Conservation efforts in the Himalayas

Indian Rhino Vision 2020
Conservation of one horned rhinos in India has been a great success. In 1905, the species was on the brink of extinction. Through strict protection this population has recovered to over 1,700 individuals today. But now, more than 93 percent of India’s rhinos live in just one national park – Kaziranga. The species is therefore exposed to risks such as disease outbreaks and poaching that could devastate an entire population. Human-wildlife conflict is another result of insufficient habitat. By 2020, the Indian Rhino Vision – a joint project of WWF, the government of Assam and the International Rhino Foundation – will achieve a population of 3,000 wild rhinos in Assam.



Preserving the Sacred Himalayan LandscapeThe snowpacks of the Himalayan Mountains are an important source of fresh water for millions of people in South Asia and its alpine meadows and conifer forests harbor an array of rare plant life and endangered species. WWF’s Sacred Himalayan Landscape initiative leverages the spiritual beliefs and conservation ethics of local communities to restore essential habitats and protect endangered species such as the snow leopard.




Safeguarding Bhutan’s Biological Conservation ComplexThe Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex can be described as a large conservation landscape comprising all protected areas - including buffer zones within the country. It connects biological corridors, creating a contiguous area of Bhutan's major ecosystems. Presently, there are four national parks, four wildlife sanctuaries, a strict nature reserve and 12 biological corridors. The total area covered is more than 3.6 million acres.

What is special about the Himalayas?

1. Mt Everest - it is the tallest mountain in the world



2. K2 - the second tallest mountain in the world

People of the Himalayas

The Hindu epics and Puranas refer to the original inhabitants of the Himalayas- the Kulinds, Kiratas and Kilinds, Kiratas and Kinnars and later texts mention the Khasas and the Darads. Today three ethnic types constitute the Himalayan population: Negroids, Mongoloids and Aryans.


Negroids


Mongoloids


Aryans

Vegetation of the Himalayas

Himalayan vegetation varies according to both altitude and climatic conditions. They range from the tropical deciduous forests in the foothills, to temperate forests in the middle altitudes. Higher up, coniferous, sub-alpine, and alpine forests spring up. These finally give way to alpine grasslands and high altitude meadows. They are followed by scrublands which lead up to the permanent snowline.

However, the floral wealth of the Himalayas have also been affected by man. Over the centuries, man has always been dependent on his forests for a number of his needs. But earlier, these needs were few, the forests were able to replenish the resources, and the delicate natural balance was maintained. But over the years, the human population increased dramatically, and with it the number of industries that depended on forests. Extraordinary demands were made on the forests. Forests were cut down for firewood and to feed the growing number of forest-based industries. They were also cleared to accommodate the growing population. As a result, many species of trees that were very common even 50 years ago, are now rare or have completely disappeared from certain areas.

Climate of the Himalayas

It has mainly two seasons i.e. the winter and the summer and temperatures in the Himalayas vary depending on the height of the mountain range. Therefore while the lower ranges have temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius in the summer and 18 degrees Celsius in the winter, the middle Himalayas have summer temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius and rather cold winters, and the Great Himalayas have summer temperatures of between 15 to 18 degrees Celsius and winter temperatures that reach well below freezing point. Certain parts of the Himalayan ranges are perpetually snow capped and temperatures reach new lows with every winter that passes.

What is the Himalaya Mountains?

The Himalaya Mountains is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest, and home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest and K2. Some of the world's major rivers, the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Red River (Asia), Xunjiang, Chao Phraya, Irrawaddy River, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Tarim River and Yellow River, rise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 3 billion people (almost half of Earth's population) in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, People's Republic of China, India, Nepal, Burma, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Pakistan. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The main Himalaya range runs west to east, from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc 2,400 km (1,491 mi) long, which varies in width from 400 km (249 mi) in the western Kashmir-Xinjiang region to 150 km (93 mi) in the eastern Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region.