The Himalayan region has long been recognised as extremely rich in animal and especially plant diversity. For instance, a paper published last year in Science (vol 308, p 405) concluded that Himalayan watersheds harbour more diverse ecosystems than the Amazon.
The New Scientist says the Himalayas may never be the same again. The forests growing on the roof of the world are disappearing, and the rate of deforestation is so rapid that a quarter of animal and plant species native to this biodiversity hotspot, including tigers and leopards, could be gone by the end of the century.
By 2000, the region had lost 15 per cent of its forest cover compared with the early 1970s. By 2100, it will have lost almost half its forests, a Delhi University team predicts.
“However, official Indian government statistics from the ministry of agriculture and the Forest Survey of India imply that total forest cover across the Indian Himalaya will expand by more than 40 per cent between 1970 and 2100.”
Botanists trying to save critically endangered plants in the eastern Himalayas for more than two decades say tissue cultures have finally brought them success in reviving some species.
The eastern Himalayas, covering India’s north-eastern states and some of Burma, Bhutan and Sikkim, have been identified as one of the world’s 25 bio-diversity hotspots.
India has around 49,000 plant species – around 12% of the world’s known species.
Twenty per cent of these are under threat of extinction. Nearly 70 of them listed as critically endangered by the Botanical Survey of India are found in the country’s north-east.
These beautiful photos are from www.oasisgalleries.com and the collection of vinay.
To read more on “The theory of Himalayan environmental degradation: what is the nature of the perceived crisis?” you may visit the site.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.