Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Approximately 60% of the ecosystem services examined during the MA
are being degraded or used unsustainably including food, freshwater, air
and water purifi cation, and the regulation of regional and local climate and
natural hazards. As a result, the focus has been gradually widening from
biodiversity conservation to management and sustenance of the ecosystems
for adaptation to change on which are dependent for goods and services
(TEEB 2010).
The Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) is one of the most dynamic
ecosystems in the world with a rich and remarkable biodiversity (Pei
1995, Guangwei 2002, Chettri et al. 2008a). Stretched over more than four
million square kilometers, the HKH includes Bhutan and Nepal in their
entirety and parts of six other countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China,
India, Myanmar and Pakistan. The region is endowed with a high level of
endemism, diverse gene pools, species and ecosystems of global importance
(Mittermeier et al. 2004). Numerous critical ecoregions of global importance
can be found in this region (Olson and Dinerstein 2002). As a result, the HKH
have been highlighted in many global conservation prioritization strategies
(see Brooks et al. 2006). In terms of species diversity, the region is equally
rich in fl ora and fauna (Chettri et al. 2008b, Chettri et al. 2010). It is a home
to all four big cats of Asia: the snow leopard (
Uncia uncia
), tiger (
Panthera
tigris
), common leopard (
Panthera pardus
), and clouded leopard (
Neofelis
nebulosa
). Ungulates, a number of which are endemic, such as the Tibetan
wild ass (
Equus kiang
), wild yak (
Bos grunniens
), Chiru (
Pantholops hodgsoni
),
and Tibetan gazelle (
Procapra picticaudata
) are of special signifi cance (Chettri
et al. 2011).
This complex and fragile ecosystem with extreme heterogeneity in
micro environments helps to stabilize headwaters, preventing fl ooding,
and maintain steady year-round fl ows of ecosystem goods and services
(Xu et al. 2009). These functions contribute to one third of the humanity for
their wellbeing far beyond the immediate vicinity, benefi ting entire river
basins. As a result, the HKH have often been referred to as 'natural water
towers' because they contain the headwaters of rivers, which are vital for
maintaining human life in the densely populated areas downstream (Schild
2008). In addition, the HKH also represents a unique source of freshwater
for agricultural, industrial and domestic use, and are an important economic
component of tourism and hydro-electric power production and maintains
water quality, regulates water fl ow (fl oods and droughts), and supports
biodiversity (Trisal and Kumar 2008, Eriksson et al. 2009, Xu et al. 2009,
Rasul et al. 2011). The region also plays an important role in mitigating the
impacts of climate change by acting as carbon sinks (ICIMOD 2009, Trisal
and Kumar 2008).
However, this diverse ecosystem of the HKH is facing overarching
threats from various drivers of changes including climate change (Myers et
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