Climate Change Impact and

Mitigation/Adaptation Strategies in

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve

(NDBR), Central Himalaya, India

DR. R.K. MAIKHURI

G B PANT INSTITUTE OF HIMALAYAN ENVIRONMENT AND

DEVELOPMENT, GARHWAL UNIT, SRINAGAR GARHWAL,

UTTARAKHAND-246174 ,India

Biological, cultural and religious significance of NDBR

The NDBR is covered in Himalayan highlands biogeographic

province (2A) of India and represents a platform to promote

biodiversity conservation in diverse ecosystems and vegetation

types (temperate, sub alpine and alpine)

The area harbours very rare and endangered floral and faunal

elements.

The reserve covers a large number of glaciers feeding the

tributaries of the Holy river Ganges.

Rich in ethnic diversity (Indo-mongoloid i.e.Tolcha, Marchha,

Nitwal, Johari, Darmi and Indo-Aryan) and cultural heritage.

The entire landscape of NDBR referred to as very sacred (land

of Gods and Goddess)- Dev Bhumi.

Map of NDBR

1. Core zone 624.62 sq.km. Part of NDNP

87.50 sq.km. Whole of VFNP

Sub-total 712.10 sq.km

(C2)

2. Buffer zone 1612.12 sq.km. Old NDBR (total area)

1886.78 sq.km.

1786.78 sq.km

VF and adjoining

Kakbhushandi zone

1600.01 sq.km Malari-Laptal zone

149.66 sq.km. Sunderdhunga-Pindari zone

Sub total 5148.57 sq.km.

(BF)

Total 5860.69 sq.km.

Area under core zone and buffer zone in NDBR

District Catchment Before

2000

After

2000

Total

Chamoli Alaknanda - 9 9

Dhauli Ganga 10 15 15

Pithoragarh Gori Ganga 4 6 25

Bageshwar 3 - 3

Total 17 30 47

Number of buffer zone villages in NDBR

Climate Change Impact (A) Agriculture in Buffer Zone and

Adjoining Areas

( I ) Negative impact: Diseases, insects/pests etc. Decline in area under

cultivation of various traditional crops at three points of time.

Hordeum himalayense

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1970-75 1980-85 1990-95

Are

a (

ha)

Greater sensitivity of Hordeum himalayens to increasing

temperature causes reduction in cultivated area and

productivity

The effect of temperature on photosynthetic

characteristic of two species of Hordeum

(H. himalayense grown in high altitude between 2200-3000

masl) and H. vulgare grown at low altitude (300-1500

masl) were compared.

H . himalayense is more sensitive to photosynthesis then

the H. vulgare

At 300c, photosynthesis in H. himalayense was about 25%

less then that of H. vulgare (Joshi & Palni, 2005).

2-Amaranthus spp. vulnerable to climate change –

disease called Hymenia rickervalis (between 1000 –

1800 masl), high temperature and humidity during

1 – 2 week of September which provide favorable

conditions to insect whereas no occurrence of

disease between 2200 – 2800 masl (revealed by

farmers) (Maikhuri et.al.2009,2010).

Homegardens are richer in SOC (+) compared to forests

0

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2

2.4

2.8

RA HG PF OF

So

il o

rgan

ic c

arb

on

(%

)

0-10 cm 10-20 cm 20-50 cm 50-100 cm Mean

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

RA HG PF OF

To

tal

Kja

ldh

al

N (

%)

0-10 cm 10-20 cm 20-50 cm 50-100 cm Mean

0

0.0002

0.0004

0.0006

0.0008

0.001

0.0012

RA HG PF OF

Av

ail

ab

le P

(%

)

0-10 cm 10-20 cm 20-50 cm 50-100 cm Mean

Cow pea and Vigna spp: Important summer mountain grain

legumes facing a problem of fruit setting – due to shift in peak

rainfall.

