)
indigenous knowledge and practices, and (iii) local institutions. This
has led to: (a) intensive migration from remote rural areas to the
urban centers within and outside the region, thereby resulting in
multifarious social and environmental problems ranging from changes
in land use to health and hygiene, (b) loosening of linkages of
inhabitants with natural resources resulting into deteriorating state of
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
38 | P a g e
resource protection, (c) eroding genetic resources, especially from
traditional farming systems.
Considering that the environmental changes, especially the
weather/climate related changes have strong bearing on most of the
above, establishing mechanisms to ensure long-term monitoring of
these changes using standard protocols and state of the art technology
in the target region is a big challenge that required immediate
attention.
C. Building participatory conservation alternatives
In view of the above and considering more inclusive notion of
conservation and sustainable use, finding new or strengthening
existing forms of community participation and local governance of
natural resources has emerged as a key challenge. This would mean,
not to deny urgency of protecting resources, but to explore alternative
and more participatory ways to reach this objective in order to seek
sustainability. Of late, across the globe, the participatory approaches
have been found to represent a reliable and widely accepted
complementary modality to operationalise conservation efforts.
D. Incorporating climate change adaptation and mitigation dimensions
Considering that the Climate Change is a reality and the mountain
ecosystems, their components and processes, are highly sensitive to
these changes, it is imperative to duly integrate Climate Change
dimensions into the conservation framework that to be developed for
East Himalayan region. However, development of such framework
would depend on various factors including the diversity of exposure,
level of sensitivity, adaptation capacity within the region, depending on
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
39 | P a g e
the biophysical and geographic settings, accumulated social capital,
and economic status.
Our current understanding on the impacts of climate change on
components of biodiversity at different organizational levels is limited
and at a very low ebb. Also, we have a meager understanding of
impacts of CC on diverse sectors of society and their response system.
This gap in understanding accompanied by poorly understood process
of habitat destruction; land use change and whole range of socio-
cultural transformation processes pose a big concern. The future
biodiversity research, conservation strategies and the adaptation in the
region, would face challenge to re-orient focus and scope by
integrating spatially and conceptually more dynamic aspects of Climate
Change. Further, accommodating Climate Change adaptation
strategies that fully incorporate revised priorities for biodiversity and
the recognition of the rights and opportunities for involvement of
indigenous peoples becomes a formidable challenge.
E. Developing functional network of institutions
Realizing immediate need to address above mentioned challenges,
synergizing resources of various organizations to establish a functional
network of institutions in the region would be a big challenge. Bringing
together the local, national, regional institutions, making them agree
to take ownership of activities and assume responsibility for mobilizing
resources in synergetic manner to address issues of conservation is a
matter of real concern (and priority).
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
40 | P a g e
8. Challenges and Opportunities for NE region
The major opportunity to address the issues is provided by the National
Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) of India52. This provides a country wide
framework for taking action by the multitude of stakeholders. The various
characteristics of target region, however, provide immense opportunities to
address issues and challenges within the broad NBAP framework. The major
opportunities and corresponding NBAP action areas to address the challenges in
NE region are as follows:
Identified Key Challenges
NBAP-India (Corresponding Action
Areas)
Opportunities in NE Region
Defining conservation and management
priorities/targets
Developing and
integrating biodiversity
databases
Building national
capacities for biodiversity
conservation and
appropriate use of new technologies
International
cooperation
Strong altitudinal/climate transition,
prevailing heterogeneity in bio-physical conditions and strong variations in the
relationship between people and nature.
Richness, representativeness, and
uniqueness of biodiversity elements and other bio-physical resources.
Clear zones/areas of wilderness (including
snow, alpine and sub alpine areas), sacred
and uniqueness values.
Discernible natural water zones (glaciers,
rivers, lakes, and springs).
Abundant forest zone with diversity of
forest types, goods and services.
Prevalence of indigenous farming systems,
knowledge and practices.
Understanding conservation and
development trade-
offs
Augmentation of
Natural Resource Base and its
sustainable
utilization: ensuring inter and intra
generational equity
Integrating
biodiversity concerns in
economic and
Diversified genetic heritage as a source for
livelihood.
Existence of diverse (8) agro-climatic
zones ranging from availability of fertile river valleys with irrigated land for
optimization of agricultural production to rich mosaic of traditional rain-fed
agriculture as a means of maintaining
genetic diversity and immense possibilities for adaptive management of agriculture
systems using models best suited for local
52 Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI (2008): National Biodiversity Action Plan.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
41 | P a g e
social development
Use of economic
instruments/valuati
on in biodiversity
related decision making process
ecological/economic conditions.
