Changing Paradigm of Biodiversity Conservation – The

SAURABHKAUSHIK

The Eastern Himalayas (EH) are a vast geographic entity traversing areas from the eastern part of Nepal, across the northeastern regions of India, the Tibetan Autonomous Region and Yunnan in China, and northern Myanmar. The wide lateral extent of this region is matched by an equally impressive altitudinal range showcasing significant variations and rapid changes in the elevational gradient. This leads to the presence of high biodiversity values as evidenced by the region traversing three of 34 global biodiversity hotspots, accounting for 39% of the Himalayan hotspot, 8% of the Indo-Burma hotspot, and 13% of the Mountains of Southwest China hotspot.

An interplay of nature and culture

The Himalayan regions of Eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kalimpongfall within the EH and belong to the Kanchenjunga Landscape. These regions are not merely rich in biodiversity, they also embody deep-rooted cultural and spiritual traditions that have endured for more than a millennia. The beauty of these traditions lie not merely in their manifest form as the cosmic interplay of colour, songs, hymns and aromas in the elaborate rituals evoking the ancestral spirits of a myriaddeities. The almost nonchalant embodiment of a deep reverence for nature and its countless gifts in the everyday life of the people that inhabit these pristine lands is what truly stands out as a remarkable anomaly in our times. These long enduring values and traditions are increasingly under threat from a range of challenges. It, therefore, becomes imperative to guard against these emerging threats.

Ecological Richness and High Biodiversity of Kanchenjunga Landscape

The mighty Kanchenjunga and the areas surrounding it are home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. These include several rare and endangered species of mammals (Red Panda,Snow Leopard and Musk Deer) and birds (Bearded Vulture andBaer’s Pochard). Moreover,nearly 50%of the total flowering plants recorded in India are found in the region. There are numerous protected areas in the form of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in this landscapedue to an astounding species diversity, richness and endemism. The Kanchenjunga landscape is considered as a ‘global biodiversity heritage site’, an ‘endemic bird area’ and is counted among the ‘global 200 ecoregions’. It also lies at the junction of Indo-Malayan and Palaearctic biogeographical realms which results in an astounding ecological richness and high biodiversity.

The topographic and climatic variability in the region leads to the existence of a wide range of vegetation classes and forest types. These range from an altitude of less than 300 m (tropical lowlands) to more than 8,000 m (high mountains) comprising of numerous vegetation types including a) tropical, b) sub-tropical, c) warm temperate, d) cool temperate, e) sub-alpine and f) alpine. The forests in the region can be broadly categorized into: Tropical riverine and moist forests (below 1000m), Sub-tropical broad-leaved hill forests (1000m to 2000m), Subtropical pine forests (1000m to 1800m), Himalayan wet temperate forests (1800m to 2700m), Mixed coniferous temperate forests (2700m to 3000m).

Emerging threats and challenges to biodiversity conservation

Several new and emerging threats in the conservation and management of biodiversity in the region need to be considered. Increasing urbanization, population pressure and agricultural expansion, and an attendant competition over scare resources, is leading to burgeoning instances of human-wildlife conflicts. Moreover, climate change and extreme weather events are displacing significant numbers of wildlife species. Owing to the presence of immense biodiversity values and common set of challenges facing the natural landscapes in the region, it is imperative to formulate strategies that envision a comprehensive framework for tackling these emerging issues.

Thinking outside the protected areas paradigm

A significant step in this regard would be to explore alternative arrangements in the management of biodiversity-rich areas in order to provide impetus to conservation efforts. There are numerous protected areas under designated under The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 in the region. They are also listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature – World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA). These are relatively well governed and managed. However, a significant portion of the forests and biodiversity lie outside these officially designated protected areas like national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, only 4.9% of geographic area in India falls under the classification of officially protected areas.

Internationally, Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), popularly referred to as 30×30, aims to ensure and enable effective conservation of at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, marine and coastal areas by 2030. This follows and supersedes the conservation ambitions of the previous Aichi Target 11, which mandated conserving at least 17% of terrestrial and inland waters and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. It is, therefore, imperative to think outside the “protected areas” paradigm in order to ensure that India fulfils its international and national commitment of effective biodiversity conservation.

OECMs and the future of conservation

Forest landscapes that lie outside officially designated protected areashave high potential for biodiversity conservation outside formally protected areas. They, therefore, possess the preliminary characteristics to be classified as Other Area-based Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs). An OECM is defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Decision 14/8 as:

“A geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio-economic, and other locally relevant values.”

Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Government of India in consultation with experts from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2022 spelled out guidelines recognising OECMs across terrestrial, waterbodies, and marine ecosystems. According to these guidelines, 14 OECM categories were identified including, among others, village commons, individual green lands, industrial estates, canals, biodiversity parks, and unique agricultural systems. Moreover, the Updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of India (2024-2030) highlights OECMs as potential pathways to the achievement of India’s biodiversity targets based on the 30x30 KMGBF target. This is the first time a national-level strategy and action plan of this nature includes the mention of OECMs.

There are vast swathes of forest lands that are owned, governed and managed by indigenous communities in India. These include the customary rights practiced by various tribes in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland over their forests and Community Forest Rights (CFR) exercised under the purview of Forest Rights Act 2006 in states with large tribal populations such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

Sikkim, too has had a long history of community involvement and participatory governance in the use and management of forest resources in the form of Khasmahaland Gaucharanforest areas. Over the years, the Government of Sikkim has ensured that there is a seamless integration of conservation values and environmental awareness among its populace through several schemes and programmes such as ‘MeroRukhMeroSantati’. In Sikkim, there are several community conserved sacred groves, Gumpaforests and forests surrounding Devithans that have immense biodiversity conservation potential. In order to streamline the state’s conservation efforts, and align its goals to new and emerging paradigms nationally and globally, the state government can create a technical committee or a task force led by the Forest and Environment Department to identify and delineate potential OECM sites in the state. These OECMs will contribute to India’s national commitment of ensuring that at 30% of the country’s geographic area is effectively conserved by 2030.

(SaurabhKaushik is associated with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Environment and Ecology)