Safeguarding Himalayan biodiversity Herculean task

Shimla, January 7

To protect highly endangered species, ranging from the elusive endangered pheasant western tragopan to the musk deer and the Himalayan tahr in the Great Himalayan National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site in the north-west Himalayas, is a Herculean task for a forest official.

Spread over 90,540 ha

• The Great Himalayan National Park is spread over 90,540 hectares.
• It comprises the upper mountain glacial and snow melt water sources of several rivers, and the catchments of water supplies that are vital to millions of downstream users.

Park authorities fear for their vulnerability to poaching from human settlements in the buffer zone known as an eco-zone.

Roshan Chaudhary, who retired as Deputy Ranger on December 31 last year, had been this cumbersome job for the past 33 years of service. He would leave for patrolling in the morning and return at the sunset. And when there was a tip-off on the movement of poachers, he would camp there for several nights at a stretch to conserve the Western Himalayan biodiversity.

Besides the endangered species of animals, his job was to protect a host of native avifauna and mammal species and a large number of medicinal plants.

“Human settlements pose the greatest threat to park fauna and flora species, besides illicit felling,” says Chaudhary. According to him, other threats to the park include agriculture, traditional grazing and hydropower development. He adds most of the trekking routes are closely regulated by camera trapping devices. Locals often venture into forests in groups to collect expensive herbs. They stay for weeks to collect them. — IANS