What is special about the Himalayas

The Himalayas is special for :

(1) Beautiful scenic mountains and landscapes that give a sense of SACREDNESS and has kept tourists visiting this "HEAVENLY" mountains all the year around; and

(2) The richness in its unexploited cultures and traditions that have been preserved...

Conservation Efforts to Preserve Majestic Himalayas

Saving the Himalayas

For the devout Hindus and Buddhists the Himalayas are the abode of gods; others see them as a snow-white mountain range of pristine beauty. The Himalayas also serve as the life line for the people in India, China and other countries in the region because the glaciers there are the largest store of water after the polar ace caps, feeding seven major rivers—the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Thamlwin, Yangtze and Yellow River.

But in recent years, the Himalayas, famous for the highest peak in the world (Everest), have also earned a dubious reputation: the highest garbage ground on planet Earth.

According to the WWF, the Himalayan glaciers are melting fast. As a result countries like India, China and Nepal could expect to live through a cycle of floods followed by drought—both sources of untold miseries to people in a vast region.

It is believed that the Himalayan glaciers are retreating at the rate of 10-15 metres (33-49 feet) a year. The Gangotri glacier, source for the Ganga, is receding at the rate of 23 metres (75 feet) a year. Environmentalists warn that by 2025, the temperature on Earth could rise by 2 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial era level: a signal for trouble.

A concerned United Nations is setting up a task force that will investigate effects of climate change on the Himalayan (and other similarly threatened) region.

Climate change in regions like the Himalayas poses danger to nature and national and cultural heritage. The governments of member countries of the UN will be reminded of their legal obligations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, though with the worldâ™s most powerful country taking a defiant attitude towards controlling gas emissions the success of the UN mandate may be doubted.

The international community, however, is greatly worried about preserving the ecology of the Himalayas. The Sagarmatah (Nepalese name for Everest) National Park in Nepal has been put on the world heritage danger list. The question of saving the Himalayas has become a matter of uttermost importance. And appropriately enough, some of the leading mountaineers, many of whom had made it to the highest peak in the world, are now actively associating themselves with save Himalayas campaign

The Himalayas also feature a fragile ecosystem. For centuries, this ecosystem has remained delicately balanced, and has been responsible for the tremendous biodiversity of the Himalayas.

Only in recent years has the ecosystem been disturbed in various parts due to processes both man-made and natural.

Man has also been responsible to a large extent for some of the environmental problems faced by the mountains. As he strives for industrialization, modernization and the so-called higher standard of living, man has disturbed the natural ecosystems of many parts of the world.

The Himalayas have been no exception. Over the centuries, pilgrims and explorers have visited the mountains. However, in the past their numbers were few and the Himalayan ecosystem, fragile as it is, was able to cope with the effects of human exploration in the areas.

But today, the story is different. In the last few decades, an intricate network of roads have been built into the mountains, which have made some of the most remote areas more easily accessible. This has translated into a tremendous increase in the numbers of people who visit the mountains every year.

The Himalayas are now being exploited, to the hilt in many areas, to provide materials for the growing number of forest-based industries. Thus, it is not a surprise that environmental problems have emerged in the Himalayan region.

Courtesy : Syndicate Features

SAVE TIGER AWARENESS AS EDUCATION PROGRAM

17 June 2010, Chandigarh (India). Conservation Himalayas has strengthened its efforts to save Asian elephants and Bengal tigers in Uttarakhand State, India by carrying out a series of educational programmes.

To halt the loss of wildlife and forest biodiversity, and to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity, the organization has installed Save-Tiger signage boards in the main tourist areas to raise public awareness of the tiger population in India, and has implemented three conservation educational programs

Program (1)

focused on the education of the poverty stricken, illiterate, labour class communities on tiger and elephant conservation.

