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Protecting the Himalayas
- The ministerial declaration issued by India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh addressing food, water, energy, and biodiversity concerns in the Himalayan region is a welcome initiative to protect this biodiversity-rich mountain range.
- The task before the signatories is to build institutions that will pursue research and share knowledge, beginning with a centre for the study of climate change.
- Sustained effort is necessary to achieve the key goals: access to reliable and affordable energy; food and water security; demarcation of connected conservation spaces; and sustainable use of biodiversity for poverty alleviation.
- The Himalayan region includes many climatic systems: tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, and alpine.
- Himalayan biodiversity provides a resource base for an estimated 80 million people, mostly subsistence farmers and pastoral communities.
- The Himalayas form part of global natural heritage, and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change must provide substantial funding for research, capacity-building, and preservation.
- It is also important to harness traditional knowledge and get local communities to participate in conservation programmes. A good example of this is the protection plan for snow leopards in India's Spiti valley.
- The Himalaya protection programme can achieve even more, if Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan join the initiative.