Phaseolus spp.: soil borne insect (Coleoptera) damage the

crop in early stage of seed germination – increase in

moisture/humidity/milder winters (between 500 – 1500 masl) is

favorable climatic conditions for the life cycle of the insects.

Apple cultivation: Like Kullu valey in H.P., the yield of apple has

declined in the villages due to change in snowfall, the chilling hours

for apple trees are reduced, affecting the time of its bud-break.

(II) Positive impact:

1. Opportunities for cash crops like tomato,

cabbage, chilly, peas, beans and horticultural

crops like prunus, apricot etc.

2. Medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation

B. Transhumance Pastoralism

Decline of livestock population due to various reasons (i.e. conservation

policies, socio-economic changes, decline in carrying capacity and water

resources in the alpine pastures).

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

1970-75 1980-85 1990-95 2005-07

Time Period

No

. of

Liv

esto

ck

S heep

G oa t

C a ttle

Horse/mule

Changes in livestock population between the 1970-75 to 2005-07 period as

reported by the people of Niti valley (10 villages).

Pastoralism also involves important relationship

with low altitude (Tarai–Bhabar tract) forests.

Currently, the lowland experience dry conditions

from Dec. – May (with the exception of winter

storms) and low rainfall adversely affect the growth

and productivity of herbaceous vegetation.

Climate change at high altitude would affect the

production of forage quantity and quality, increase

disease and disease spreading pests, reduce water

availability etc. and would make these communities

to face difficult situations.

Sheep, goat grazing in alpine

meadows

Horse, mule grazing in alpine

meadows

(C) Forest and Timberline Vegetation

Pinus wallichiana and Cedrus deodara (keystone species) used

by buffer zone villages for timber, fuel wood, medicine etc. Decrease in

snowfall and rainfall probably negatively affecting the

regeneration of deodar.

Pinus wallichiana is regenerating and spreading faster than

other species (noticed by us as well as by villagers).

The stem and leaves of Betula utilis growing in association with Abies,

Rhododendron, Taxus (3300 – 3600 masl) damaged severely by

defoliators (moth/insect) since last 10 -12 years and this probably

due to less snowfall and gradual increase in temperature.

Advancement of phenophases (flowering, leafing & fruiting time).

Rhododendron arboretum, Allium stracheyi, A. humile,

Meconopsis aculeate and Saussurea obvallata & some prominent

wild edibles i.e Rubus ellepticus, Rosa webbiana and R sericea.

Natural forest stand Betula utilis

Disease caused on the bark of Betula

a

d c

b

Single tree of Betula utilis

Bark of Betula utilis

D. Alpine Meadows

The alpine landscape in Niti and Mana valleys is eroded

due to glacier melting, avalanches and landslides,

which favour the spread/expansion of Polygonum

spp. fast growing weeds.

The other successful invaders found in these

habitats includes species such as Lonicera and

Ephedra.

The transformation of an alpine meadows has far

reaching impacts on the livelihood of the traditional

transhumant communities. The alpine meadows of NDBR

could also be impacted by rising temperature that would

promote the upward migration of woody plants from sub-

alpine and temperate forests.

Rate of retreat of some important glaciers in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserves (NDBR), India

S. No Name of the Glaciers

Rate of retreat (m/yr)

1. Milam Glacier 16.7

2. Pindari Glacier 23.5

3. Poting Glacier 5.0

4. Shankalpa Glacier 23.0

5. Satopanth Glaceir (Bhagirathi glacier complex) 12.0

6. Dunagiari Glacier 5.1

7. Burphu 3.0

8. Bhrigupanth Glacier 11.0

9. Trisul Glacier 10.0

10. Betharti 8.0

11. East Kamet Glacier 5.0

Source : Nainwal et. al. (2008), Mukhophadayay (2006).

E. Tourism

Climate change could generate both some serious

problems but also opportunities for the tourism sector.