Rich and diversified traditional ecological
knowledge to connect intangible with
tangible benefits.
Strong basis of cultural value systems and
local community institutions
Diverse range of ecosystem and cultural
services, ranging from maintenance of water flow to carbon sequestration, and
from recreations to spiritual values.
Building participatory
conservation alternatives
Strengthening and
integrating in situ
and ex situ conservation
Developing and
integrating
biodiversity databases
Regulating
introduction, and
managing invasive alien species
Long-term natural and cultural
interactions which have depended on local
level governance systems resulting into successful traditions of participatory,
culture based management of natural resources.
Rich representation of Biosphere Reserves
(Manas & Dibrusaikhowa – Brahmaputra
Valley; Nokrek – NE Hills; Dehang- Debang – East Himalaya; Kanchendzonga
– Central Himalaya) – the model
landscapes for biodiversity conservation and community-based development.
Existence of strong legally defined
protected area network.
Willingness of various stakeholders to
participate in the long term monitoring of
climate and other changes in the region and its likely impacts.
Incorporating climate
change adaptation and mitigation
dimensions
Assessment of
vulnerability and
adaptation to climate change and
desertification
Integrating
biodiversity
concerns in economic and
social development
Valuation of goods
and services provided by
biodiversity and use of economic
A typical mountain region with multiplicity
of climate sensitive resources, habitats
and ecosystem goods and services.
Diverse responses of endemic, sensitive
and key stone species.
Maintenance of global value of ecosystem
services emanating from the region.
Diversity in vulnerability distribution
Indigenous knowledge and practices to
cope with and adaptations to hazards,
changes and extreme events
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
42 | P a g e
instruments
decision making
process
Impacts of
pollution
Develop a functional network of institutions
Strengthening
implementation of policy, legislative
and administrative measures for
biodiversity
conservation and management
Building national
capacities for
biodiversity conservation and
appropriate use of new technologies
International
cooperation
Enabling environment and policy back-up.
Major National level initiatives including– National Environment Policy, National
Action Plan on Climate Change – National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan
Ecosystems, Greening India Mission and
Specific task force of planning commission to look into problems of hill states and hill
areas, National Biodiversity Action Plan.
Existence of traditional systems of co-
existence and community based management
Commitments at local and national level
for environmental conservation and
sustainable development
Common agreement on socio-cultural,
socio-economic and bio-physical values, and their rapidly deteriorating state in the
target region.
9. National Commitments to Address Issues of Biodiversity Conservation & Livelihoods under Changing Climate
While considering the opportunities, the strong commitments shown by the
country towards addressing issues pertaining to Biodiversity Conservation, its
sustainable use and minimizing the impacts of Climate Change, has significant
bearing on the framework being developed for East Himalaya. Among others,
some of the important features of this commitment are summarized below:
India in order to fulfill its national obligations towards the international
agreements in the area of conservation has a comprehensive and
exhaustive framework of laws and policies to cover different components.
Also, India follows certain guiding principles in the area of conservation of
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
43 | P a g e
its bio-cultural heritage. The Constitution of India, 1950, places directives
to the state through its section on Directive Principles of State Policy, inter
alia, “(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests,
lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
Some of the prominent policies, legislation and action plans that drive the
conservation agenda of the country include- National Environment
Policy (NEP), 2006. The key theme of NEP is that while conservation of
environmental resources in necessary to secure livelihoods and wellbeing
of all, the most secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people
dependent on particular resources obtain better livelihoods from
conservation than from degradation of the resource. The National
Environment Policy 2006 recognizes mountains as the most fragile
ecosystems in terms of susceptibility to anthropogenic shocks. NEP is one
amongst the two policies in India that clearly seek regional cooperation in
the conservation of biological resources and protection of environment.
The policy acknowledges the transboundary character of environmental
pissues.
In pursuance to the CBD, India had enacted the Biological Diversity Act in
2002 following a widespread consultative process over a period of eight
years. The B.D. Rules were notified thereafter in 2004. The Act gives
effect to the provisions of the CBD. It also addresses access to biological
resources and associated traditional knowledge to ensure equitable
sharing of benefits arising out of their use to the country and its people,
thereby contributing to achieving the third objective of the CBD. India is
one of the first few countries to have enacted such legislation. The Act is
to be implemented through a three-tiered institutional structure: National
Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and
Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs). NBA has been set up in
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
44 | P a g e
2003. Various states, including East Himalayan States, have established
SBBs, and BMCs are in the process of being set up.
