Vanishing forests of Himalaya

THIS ARTICLE APPEARS IN NEW SCIENTIST MAGAZINE ISSUE: 20 MAY 2006

Author: EMMA YOUNG

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Himalayan forests are quietly vanishing

18 May 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Emma Young (c)

THE Himalayas may never be the same again. The forests growing on the roof of the world are disappearing, and the rate of deforestation is so rapid that a quarter of animal and plant species native to this biodiversity hotspot, including tigers and leopards, could be gone by the end of the century.

Worse, the Indian government is oblivious to the problem because official figures erroneously suggest that forest cover will rise rather than fall. This mistake has led to the approval of new schemes, such as hydroelectric dams, that will exacerbate the devastation.

The Himalayan region has long been recognised as extremely rich in animal and especially plant diversity. For instance, a paper published last year in *Science (vol 308, p 405) concluded that Himalayan watersheds harbour more diverse ecosystems than the Amazon. "Himalaya's importance as a biodiversity-rich area and its need for conservation cannot be overemphasised," says Maharaj Pandit of the University of Delhi ...

From issue 2552 of New Scientist magazine, 18 May 2006, page 20 (c)

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*Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of the World’s Large River Systems

Christer Nilsson, Catherine A. Reidy, Mats Dynesius, Carmen Revenga

A global overview of dam-based impacts on large river systems shows that over half (172 out of 292) are affected by dams, including the eight most biogeographically diverse. Dam-impacted catchments experience higher irrigation pressure and about 25 times more economic activity per unit of water than do unaffected catchments. In view of projected changes in climate and water resource use, these findings can be used to identify ecological risks associated with further impacts on large river systems.

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Biodiversity & Conservation, DOI: 10.1007/s10531-006-9038-5

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/ns-hfd051706.php

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