The Kailash Mansarovar landscape needs to be preserved and managed through trans-boundary cooperation. Noted historian, writer and naturalist Professor Shekhar Pathak said this while delivering a talk on Kailash-people, nature and culture at the Wildlife Institute of India on the occasion of Himalaya Day here on Wednesday. Addressing the gathering, he spoke of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and the natural and cultural values of this landscape. Holding significance for the Hindus as the abode of lord Shiva, it holds religious importance also for Jains and Buddhists. Three of the world's major rivers—the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra—arise in the Himalayas. While the Indus and the Brahmaputra rise near Mount Kailash in Tibet, the Ganga rises in Uttarakhand. Their combined drainage basin is home to some 600 million people. The indigenous people living in eastern Uttarakhand, western Nepal and southern Tibet and the rich and diverse flora and fauna are all an integral part of this landscape that needs to be conserved and managed through trans-boundary cooperation. “In this era of rapid transformation, we need to understand and mitigate the loss of Himalayan ecosystem,” said Pathak.
WII director VB Mathur said that the institute has been observing the Himalaya Day since 2011 and spoke on the aspects of the H Himalayas and the occasion. WII dean PK Mathur said that the governments of India, China and Nepal had come together to work towards the common conservation and sustainable development goals in the Kailash Sacred landscape that is coordinated by ICIMOD.
The unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some plant species said the institute’s senior scientist GS Rawat. These facts reflect that the Himalayas have been soul of the country by virtue of cultural, ethnic, ecological and economical values. It has not been guarding country’s border only but constantly serving its human by enriching soil, air, water etc.
Unfortunately importance of Himalayas was always underestimated for its integral role in overall development of the nation.
Deterioration of Himalayan system due to inadequate attention has threatened the nation’s life supporting resources with the status of forest, water, air soil becoming alarmingly grim.