In this regards reference can be made to a recent comprehensive
document that reports on the progress of the country towards 2010
targets11.
The National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP), 2008 has been
formulated with the objective to augment natural resource base and its
sustainable utilization. It proposes to operationalise its mandate through
the PA network which includes consolidation of Biosphere reserves,
establishment of more reserves designated under Ramsar Convention, and
augmentation of ex situ efforts through the establishment of network of
Lead Gardens and initiatives in conservation of genetic resources, etc.
The Constitution of India in the recent decades has made an attempt to
devolve power to bodies of local self-governments to empower local
people and especially women and men from marginalized sections such as
the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Besides this, the recent years
has seen the enactment of several rights based laws such as the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2006 and the Right to Information Act
2005.
The national policy on farmers which is premised on the fact that a
majority of the hungry live in rural India and also depend on agriculture
for their livelihood, lays emphasis on the economic well being of the
women and men feeding the nation (Serving Farmers and Saving Farmers,
Fifth and Final Report, 4 Oct 2006, revised draft National policy for
farmers, Ministry of Agriculture, National Commission on Farmers). It
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
45 | P a g e
stresses that it is the opportune time to revitalize agricultural progress by
making agrarian prosperity and food security and sovereignty the bottom
line for government policies and priorities in agriculture and rural
development. The draft policy is sensitive to gender and human
dimension.
More recently, India has shown its commitment towards addressing the
emerging issues under Changing Climate scenario. The National Action
Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), 2008 through eight National
Missions represents the multi-pronged, long term and integrated
strategies for achieving key goals in the context of Climate Change in
India. NAPCC envisages, among other things, a National Mission for
Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem. The Mission is aimed at evolving
management measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan
glaciers and the mountain ecosystem. The Mission also suggests need for
exchange of information between the countries that share the same
Himalayan ecology. Among others, a publication ‘Governance for
sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (G-SHE): Guidelines and best
Practices’, which forms part of countries broader climate change
adaptation strategy, puts together guidelines and best practices related to
governance and management of Himalayan Ecosystem.
Considering the importance and specific problems of the hill states, the
Planning Commission, Government of India constitute a task force to look
into problems of hill states and hill areas and to suggest ways to
ensure that these states and areas do not suffer in any way
because of their peculiarities (Planning Commission, GOI, 2010). The
task force report, among others, recommends reshaping of policies to
bring in the „Mountain Perspective‟ for the Indian Himalayan Region, in the
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
46 | P a g e
national planning. Emphasis has also been laid on developing norms for
good governance and harnessing social capital at the grass roots. The
report also recommends bringing in concept of developmental zones and
states that the balance between natural resource exploitation and
conservation should tilt in favour of the latter, with strong emphasis in
capacity building of the primary stakeholders.
With respect to the rights of indigenous communities the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognizes and vests forest rights and
occupation in forest land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other
traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for
generations but whose rights could not be recorded. The Act also
provides a framework for recording the forest rights so vested and the
nature of evidence required for such recognition and vesting in respect of
forest land. This process of recognition of rights is based on two key
concepts: community forest resources and community forest rights.
10. Recommendations and Suggested Action areas:
Considering the uniqueness and richness of biodiversity in the target
region, intricate linkages of human and natural resources, and realizing
the sensitivity of biodiversity elements of the region for human and
climate induced changes, following recommendations can be made for
consideration as possible action area in intended regional roadmap:
Realizing that the entire Himalayan ecosystem including NE region is
highly vulnerable both due to natural reasons and on account of the
stress caused by increased pressure of population, exploitation of
natural resources and other related challenges, including climate
change, it needs special attention. These vulnerability aspects would
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
47 | P a g e
be exacerbated due to the impact of climate change. It is possible, and
projected, that climate change may adversely impact these ecosystems
through increased temperature, altered precipitation patterns,
episodes of drought (and heavy rainfall events), and biotic influences.
This would not only impact the very sustenance of the indigenous
communities in uplands but also the life of downstream dwellers across
the region and much beyond. Therefore, there is an urgent need for
giving special attention to sustain the Himalayan Ecosystem17. This
would require conscious efforts for conserving all the representative
systems in the region and promoting natural resource based livelihood
options for indigenous communities.