Program (2)

titled Tiger Awareness Education, targeted school children as the pillar of nature protection. In 2010, nearly 120 children and 8 teachers of the Gyano Udaya Public School in Sanch village, Kotdwar participated in two events to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity

Program (3)

aimed at the trainees of Corbett Wildlife Training Centre of the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Kalagarh, Pauri and the Nanda Devi Biosphere. In 2010, Conservation Himalayas engaged 45 trainees, working as foresters, in its two-day tiger training workshop. The workshop program consisted of practical training on the development of a tiger concept map, conservation strategies, and exercises on Tiger Survey – Field observation techniques

The People in Nepal Himalayas

The way of life in the Himalaya is determined by the Himalayan topography, altitude, and climate, factors which quite substantially differ from region to region, plus, naturally, by the cultural diversity of the individual ethnic groups. Closer look at the variety of ethnic groups that populate this impressive mountain range reveals fascinating mix of architectural house styles.

Covered by lush monsoonal forests, the ridge of the Mahabharat range in the eastern Nepal separates the fertile lowland of Terai from “Limbuwan”, the Land of the Limbus. Poetically sited below steep hillsides of the Mahabharat Lekh or dotting the rolling land of the eastern Nepal Midlands, the dispersed villages of the Limbus are found between altitudes of 2,500 to 5,000 feet above sea level.  Traditionally also referred to by the Limbus themselves as the “Pallo-Kirant” or “Far-Kirant”, this region includes an area east of the Arun river and west of the Nepal-India border.
Sited conventionally amid dry cultivated fields, the yards of the Limbu houses may often be beautified by planted beds of colorful flowers. The houses are built of stone, mud packed, and characteristically washed with white and ochre mud. Typically, each Limbu house has the same type of front elevation.  It is entered via a small porch, constructed like the balcony above it out of timber or bamboo.  Designed with a small window above the balcony, the roof is of a gable type.  Although in most instances the houses are roofed with thatch, the most prominent of the Limbus cover their houses with sun-baked shingles.  For the most part, there is not much variation in the design, although here and there one may come across interesting horn-like tiles extending upwards from the ends of the gable triangle, a feature reminiscent of the Far Eastern architecture.
The main living and sleeping area, including the kitchen hearth, is on the ground floor.  Grain, seeds, tools, and different sorts of family valuables are ordinarily stored on the second floor. Cattle is kept in shelters built in the vicinity of the house. 

The People of the Himalayas - the Sherpa of Nepal

History tells us that the original inhabitants of the Himalayas were the Kinnars, Kilinds, and Kiratas. Our Hindu epics and Puranas give reference of their existence in the Himalayan regions. History also mentions the names of Khasas and the Darads.


But today only three different ethnic groups form the Himalayan population. They are the Negroids, Mongoloids and the Aryans. The population, settlement in the Himalayan region is greatly influenced by the topography, economic pattern and the climatic condition.


The climate condition is one of the main factors for the population settlements since extreme climatic condition imposes a restriction on the living conditions and tends to restrict movement and communication. But the ethnic groups living in remote valleys of the Himalayan region have generally conserved their traditional cultural identities.

Sherpas -- The Tigers of the Mountains

Together with the brave Gurkha soldiers of Nepal, the Sherpas are among the most world-famous of Nepalese people. The world's highest-living population, the Sherpas are born mountaineers. It is their fantastic mountaineering prowess and their hardiness that brought them into prominence in mountaineering circles in the early parts of this century

The Sherpas originally came from eastern Tibet, crossing the Nangpa La pass at 5,900 m (19,100 ft) altitude about five centuries ago. They settled in the Khumbu region, the gateway to Mt Everest from the southern side. The word "Sherpa" literally means people from the east. Given their background, they practice the Tibetan form of Buddhism. Before coming into contact with western civilization, the Sherpas were simply farmers, yak herders and traders. They used to carry grains, cotton clothes, irons, paper from the south, and barter these for salt, wool, sheep and Tibetan artifacts in Tibet.



sherpa house

 For centuries, the Sherpas revered the great mountains of their region as dwelling places of gods and goddesses. The very thought of climbing them was considered blasphemous.