A wider appreciation of the impact of a leisure culture

increasing numbers of people are remaining in buffer zone of

the reserve for much longer duration (i.e. in Badrinath, Mana,

Hemkund Saheb, Valley of Flowers, Niti, Tapovan etc.).

Tourism in the reserve may provide better income

generation opportunities as other primary and secondary

production sectors (i.e. agriculture, livestock, NTFPs

collections) decline.

Culture of the traditional communities is itself open to

pressure which have uncertain outcomes.

Gandhi Sarover (completely dried) Vasuki Tal (water volume decreased)

Year Total number of

pilgrims/tourists visited

Number of pilgrims

expanded their stay

Percentage shift

2005 245476 12300 -

2006 274489 16800 36.5%

2007 390156 23670 40.8%

2008 485464 29230 23.4%

2009 555585 34900 19.3%

Number of pilgrims expanded their stay as a tourists.

Due to changes in phenophases (advance/delayed flowering/ leafing/ fruiting) as well as decline in population/ abundance of many medicinal plants has negative impacts on THCS as revealed by local healers. The time/collection period of MAPs are strongly linked with spiritual values which enhance the efficacy of the drugs as per the local healers.

F. Climate change impact on medicinal plants based

traditional health care systems (THCS).

Medicinal Plant Species

1 Aconitum heterophyllum (A) 6 Picrorhiza kurrooa (A)

2 Angelica glauca (A) 7 Podophyllum hexandrum (A)

3 Arnebia benthami (D) 8 Saussurea costus (D)

4 Dactylorhiza hatagirea (A) 9 Saussurea ovallata (A)

5 Nardostachyas grandiflora (A) 10 Swertia chirata (D)

Phenophases:- A- Advance, D- Delayed (Unpublished)

People’s perceptions on climate change in Nanda Devi BR

A. Has the climate changed? B. Increase in temperature, C. Decrease in snowfall, D. Decrease in rainfall

/shift in rainfall, E. Shift in flowering/fruiting (phenophases), F. Low deposition/accumulation of snow, G.

Incidence of crop and livestock diseases, H. Increased frequency and intensity of landslides/cloud burst, I.

Reduced water availability in rangelands for livestock, J. Retreat of glaciers

*Total no. of respondents 350 (200 respondents of 50-80 years or above and 150 respondents of

20-50 years) belonging to Niti, and Mana Valley (Maikhuri et.al.2009,2010)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2 AG1 AG2

A B C D E F G H I J

Indicators

% o

f R

esp

on

den

tsYes No Neutral

AG1- Age group (20-50) AG2- Age group (50-80 and above)

In six valleys the co2 savings

has been estimated as 1445 ton

co2 and in terms of cost of fuel

saving to be US $ 522,800. Hence,

pack animals can play an

important role in reducing the

emission of greenhouse gases

such as co2. Although construction of roads is a

top priority for people from such

remote and far-flung regions,

incentives should be there to

encourage the use of pack animals

for transportation.

Source: ( Nehal & Maikhuri, 2008)

Mitigation & Adaptation strategy

A. Use of pack animals in reducing CO2 emission

B. Conservation of wild biodiversity:

strengthening of the protected area

network

We have a long history of planned

conservation(13.4% of its geographical area is under

PAs network), our knowledge of people, biodiversity,

vulnerability, and their linkages is very limited.

Therefore, participatory research/ management

could turn people's callous/ negative attitudes to

positive attitudes towards protected areas as well as

improving scientific knowledge related to potential

uses of biodiversity for coping and mitigation

(Maikhuri et al. 2000).