Considering the general lack of biodiversity and climate datasets for
the region there is a need to have in place a systematic and robust
data/information generation mechanism, which also takes care of
collection, collation and consolidation of available information. An
integrated regional biodiversity and climate change information system
with distributive linkages for easy storage, retrieval and dissemination,
also having linkages with the national database, is essentially required.
In this context, establishment of a strong Himalayan Biodiversity &
Climate Change Knowledge Network (HBCC-KN) is proposed to (i) take
note of and build on existing knowledge and information base across
the region, and (ii) enhance information generation and knowledge
discovery through robust globally accepted protocols, as recommended
during the International Workshop (6-8 December 2010) at G.B. Pant
Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development (India).
Recognizing the value of long term ecological and climate monitoring
sites in generating authentic reliable datasets, there is imminent need
to establish a chain of such sites in the region using internationally
accepted protocols and state of the art technology, with suitable
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
48 | P a g e
adaptations to local conditions, for ensuring continued availability of
compatible datasets over a long time frame.
Realizing the uniqueness and richness of genetic resources, there is a
need to place special attention to maintain the evolutionary
significance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the region.
Apart from inventorization/documentation of such genetic resources,
their evaluation for use and maintenance by indigenous communities
both as in situ and ex situ assumes high priority. Eco-geographical
surveys in areas of diversity and having traditional use practices will be
required to mark out precise pockets for in situ conservation, and
integration of such efforts with monitoring of diversity in bioresources.
Among others, the practicable solutions for achieving conservation and
sustainable use goals with respect to these genetic resources may be
drawn from a diverse set of best practices performed by the
indigenous communities.
There is also a need to consciously encourage and promote the
practice of establishing “Community Conserved Areas” (CCAs)
prevalent in the region.
The concept of „natural cultural landscape‟ which sees cultural and
biological diversity as mutually supportive53 appears most appropriate
to ensure community support for maintaining and conserving the
uniqueness of biodiversity (both wild and domesticated). This calls for
proper integration of cultural values and Traditional Ecological
Knowledge (TEK) system with modern approaches of management. In
this context, one needs to find-out tangible dimensions of TEK derived
53 Ramakrishnan PS (2009): Linking traditional ecological knowledge systems with modern approaches. In
Biodiversity and Climate Change. Kathmandu, Nepal:ICIMOD 2009. Pp16-18.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
49 | P a g e
from „intangibles‟. It would, however, also require putting in place
adequate reward systems17.
There is a strong need to promote sustainable use concept which
attempts to establish linkages between conservation and economic
growth, and recognizes that the bioresources are a source for
sustainable income. Experiences from the region itself have revealed
that people become interested in biodiversity conservation when they
realize that it has immediate utility value (i.e., subsistence or income
generating opportunity) attached and they can harness benefits from
it.
Considering that most of the States in NE are registering the decadal
growth rate more than the national average, we need to give due
attention to this fact. The scenarios for future population projection
need to be build for each state and accordingly plans for meeting the
demand should be prepared. In this context, while preparing plans for
meeting demands of increasing population the region, it is also
important to integrate the projected climate change impacts on
agricultural production systems. As such agriculture has been
projected as highly sensitive and is expected to impact region
differently. Therefore, management of climate hazards and climate
change impacts in the agriculture sector and rural communities will be
critical for success. Among others, the rangelands and pastoral
production systems in the region are likely to be affected by a decline
in forage quality and quantity, heat stress, and diseases like foot and
mouth in livestock. Fisheries and fish production are also sensitive to
change in climate. Inland freshwater fisheries at higher elevations are
likely to be adversely affected. Both crops and livestock in the region
are expected to be affected by increased incidences of alien/invasive
pests and diseases2. Therefore, the need for appropriately
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
50 | P a g e
incorporating these projections in planning process is imminent,
especially to develop mechanisms for promoting alternate livelihoods
for diverse vulnerable sectors of the society.
As the Jhum cultivation forms an important and integral part of culture
and value systems of the region. There are various forms of Jhum that
are practiced in the region, ranging from „good‟ to „bad‟, and from
„undistorted‟ to „distorted‟21. Therefore, considering its deep roots in
culture and traditions, there is a need to identify appropriate Jhum
practices and propagate those for benefit of people and environment
as well. Technologies to complement rather than those focused on the
replacement of Jhum are likely to work.
