News jungal media: The Himalayan region renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and cultural heritage are facing a wave of devastation from the impacts of climate change leading to glacial melt and altered weather patterns to rampant urbanisation and unsustainable development practices.
Why are the Himalayas Significant?
Cultural and Spiritual Significance:
The Himalayas are regarded as sacred and spiritual centre by many cultures and religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
They are home to many revered pligrimage sites, monasteries and temples and often associated with meditation, enlightenmnt and self discovery.
Biodiversity Hotspot:
The Himalayas are recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and also contributes to global ecological balance.
It’s diverse ecosystem, ranging from lust forests to alpine meadows, harbour a rich variety of plant and animal species, some of which are very unique to Himalayan region.
Water Source: The Himalayan glaciers and snowfields serve as the source for the major rivers, such as The Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra and Yangtze, which sustain the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across subcontinent.
The water from these rivers supports agriculture, hydropower generation and urban centres downstream.
Geological Importance: The Himalayas are the result of the ongoing collision between Indian plate and Eurasian plate.The geological process has shaped the Himalayan landscape and continue influencing seismic activities in the region.
Studying the Himalayas provides insights into Earth’s tectonic forces and help understanding dynamics of mountain building.
Climate Impact: The Himalayas play a crucial role regarding climate of surrounding regions.They influence the Monsoon patterns that bring vital rainfall in the subcontinent.
The Himalayan glaciers are also sensitive indicators of global climate change
How is Rampant Urbanisation affecting Himalayas:
Flawed Development: Blocked roads after a landslide at Chamoli, sinking of Joshimath in Uttarakhand, road caving in Chamba in Himanchal pradesh represent a flawed development institutionalized in the Himalayan region.
According to National Remote Sensing Center, Rudraprayag and Tehri districts are the most landslide affected districts in the country.
The Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, a massive infrastructure project, claimed lakhs of trees,
acres of forest land and the fertile top soil of fragile Himalayas.
Unregulated Tourism: While tourism can bring enoremous economic benefits, unchecked tourism can strain local resources and ecosystems.
Himalayan regions are being burdened beyond their capacity by tourism and rural to urban migration.
In 2022 alone,100 million tourists including pilgrims visited Uttarakhand.Experts continuously caution that it can have disastrous impacts.
Rising Tperatures: The Himalayans are warming faster than other mountain ranges.The increased use of reinforced concrete in buliding construction, replacing the traditional wood and stone masonry, is likely to creat a Heat Island effect, thus resulting regional warming.
Cultural Erosion: Traditional Himalayan communities have distinct cultural practices and ways of living, closely tied to their natural surroundings.
Unsustainable urbanisation has been leading to the erosion of traditional knowledge, customs and cultural identity.
What are the Ecological Challenges in the Himalayan Region:
Climate Change and Glacial Melting: The Himalayas are highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.Rising temperatures have led to the rapid melting of glaciers, affecting water availability for rivers downstream.
This poses significant risks to communities that depend on glacial meltwater for agriculture, drinking water and hydropower generation.
Black Carbon Accumulation: One of the biggest factors causing glaciers to melt is the emisssion of black carbon aerosols into the atmosphere.
Black carbon absorbs more light and emits infrared radiation that increase the temperature, thus faster melting of glaciers.
Black carbon is depositing on the Gangotri glacier, thus escalating its melting.Gangotri is also the fastest receding glacier.
Natural Disasters: The Himalayans are young and fold mountains which means they are still rising and prone to earth’s tectonic activities.
Thus, the region is prone to natural disasters, such as landslides, avalanches and earthquakes.
Soil Erosion and Landslides: Deforestation, construction activities and improper land use practics increase soil erosion and the risk of landslides.
The loss of vegetative cover destabilises Himalayan slopes, making them susceptible to erosion during heavy rainfall or seismic events.
Growth of Invasive species: As temperature rise, new habitats available for invasive species that can outcompete the native flora and fauna of ther Himalaya.
These species disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem and threaten the very survival of native species.
What Government Measures have been taken to protect the Himalayas:
National Mission on sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem: It is one of the eight missions under NAPCC(National Action Plan on climate change).
SECURE Himalaya Project: It is funded by Global Environment Facility.
It promotes sustainable management of alpine pastures and forests in the high range Himalayan region.
Mishra Committee Report 1976:
This committee gave its findings about land subsidence in Joshimath.
It recommended placing restrictions on heavy construction work, blasting or digging to remove boulders for road repairs and other construction and felling of trees in the region.
Other Measures:
NDMA Guidelines: To control the problem of unregulated tourism NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) recommends creating a buffer zone and restrict tourism in Glacial Lake Outburst Floods(GLOF’s) prone areas to reduce pollution in such areas.
Education and Awareness: Make Himalayan people more aware of the geological vulnerability and ecological fragility of their mountain
India and other affected countries should include in their school curriculam indepth knowledge of geology and ecology of the Himalayas.
Local Government Role: The municipalities in the Himalayan states need to play a more proactive role while granting approval to bulidings
Building bye laws need to be updated to overcome the challenges of climate change.
Upgrading existing dams to improve their structural stability and prioritising regular monitoring after flooding events.
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