90
210 million people of the region and goods and services to 1.3 billion people living
downstream, as well as regulating the regional and global climate and hydrological
regimes (Chettri et al. 2008; Sharma 2016; Sharma and Shrestha 2016).
Within Himalayan region, the area encompassing Indian portion, IHR (between
27°–38°N and 72°–89°E), includes parts of trans, northwest, west, central and east
Himalaya, covering approx. 533,604 km
2
area with 2500 km length and 240 km
width with large altitudinal range (200–8000 m). The region represents 21 forest
types with tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, alpine and sub-alpine vegetation. More
than 41.5% of its geographical area is under forest cover representing one-third of
forest cover and nearly half (47%) of the “very good” forest cover category of the
country. It comprises of 7 Biosphere reserves, 28 National parks, 97 Wildlife sanctuaries, 36 Conservation reserves and 9 Ramsar sites (up to 5/2017). The flora
includes about 8000 species of angiosperm (40% endemic), 44 species of gymnosperm (16% endemic), 600 species of pteridophytes (25% endemic), 1737 species
of bryophytes (33% endemic), 1159 species of lichen (11% endemic) and 6900
species of fungi (27% endemic) according to Singh et al. (1996). These include
some 1748 species of medicinal plants, 675 species of wild edible plants, 118 species of medicinal plants yielding essential oils, 279 species of fodder and 155 sacred
plants including 121 Red Data Book species (Samant et al. 1998).
3 Climate Change in Himalayan Region
According to Stocker et al. (2013), the global mean surface temperature has
increased by 0.84 °C since 1880 which has substantial ecological, economic and
social implications (Yi et al. 2017; Ren and Shrestha 2017). The impact of global
warming was first observed in the tropical regions (Mahlstein and Knutti 2011).
However, subsequent studies (Shrestha et al. 2012; Tripathi and Singh 2013; IPCC
2013) have shown that the Himalaya is among the most vulnerable regions as warming in the region is greater than the global average rate. Mountainous and highelevated regions, such as the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and high altitude regions of
Himalaya are vulnerable to the CC and seem to have warmed more and sooner than
the rest of the globe (Beniston 2003; Stocker et al. 2013). Higher altitude ecosystems are considered most sensitive to CC due to pristine ecological conditions and
narrow distribution pattern of biodiversity elements. Climatic variations can have
adverse impacts on agricultural yields, livestock production system, and water
resources with significant implications for food security, human health and biodiversity in the region (INCCA 2010). It has been reported that temperature in the
Himalayan region has increased by 1.5 °C as compared to an average increase of
0.84 °C globally in the last century (Hansen et al. 2006; Shrestha et al. 2012).
However, most of these studies are based on HKH. Other studies (Chaudhary and
Bawa 2011; Sharma and Shrestha 2016; Devkota et al. 2016) have also reported that
the entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to CC, and temperature rise might be
rapid in the HKH. Himalayan mountains have been exposed to increasing intensity
S. K. Nandi et al.
210 million people of the region and goods and services to 1.3 billion people living
downstream, as well as regulating the regional and global climate and hydrological
regimes (Chettri et al. 2008; Sharma 2016; Sharma and Shrestha 2016).
Within Himalayan region, the area encompassing Indian portion, IHR (between
27°–38°N and 72°–89°E), includes parts of trans, northwest, west, central and east
Himalaya, covering approx. 533,604 km
2
area with 2500 km length and 240 km
width with large altitudinal range (200–8000 m). The region represents 21 forest
types with tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, alpine and sub-alpine vegetation. More
than 41.5% of its geographical area is under forest cover representing one-third of
forest cover and nearly half (47%) of the “very good” forest cover category of the
country. It comprises of 7 Biosphere reserves, 28 National parks, 97 Wildlife sanctuaries, 36 Conservation reserves and 9 Ramsar sites (up to 5/2017). The flora
includes about 8000 species of angiosperm (40% endemic), 44 species of gymnosperm (16% endemic), 600 species of pteridophytes (25% endemic), 1737 species
of bryophytes (33% endemic), 1159 species of lichen (11% endemic) and 6900
species of fungi (27% endemic) according to Singh et al. (1996). These include
some 1748 species of medicinal plants, 675 species of wild edible plants, 118 species of medicinal plants yielding essential oils, 279 species of fodder and 155 sacred
plants including 121 Red Data Book species (Samant et al. 1998).
3 Climate Change in Himalayan Region
According to Stocker et al. (2013), the global mean surface temperature has
increased by 0.84 °C since 1880 which has substantial ecological, economic and
social implications (Yi et al. 2017; Ren and Shrestha 2017). The impact of global
warming was first observed in the tropical regions (Mahlstein and Knutti 2011).
However, subsequent studies (Shrestha et al. 2012; Tripathi and Singh 2013; IPCC
2013) have shown that the Himalaya is among the most vulnerable regions as warming in the region is greater than the global average rate. Mountainous and highelevated regions, such as the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and high altitude regions of
Himalaya are vulnerable to the CC and seem to have warmed more and sooner than
the rest of the globe (Beniston 2003; Stocker et al. 2013). Higher altitude ecosystems are considered most sensitive to CC due to pristine ecological conditions and
narrow distribution pattern of biodiversity elements. Climatic variations can have
adverse impacts on agricultural yields, livestock production system, and water
resources with significant implications for food security, human health and biodiversity in the region (INCCA 2010). It has been reported that temperature in the
Himalayan region has increased by 1.5 °C as compared to an average increase of
0.84 °C globally in the last century (Hansen et al. 2006; Shrestha et al. 2012).
However, most of these studies are based on HKH. Other studies (Chaudhary and
Bawa 2011; Sharma and Shrestha 2016; Devkota et al. 2016) have also reported that
the entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to CC, and temperature rise might be
rapid in the HKH. Himalayan mountains have been exposed to increasing intensity
S. K. Nandi et al.