The Himalayan region has been studied comparatively less than various other mountain ecosystems in the world. Due to rising threat of climate change and its impacts on the ecology and environment of the Himalaya, there have been efforts in recent times to gather scientific information on various aspects, most importantly on biodiversity. This need has now been met with the release of ENVIS Bulletin Bibiliography on the Fauna and Microflora of the Indian Himalayan Region. The bibiliography was among the publications released at the start of the two-day annual research seminar at the Wildlife Institute of India.
According to the WII director VB Mathur, the Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Centre established at WII in 1997 deals with general wildlife matters and specific protected area issues. Demand for scientific information on environmental condition particularly of biodiversity has been rising in different regions of the world. While information is scanty for poorly studied regions, there is substantial information for some regions but most of it is not readily available as either it is widely scattered or largely unpublished. “Much of the climate change investigations around the world have revealed that there are shifts in distribution range of species or changes in life history strategies behaviour. Under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE), the WII operated the task force on fauna and micro flora by the Department of Science and Technology. Conducting literature survey on faunal and micro floral groups, the team prepared the upto date knowledge report based on more than 4,500 references used for this bibiliography of the fauna and micro fauna of the Indian Himalayan region which will aid students, researchers, wildlife managers, conservationists and policy makers interested in the conservation of biodiversity in the Indian Himalayan Region,” stated Mathur.
Another publication released on the occasion on the Evaluation of MHC Gene Heterozygosity in Isolated Tiger Population based on a four-year project ascertained that the tiger populations in India have been exposed to various anthropogenic influences that potentially affect their genetic structure. A small and isolated population faces an uncertain future from the impact of a variety of potential threats, including climate change, human encroachment (habitat degradation) and infectious diseases. Development of non-invasive techniques have enhanced scope for gathering data from natural populations in the past two decades. These techniques involve the extraction of DNA from materials such as scat, shed hair and remains of dead animals. A total of 138 samples were collected from various tiger reserves of India—the Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Bandipur and Wayanad tiger reserves for MHC gene standardization which revealed that there is moderate genetic diversity in these tiger populations. The genetic diversity of the Ranthambore tiger population was found to be a bit lower than that of Bandhavgarh and Bandipur–Wayanad populations which might be due to the loss or weakness of connectivity of Ranthambore with other tiger reserves.
The publication ‘Status and Distribution of Medicinal Plants in Various Forest Divisions of Garhwal Region, Uttarakhand’ released on the occasion details the medicinal and aromatic flora in Garhwal also making recommendations for conservation and optimum use of areas for specific medicinal cultivation. Apart from speeches by senior officials, technical sessions on varied topics were held later during the day.
