Geoscience Reference
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based livelihoods in the low and mid hill areas); (iv) shifting cultivation
(livelihoods based on rotational agroforestry with slash and burn practices);
and (v) specialized commercial systems (livelihoods based on monoculture
and other commercial crops). In each of these specialized zones there is a
variation in crops and cropping patterns that supports a wide range of agro-
biodiversity, which is the source of food, nutrients, and economic prosperity
for the region (Sharma and Kerkhoff 2004). Among these farming systems,
specialized pastoralism is one of the oldest and the most predominant
systems in the HKH. Some of the well known pastoral communities found
in the Himalayas are
Bakrawals
,
Gujjars
,
Gaddis
,
Kanets
,
Bhotias
,
Kaulis
,
and
Kinnauras
of the North Indian Himalayas;
Bhotias
and
Sherpas
of the Khumbu
valley of Nepal; the
Kirats
of eastern Nepal;
Lachungpas
and
Lachenpas
of
Sikkim;
Changpas
of Ladakh;
Brokpas
of Bhutan;
Tibetans
of China; and
the
Shimshal
of Pakistan. These people's age-old dependence on the high
pastures and livestock products is embedded in their culture and practices,
and governed by traditional knowledge and natural resources governance
mechanisms (Chettri et al. 2012).
Ecosystems are capital assets of the HKH that provide a wide range of
services. These include supporting services that maintain the conditions for
life; provisioning services that provide direct inputs to livelihoods and the
economy; regulating services such as those that provide fl ood and disease
control; cultural services that provide opportunities for recreation, spiritual
or historical sites; and supporting services that sustain and fulfi ll human life
(MA 2005). The region supports 10 major river basins: the Indus, Ganges,
Amu Darya, Brahmaputra (Yarlungtsanpo), Irrawaddy, Salween (Nu),
Mekong (Lancang), Tarim, Yangtse (Jinsha), and Yellow River (Huanghe)
basins (Table 9.1). Glacial melt makes an important contribution to river
fl ow, varying from the lowest rate of 1.3% for the Yellow River to the highest
rates of 40.2% for the Tarim and 44.8% for the Indus River Basin. It has been
estimated that about 30% of the water resources in the eastern Himalayas
are directly derived from the melt of snow and ice; this proportion increases
to about 50% in the central and western Himalayas and becomes as high as
80% in the Karakoram (Xu et al. 2009). The region is also important for high
altitude wetlands, source of freshwater resources, and plays an important
role in water storage and regulating water regimes (Trisal and Kumar
2008). These regions also play an important role in mitigating the impacts
of climate change by acting as carbon sinks. The peatlands on the Tibetan
Plateau are one of the most important stores of carbon in the mountain
region, storing 1500 to 4000 t ha
-1
(Trisal and Kumar 2008).
During summer, the region further provides an anomalous mid-
tropospheric heat source for southwestern Asia, and, thus, plays a prominent
role in the Asian monsoon system (Yanai et al. 1992). Seasonal blocking
episodes with associated anomalies in temperature and precipitation are
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