Turmeric cultivation

C. Rehabilitation of degraded forests and abandoned lands through agro-forestry &restoration ecology approaches ( Maikhuri et.al.2001,2003)

The co2 content in the atmosphere could be decreased by

bringing back carbon into biomass and soil through

rehabilitations of degraded lands

People participation in land

rehabilitation–carrying seedlings

for plantation

A view of Amaranth stalk used to protect saplings from snowfall

planted under rehabilitation programme in high altitude areas

Close view of Amaranth stalk

Total

covered

area 6 ha

Adoption

Total covered area 2 ha

D. Cultivation/conservation and collection of medicinal and

aromatic plants. A total of 14 training programme were organized and 548

participants were trained (Maikhuri et.al.2005, 2007)

Large scale cultivation of

Picrorrhiza kurrooa Large scale cultivation of

Arnebia benthamii

Medicinal plant cultivation and nursery

development at Tolma (2800 m asl) Medicinal plant cultivation and nursery

development at Suraithota (2300 m asl)

Value addition to the medicinal plants (Allium spp., Angelica

glauca, Pleurospermum spp) locally through semi-processing

facilities as a spice and condiments as eco-tourism products.

The transhumance activities

gradually changing into permanent

settlement in the low altitude areas.

Pastoral activities has declined

and people particularly young

generations migrating to plains for

job/employment.

E. Transhumance and Pastoralism

activities

F. Bioprospecting and Value addition of NTFPs

Interest in wild bioresources has grown

significantly with the increasing awareness in

linking forest conservation with rural development.

More than twenty five (25) wild edible plant

species/ NTFPs were screened for making a variety

of edible and other products (i.e. Jam, Jelly, Sauce,

Squash, Pickles etc.) as a source of income

(Maikhuri et.al.2007,2009,2010).

Sustainable harvesting of some potential wild

edibles has been worked out. A total of 405

participants were trained.

Various wild edible -

products

G. Promotion of traditional crop cultivation and

organic farming

People inhabited between 2200-2800 masl in buffer

zone villages, their agricultural practices being

transformed into agro-pastoral and agro-

horticultural activities.

Pragmatic multidisciplinary research efforts are

needed to develop farming systems and select

appropriate crops in view of future climate change

so that adequate supplies of food and economic

security, conservation of traditional crop wealth,

sustainability of production systems, and

environmental conservation are assured.

H. Adoption of off-season vegetable cultivation under

protected condition (Maikhuri et.al.2009,2010)

I. Medicinal plant based traditional health care systems

Some plants has been identified and used by the local healers as a substitute to cure various ailments in place of many well known MAPs used over generations.

Medicinal plants Plants used as substitute+Other

ingredients Disease treated

Aconitum heterophyllum Cuminum cyminum+Kala namak Stomachache

Angelica glauca Allium sativum+Hajma churan Gastric

Arnebia benthami Lyonia ovalifolia+ mustard oil Baldness

Dactylorhiza hatagirea Ageratum conyzoides+Ghee Cuts and Wounds

Nardostachyas

grandiflora

Datura stramonium+ mustard oil Rheumatism

Picrorhiza kurrooa Raphanus sativus+Sugar Jaundice

Podophyllum

hexandrum

Hippophae salicifolia+Sainda

namak

Cancer

Saussurea costus Lyonia ovalifolia+Cow urine Itching

Saussurea ovallata Rhododendron arboreum + Meesri Cardiac disorder

Swertia chirata Berberis lycium +Honey Diabetes

J. Demonstration and Participatory Action Research

Centre

MALETHA

TAPOVAN

TRIYUGINARAYAN

Established demonstration and

participatory action research and training

centre at three different locations to

develop capacities of the various

stakeholders in the field of climate and

eco-friendly technologies, conservation

education and climate change impact

related issues. Since last 8 years a total

of 3225 participants were trained.

K. Capacity building in the field of climate and eco- friendly

technology i.e. vermi-composting /bio-composting and vermiwash

L. Eco-tourism an option for biodiversity conservation and

socio-economic development.

۩Promoting eco-tourism in the buffer zone villages as a

potential option for income generation and environment

management

Improving income through marketing of eco-

tourism products

Income generation through home stay

accommodation

M. Institutional cooperation, coordination, collaboration and capacity

building to address climate change in various sectors

۩ Research and Development institutions with significant

infrastructure and scientific/ technical capacity.

