The most significant and rapid impact of climate change is being experienced in the Himalayan region with glaciers in the Himalayas receding at a faster rate than glaciers elsewhere in the world. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) ecodevelopment planning and participatory management department head Ruchi Badola said this at the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) regional media briefing workshop on challenges and opportunities in reporting on the Himalayan ecosystem at the Forest Research Institute (FRI).
Addressing journalists from five Himalayan region States- Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, Badola said that with various rivers being dammed in the Himalayan region for power generation, dams present the biggest challenge in management of forests and environment. Stating that extreme rainfalls and droughts are likely to increase in the region, she pointed out that about 30 per cent habitat of the snow leopard may be lost due to shifting treeline and consequent shrinking of the alpine zone due to climate change.
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) scientist DP Dobhal said that the Himalayan region is experiencing rapid recession of glaciers like all glaciated regions of the world. He opined that this was a cyclic phenomenon with the earth already having passed through three ice ages followed by warmer periods.
CSE research and advocacy executive director Anumita Roychowdhury pointed out that hilly regions have witnessed some of the highest urban growth rates as in the case of Arunachal Pradesh which has a decadal growth of 101 per cent. However, planning for mountain regions should be suited to the local conditions rather than being replication of systems in cities in the plains. Referring to tourism in mountain regions, she said that it is common for tourists to outnumber locals in leh, ladakh. However, development targeted at tourists instead of locals is compounding the anomalies in such regions. Clean diesel, effective use of technology and stoves that emit lesser smoke are necessary to mitigate air pollution in mountainous regions, she added.
Managing editor of Down to Earth magazine, Richard Mahapatra said that most stories which may be considered local in the Himalayan region have some global connection. Being the world’s youngest mountain range with landslides and other natural disasters occurring frequently, the Himalayan region is an extremely vulnerable region. “Two factors have made this region more fragile- climate change related extreme weather events and uncontrolled efforts to ‘develop’ this region with an abundance of roads, dams, cities and buildings compounding the problems in this region,” he said. FRI director Savita, RK Mukerji of Technology, Advocacy and Research Network, editor of Itanagar based Dawn-lit Post, Dakter Esse and others expressed their views on the media and aspects of the Himalayas and environment.
The most significant and rapid impact of climate change is being experienced in the Himalayan region with glaciers in the Himalayas receding at a faster rate than glaciers elsewhere in the world. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) ecodevelopment planning and participatory management department head Ruchi Badola said this at the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) regional media briefing workshop on challenges and opportunities in reporting on the Himalayan ecosystem at the Forest Research Institute (FRI).
Addressing journalists from five Himalayan region States- Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, Badola said that with various rivers being dammed in the Himalayan region for power generation, dams present the biggest challenge in management of forests and environment. Stating that extreme rainfalls and droughts are likely to increase in the region, she pointed out that about 30 per cent habitat of the snow leopard may be lost due to shifting treeline and consequent shrinking of the alpine zone due to climate change.
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) scientist DP Dobhal said that the Himalayan region is experiencing rapid recession of glaciers like all glaciated regions of the world. He opined that this was a cyclic phenomenon with the earth already having passed through three ice ages followed by warmer periods.
CSE research and advocacy executive director Anumita Roychowdhury pointed out that hilly regions have witnessed some of the highest urban growth rates as in the case of Arunachal Pradesh which has a decadal growth of 101 per cent. However, planning for mountain regions should be suited to the local conditions rather than being replication of systems in cities in the plains. Referring to tourism in mountain regions, she said that it is common for tourists to outnumber locals in leh, ladakh. However, development targeted at tourists instead of locals is compounding the anomalies in such regions. Clean diesel, effective use of technology and stoves that emit lesser smoke are necessary to mitigate air pollution in mountainous regions, she added.
Managing editor of Down to Earth magazine, Richard Mahapatra said that most stories which may be considered local in the Himalayan region have some global connection. Being the world’s youngest mountain range with landslides and other natural disasters occurring frequently, the Himalayan region is an extremely vulnerable region. “Two factors have made this region more fragile- climate change related extreme weather events and uncontrolled efforts to ‘develop’ this region with an abundance of roads, dams, cities and buildings compounding the problems in this region,” he said. FRI director Savita, RK Mukerji of Technology, Advocacy and Research Network, editor of Itanagar based Dawn-lit Post, Dakter Esse and others expressed their views on the media and aspects of the Himalayas and environment.