Bombay Natural History Society launches climate change programme in Central Himalayas

Bombay Natural History Society launches climate change programme in Central Himalayas NAGPUR: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has launched climate change programme under which the first study funded by Oracle and facilitated by CAF-India, will assess (आकलन) the status, distribution and conservation of pheasants (तीतर पक्षी) and finches in the Central

Himalayas. The Himalayas hold a rich natural heritage with diverse flora and fauna (वनस्पति और जीव) enhancing the beauty of the region. The study will focus on their conservation in the context of climate change with the help of community participation. The Indian subcontinent is home to nearly 50 species of pheasants and 62 species of finches, with several species listed in 'Globally Threatened(धमकी दी) ' category by IUCN. Both these groups are spread across the Himalayas. Shrinking habitats combined with several biotic(जैविक)  factors, along with trapping and poaching pressures in many areas have pushed several of them to near extinction.

"Climate change can highly influence vertical and horizontal distribution of these groups making boundaries of protected areas fuzzy(धुँधली) . The species that can adapt will survive but habitat specialist and species sensitive to temperature will suffer. The major aim of this project is to assess the status of phasinidaes and fringillidaes, particularly globally threatened species found in Himalayan region and evaluate their distribution," said Bilwada Kale, official spokesperson of BNHS. This long-term monitoring project also aims to assess the socio-economic activities of local communities and involve them in conservation efforts and sensitize the local forest department staff.

"This project is part of a long-term programme of BNHS which intends to understand the impact of climate change on biodiversity of the Himalayan region. In order to conserve biodiversity, the local communities play a crucial role and hence their involvement is important for the success of this project," said Girish Jathar, senior scientist (ornithology), BNHS.

The project will contribute in making an inventory of pheasants and finches, documentation of local specific conservation issues, and designing local as well as species specific conservation action plan with the community participation.

The conservation action plan of these sites is a first step towards the protection of the ecosystem which benefits both biodiversity as well as the people in the system.