The total 19,600 endangered species of flora and fauna in the country, the Himalayan region is home to 133 which are passing through a critical phase due to changing weather patterns and massive deforestation, scientists warned at a seminar in Almora on Wednesday.
"Scientists
maintained that if the global warming trends in the Himalayan region remain as
they are, several flora species of fungus, algae and lichen besides
fauna species like bharal, snow leopards and musk deer will disappear from
Himalayan region," R S Rawal, Director of G B Pant National Institute of
Environment and Sustainable Development that hosted the event said.
Massive
deforestation, rampant conversion of agricultural land for construction
purposes and the ever growing concrete jungle were held by scientists as the
principal culprits for the changing weather patterns in the region, he said.
Flora and
fauna in the 2,400 km long Himalayan range are passing through a critical phase
as global warming is affecting the regional eco system most, he said.
Arun Kumar,
Director of Dehradun-based Dolphin Institute said that the depleting number of
bharal and musk deer in their habitats in the Himalayan region is a problem on
which the new researchers in the field need to focus.
Scientists
from several institutes across the country took part in the seminar including
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Nature Conservation Foundation,
Pantnagar University, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu (Nepal), IIT Roorkee,
Central Agricultural University Sikkim and BSIP Lucknow.
Making a
special reference to the research paper presented by P R Ojaswai, Director of
Dehradun based Indian institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Rawal said
Ojaswai claimed that global warming has started affecting crops in the region
as an increase of one degree in temperature has lead to a decrease in wheat
production ranging between 15 to 20 per cent.
source by:TOI
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