So far not much focused on climate change research.

Inadequate capacity and skill.

Assumed and projected scenarios

for the state of natural resources

and socio-economic conditions of

NDBR for the period till 2029 is

presented in detail in the

assessment report sponsored by

UNESCO-base line for global

change in mountain regions

(GLOCHAMORE) research strategy

FUTURE RESEARCH

Monitor biodiversity and productivity of alpine meadows and shift of sub-

alpine meadow-forest boundary as signal of climate change.

Monitor spread of invasive species in BRs and adjoining areas and develop

early detection mechanism (management strategies on the landscape level)

Documentation of TEK as well as people knowledge ad experiences about

the pattern of climate change and its impact on forest, agriculture, livestock

and humans through participatory approaches so as to provide possible

indicator of change.

Effect of climate on seasonal variability and reliability and climate extremes

affecting agriculture production, forestry and water resources.

Interface with policy issues, administration, local communities and research

and academic institutions regarding the broad aspects of adaptation options and

livelihood.

Establish permanent sample plots in different forest types along an elevational

gradients for effective and comprehensive monitoring programme to track the

response of both at community and species levels to changing climate.

Capacity building of the researchers/scientists in the field of climate change

and modeling studies.

Develop appropriate weather and meteorological stations on important and

sensitive biomes and ecosystems type with regional projections of climate

parameters for developing regional climate models.

Some peer reviewed International research publications

support this presentation

Maikhuri, R.K., R.L. Semwal, K.G. Rao and K.G. Saxena (1997). Rehabilitation of degraded community

lands for sustainable development in Himalaya: A case study in Garhwal Himalaya. International

Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 4: 192-203.

Maikhuri, R.K., R.L. Semwal, K.S. Rao, K. Singh and K.G. Saxena (2000). Growth and ecological impacts of

traditional agroforestry tree species in Central Himalaya, India. Agroforestry Systems 48: 257-272.

Maikhuri, R.K., S. Nautiyal, K.S. Rao, K. Chandrasehar, K.G. Saxena and R. Gavali (2000). Analysis and

resolution of protected area-people conflicts in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India. Environment

Conservation 27: 43-53.

Maikhuri, R.K., U. Rana, K.S. Rao, S. Nautiyal and K.G. Saxena (2001). Promoting eco-tourism in the buffer

zone areas of Nanda Devi biosphere reserve: An option to resolve people-policy conflict. International

Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 7: 333-343.

Maikhuri, R.K., K.S. Rao and R.L. Semwal (2001). Changing scenario of Himalayan agroecosystems: loss

of agrobiodiversity, an indicator of environ-mental change in Central Himalaya, India. The

Environmentalist 20: 23-39.

Maikhuri, R.K., S. Nautiyal, K.S. Rao and K.G. Saxena (2001). Conservation policy-people conflicts: a case

study from Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (a world heritage site), India. Forest Policy and Economics 2:

335-365.

Nautiyal, S., R.K. Maikhuri, K.S. Rao and K.G. Saxena (2001). Medicinal plant resources in Nanda Devi

Biosphere Reserve in the Central Himalaya, India. Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants 8(4): 47-64.

Maikhuri, R.K., K.S. Rao and K.G. Saxena (2004). Bioprospecting of wild edible for rural development in

Central Himalayan mountains of India. Mountain Research and Development, 24(2): 110-113.

Farooquee, Nehal, A., Tarun K. Budal, R.K. Maikhuri and S.P. Singh (2008). Contribution of pack animals in

reducing CO2 emission in Central Himalaya, India. Current Science, 95(1): 59-63.

Acknowledgement

G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan

Environment and Development & I

myself (Dr. R.K. Maikhuri, scientist)

is very thankful to UNESCO for

providing full financial support for

participation in this conference.