Given the huge contribution of the region for maintenance of
Ecosystem Services (e.g., forests and their goods and services), the
concept of PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services) needs to be given
due consideration in the region. In this context, the recently released
guidelines by the Ministry of Environment and Forests17 also
emphasizes upon the need to pay proper attention for harnessing
benefits from the programmes like „Reduced Emission from
Deforestation and Degradation‟ (REDD) under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). This would
require integration and involvement of diverse stakeholder groups for
developing effective and feasible mechanisms to conserve carbon
within existing forests and through slowing down the rates of
deforestation and degradation of forests.
The forested mountain watersheds are now viewed as being vital for
the ecological health across the world. In addition to their important
protective role, they shelter immense biodiversity, provide food and
fodder, and are an important source of fresh water. These benefits are
realized not only by the upland watershed communities but also by
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
51 | P a g e
those who live much beyond its physical boundaries in downstream
areas. Considering this value, integrated watershed management
approach for mountains has emerged as an effective solution. It is an
on-going process which actively involves local people and decision
makers – in both upstream and downstream areas- in analyzing the
problems and developing appropriate solutions to ensure that the
activities undertaken are well adapted to the local situations54.
Considering medicinal plants of the region as potential source of huge
revenue, extensive use of wild forms and destructive harvesting by the
industry is a serious threat. Further, dependence on relatively small
proportion of available stock and that too on non-native elements
suggests that currently the pharmaceutical industry in the country is
utilizing only a few true Himalayan medicinal plants40. However,
recognizing the importance of the medicinal plant resources of the
region and considering the emerging trends of global market,
particularly issues of commercial patenting, there is a need to build the
capacity of indigenous people to harness the opportunities through (i)
improved techniques of cultivation/post harvest, (ii) value addition and
value chain development. The strategy should be to maximize
economic benefits by adding value to less recognized biodiversity
components available in the immediate vicinity of indigenous
communities.
The traditional dependence of people from the region on wild edibles
provides great opportunity for diversification of food base as well as
for meeting the nutritional and income generation requirements of
indigenous communities. The studies have proved that wild edibles of
the region represent a promising source of nutrients and minerals. This
54 Price MF (2004): Conservation and sustainable development in mountain areas. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
52 | P a g e
potential coupled with proven medicinal value of some of these
species, can be harnessed for promoting their use as health food
supplements. The nutritional attributes varied considerably among
species implying that potential of different species needs to be
harnessed for specific attributes. These results have significant bearing
on bio-prospecting of wild edibles for rural development in the region
wherein some of these can be projected as an important resource for
income generation through value addition.
The region has a rich tradition of using fermented foods and beverages
using local bioresources; there is a need to closely examine their
potential for sustainable and substantial economic gains.
Realizing the potential of mainstreaming medicinal, wild edible plants,
and fermented foods and beverages, there is a need to bring in the
much-needed coordination among different players for development of
these sectors. Effective measures to support marketing efforts with
appropriate fiscal and policy support are urgently needed. However, as
elsewhere in the world, there is a need to bring in a paradigm shift in
realizing the economic contribution of Himalayan biodiversity. The
attention needs to be focused on the value of ecosystem services.
Particularly, the globally referred/recognized concept of „PES‟ requires
serious efforts for implementation in the region under up-coming
international climate frameworks.
Recognizing the potential of certain plant groups such as Orchids and
Rhododendrons, and realizing the gaps in coordinated efforts for
promotion of such groups as a basis for ornamental/horticulture
industries, there is a need to put efforts for mass propagation,
cultivation, and marketing. The improved participation through
awareness and capacity building programmes seems a viable option.
Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011 (Thematic Area- Biodiversity; Contribution for Indian Part of East Himalaya)
53 | P a g e
Notwithstanding that the above mentioned approaches deserve
immediate consideration for the adequate management of biological
and other natural resources; there is an urgent need for designing and
implementing programmes for creating mass awareness among
different stakeholders. The approaches need to take note of location
specific issues and specificities in the region. Also, these programmes
need to integrate issues of vulnerability to Climate Change. The
prevailing TEK systems, and potential economic values attached with
goods and services emanating from the region, provide enough space
to draw plans for long term maintenance of its resources. Such plans,
while addressing the issues of livelihood needs of indigenous
communities, would also accommodate the emerging needs under the
changing climate and economic scenario.
In addition, the acceptance of the fact that biodiversity and climate
change impacts do not recognize state or national boundaries, proper
coordinated efforts are required to be put in place for management of
biodiversity under changing climate scenario across various NE States
of India and neighbouring countries through appropriate Regional
Cooperation Frameworks on transboundary matters.