Human Dimensions of Conservation in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve: The Need for Conflict Prevention

Krishna, Akhouri Pramod; Chhetri, Santosh; Singh, Kamla

doi:10.1659/0276-4741(2002)022[0328:hdocit]2.0.co;2

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The rise in population with demand on land for farming, increased animal husbandry practices, construction of roadways, hydel power stations and allied works, army personnel garrisoned at alpine locations and lately the tourist influx have collectively resulted in the building up of considerable pressure on the availability of Rhododendron species (Singh et al 2003). The major threats to Rhododendrons are deforestation and unsustainable extraction for firewood and incense by local people (Krishna et al 2002). Due to the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids, Rhododendrons make excellent firewood that burn even under wet conditions (Singh et al 2003) Rhododendrons form dominating species all along the cool temperate, subalpine and alpine zones in the Sikkim Himalaya.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of impact of climate change on Rhododendrons in Sikkim Himalayas using Maxent modelling: limitations and challenges

Kumar

2012

Biodivers Conserv

129

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Integration of climate change aspects in biodiversity management is one the fundamental requirements for long term biodiversity conservation. The explicit modelling of the biodiversity in response to climate change is the primary requirement for making any adaptation strategy. With Himalayan ecosystem in mind and Rhododendron as the species of concern, the current paper models the biogeography of the genera Rhododendron which are found intermixed in their spatial distribution in Sikkim Himalayas, mainly tree varieties, in response to climate change. The modelling algorithm used in the paper is Maxent (maximum entropy) which has estimated the target probability distribution by finding the probability distribution of Maxent. After projection of modelled bioclimatic layers to future climate scenario of SRES-A1B in Maxent, it was found that the suitable bioclimatic envelope for Rhododendron has shrunk considerably under the envisaged climate change scenario. The results on extent and locations of Rhododendron distributions in both the current and future climate scenarios provide a deep insight to the conservation planners about the kind of strategy that needs to be adopted for conserving Rhododendrons in the face of climate change. The challenges observed while doing this analysis highlight the gaps and set the agenda for further research to make the predictions of climate change driven impact on biodiversity scientifically more robust.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of impact of climate change on Rhododendrons in Sikkim Himalayas using Maxent modelling: limitations and challenges

Kumar

2012

Biodivers Conserv

129

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“…Like many biodiversity-rich landscapes in the world, the KL is also faced with numerous local and transboundary challenges, both natural and anthropogenic, which threaten its rich biological diversity. The evaluation of threats being faced by the biodiversity of the KL shows that rapid population growth has led to widespread logging, habitat fragmentation and extensive clearing of forests, and grasslands for cultivation and large scale infrastructural development, including construction of highways and large dams (Gurung, 2006, Grumbine and Pandit, 2013, Krishna et al., 2002, Pandit and Grumbine, 2012). Only one study in the KL assessed the disturbance indices of threatened herbs in Sikkim, which highlighted human movement and NTFP collection as top conservation threats (Pradhan and Badola, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant diversity of the Kangchenjunga Landscape, Eastern Himalayas

et al. 2019

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The Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL) in the Eastern Himalayas is a transboundary complex shared by Bhutan, India, and Nepal. It forms a part of the ‘Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot’ and is one of the biologically richest landscapes in the Eastern Himalayas. In this paper, we use secondary information to review and consolidate the knowledge on the flora of the KL. We reviewed 215 journal articles, analysed the history of publications on the flora of the KL, their publication pattern in terms of temporal and spatial distribution and key research areas. Our review shows that the landscape has a long history of botanical research that dates back to the 1840s and progressed remarkably after the 1980s. Most of the studies have been carried out in India, followed by Nepal and Bhutan. The majority of these have been vegetation surveys, followed by research on ethnobotanical aspects and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). This paper describes the forest types and characteristic species of the KL and details the species richness, diversity and dominant families of seed plants. A total of 5198 species of seed plants belonging to 1548 genera and 216 families have been recorded from the landscape, including 3860 dicots, 1315 monocots and 23 gymnosperms. Among families, Orchidaceae is the most diversely represented family in terms of species richness. This paper also draws attention to the threatened and endemic flora of the KL, including 44 species that are threatened at national and global level and 182 species that are endemic. Finally, the paper reviews the major challenges facing the KL, the conservation efforts and practices that are currently in place and recommends systematic and comprehensive floral surveys, particularly long-term data collection and monitoring and transboundary collaboration, to address the existing knowledge gaps on floral diversity of the KL.

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“…As with some other reserves (Krishna et al . 2002; Lü et al . 2003), BBR has been more successful in achieving conservation, scientific research and education goals than economic and social aspects of sustainability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2000, 2001; Krishna et al . 2002; Negi & Nautiyal 2003; Sundberg 2003). These have sometimes led to undermining of conservation efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of bioregionalism in Bookmark Biosphere Reserve, Australia

Pfueller

2008

Envir. Conserv.

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SUMMARYBioregionalism claims that interaction between the biophysical and human components of a region generates place-based environmental and social understanding and concern, which lead to locally shared power and responsibility in cooperative land management and governance. The Man and the Biosphere Programme's Seville Strategy calls for local community participation in a multi-stakeholder ecosystem-based approach to conservation, but it is unclear if tenets of bioregionalism play a role in its implementation. Bookmark Biosphere Reserve (BBR) in Australia has substantially succeeded in scientific research and monitoring, conservation, environmental education and sustainable land-use initiatives. Aspects of bioregionalism (for example recognition of the region's unique identity, local community sense of responsibility, integration of local knowledge, presence of motivated local leaders and cooperative community-based management through a network of groups) have contributed to success. Other crucial factors were funding, technical and scientific information and support from government agencies, leadership from members of state and federal government and from private philanthropic foundations, community capacity-building for sustainable land management and availability of volunteers from outside the region. Nevertheless, conflict arose in relation to governance, originating from the recognized difficulties of reconciling a diversity of allegiances, motivations, management styles and personalities, and resulted in division of BBR into two, one section being managed largely through the private sector and community volunteers, the other (renamed Riverland Biosphere Reserve) coordinated by a committee with more diverse affiliations. Bioregionalism can play a role in biosphere reserves but motivations and resources of external public and private organizations are also vital. Avoiding weaknesses of bioregional approaches requires greater attention to social aspects of environmental management. Governance structures and processes need to be inclusive, flexible and equitable in decision making and access to funds. They should support both agency and community-initiated activities and include conflict resolution mechanisms.

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Human Dimensions of Conservation in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve: The Need for Conflict Prevention

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 10 publications

References 3 publications

Assessment of impact of climate change on Rhododendrons in Sikkim Himalayas using Maxent modelling: limitations and challenges

Assessment of impact of climate change on Rhododendrons in Sikkim Himalayas using Maxent modelling: limitations and challenges

Plant diversity of the Kangchenjunga Landscape, Eastern Himalayas

Role of bioregionalism in Bookmark Biosphere Reserve, Australia

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