Mount Everest is known in Tibetan as Qomolangma or Chomolangma, meaning goddess mother. The Sherpas became famous as mountain climbers much before Sherpa Tenzing Norgay scaled Mt Everest along with Edmund Hillary in 1953. It was during the pioneering British expeditions in the early part of the century that the Sherpas rose to prominence.

During the first Everest expedition in 1921, the skill, expertise, honesty and dedication of the Sherpas impressed the English climbers. From that point on, the Sherpas became an integral part of international Himalayan climbing as guides and partners. The affinity of Westerners for the Sherpa/Buddhist civilization eventually grew into an increasingly close sharing, understanding and friendship between these two cultures. Interestingly, the close contact with Western thought and civilization did not affect the Buddhist, animist and cultural traditions of these people.


However, the arrival of Westerners changed the lifestyle of the Sherpas forever. The Western mountain expeditions brought not only fame, but also the allure of mountaineering fame. These factors combined to encourage the Sherpas to embrace mountain climbing as part of their own culture.

This was a radical change from their traditional roles as traders and farmers. While these ancestral roles remain a staple element of Sherpa life, the leading of climbs and treks has become a mainstay of their economy and made their lives easier.
The Solo Khumbu region is the home of the Sherpas.

 About 5,000 Sherpas reside here. In the last few decades, Sherpas have migrated to other parts of Nepal and the Indian states of Sikkim, Assam and northern West Bengal (Darjeeling). A total of about 35,000 Sherpas currently live in Nepal.

Flowers in the Himalayas

Natural Vegetation ...its Flower and Fauna

Vegetation

Himalayan vegetation varies according to both altitude and climatic conditions. They range from the tropical deciduous forests in the foothills, to temperate forests in the middle altitudes.

Himalayan Rainforest

Types of Himalayan Forests

The great Himalayas can be divided into three mountainous regions of Eastern, Central and Western Himalayas. The forests in these three regions are classified according to various factors such as composition of trees, elevation and rainfall.
The different types of Himalayan forests are Alpine Forests, Sub-tropical Rainforests, Deciduous Forests and Coniferous Forests

Himalayan Coniferous Forests

Coniferous Forests (Needleleaf Forests)Coniferous Forests are found between the elevations of 3000 m and 4,500 along total Himalayas and containing variety of wood species like Blue Pine, Deodar, Spruce and Silver Fir.

These forests can adapt severe freezing temperature of Himalayas with heavy snowfalls on winter days as they are having cone shape with needle like leaves.

Mostly these forests are lying just below the timber line of Himalayas.Timber line of the Himalayan forests usually lies at an altitude of 4000 m in Eastern Himalayas and the same lies at an altitude of 3500 m in Western ranges. However most parts of the Himalayas above 5,500 m are completely free from any vegetation

Alpine Forests

These are the ones lying between foot hills and timber line ( a line above which trees do not grow) of total Himalayas where we can find different wood species that we can find along Deciduous and Coniferous forests. In this region temperature is decreasing with increasing elevation.

<><>

<>

<><>

PineTrees in Himalayas

The vegetation also varies from the unexplored tropical rainforests of the Eastern Himalayas, to the dense subtropical and alpine forests of the Central and Western Himalayas to the sparse desert vegetation of the cold desert areas of the Transhimalaya.

However, the floral wealth of the Himalayas have also been affected by man. Over the centuries, man has always been dependent on his forests for a number of his needs. But earlier, these needs were few, the forests were able to replenish the resources, and the delicate natural balance was maintained. But over the years, the human population increased dramatically, and with it the number of industries that depended on forests.

Extraordinary demands were made on the forests. Forests were cut down for firewood and to feed the growing number of forest-based industries. They were also cleared to accommodate the growing population. As a result, many species of trees that were very common even 50 years ago, are now rare or have completely disappeared from certain areas



Birch trees Himalayas



Birch Trees in Western Himalayas

.