Introduction and Road Map for Impact of Global Changes on High-Mountains - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 24

endemism, diverse gene pools, species and ecosystems of global importance.
As a result, the HKH have been highlighted in many global conservation
prioritization strategies. However, this diverse ecosystem of the HKH is
facing overarching threats from various drivers of changes including climate
change. The ecosystems in the HKH are degrading mainly due to lack of
incentive provisions for maintaining ecosystems and the goods and services
provided by them. This is leading to development that is unsustainable
including loss of biodiversity. Even the protected areas such as national
parks, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries face tremendous pressures
from external driving forces and communities living inside and outside
of the HKH. It is a paradox that in spite of being rich in biodiversity the
region is also home to poorest of the world and the most vulnerable in
the face of climate change. So, there is a mounting challenge to balance
conservation with development in the region. The authors of this chapter
have documented the reconciling initiatives on maintaining ecosystem
resilience through integrated conservation and development initiatives
to address prevailing climate change challenges faced by the region with
some evolving regional experiences.
Pathak in the next case study also looks at the HKH region and has
observed the need for trans-boundary scientifi c cooperation to establish an
effective communication between scientifi c community and policymakers
to identify knowledge gaps for better understanding the complexities of
the HKH region, and allow policy options based on appropriate scientifi c
evidence. Since anthropogenic activities are the main engine of changing
the HKH region, it is imperative for decision makers to revisit and redesign
their growth and development strategy, along with new approaches apart
from the ongoing adaptation and mitigation measures. All this however
is not possible without bundling peace and security in the region. Since,
HKH's environmental issues are trans-boundary, regional cooperation is
imperative for peace and security and for sustainable development.
The next case study by Rawat describes the impact of climate change
on community food and livelihood in the Lesser Himalaya in the Dabka
watershed (a part of the Kosi Basin in the district of Nainital in India). The
spatial distribution of climate throughout study area suggest three types
of climatic zones, i.e., sub-tropical, temperate and moist temperate which
are respectively favorable for mixed forest, pine forest and oak forest in
the mountain ecosystem. The results of climate-informatics advocate that
all these climatic zones are shifting towards higher altitudes due to global
climate change and affecting the favorable conditions of the existing land-
use pattern, e.g., decreasing the oak and pine forests. Consequently the
high rates of forest degradation accelerated hydrological hazards during
the monsoon and non-monsoon periods. The non-monsoon water-related
hazards (i.e., decreasing underground water level, drying up of perennial