Birds of the Kangchenjunga Landscape,the Eastern Himalaya:status,threats and implications for conservation

Birds are reliable and widely used indicators for conservation planning and monitoring. We reviewed birds of the Kangchenjunga Landscape, a transboundary complex shared by Bhutan, India and Nepal in the Eastern Himalaya. Using 119 literature, we analyzed the bird survey efforts in the landscape, their taxonomic representation, global threat status, distribution patterns, and habitat preferences. We also discussed the potential threats and conservation challenges and documented current conservation efforts and government policies. Most of the bird surveys are carried out in India followed by Nepal and Bhutan. A total of 618 bird species belonging to 19 orders and 77 families are recorded. Passeriformes is the dominant order that constitutes 62% of the total records listed from the landscape. Among the families, Muscicapidae is the most common and diversely represented family. There are 41 species of birds that are categorized as threatened under IUCN Red List. Of the total birds occurring in the landscape, the highest number of bird species(95%) was documented from India, followed by Nepal(55%) and Bhutan(34%). Of them, 24% of the species were found to occur in the tropical zone. Forested habitat is widely used by 63% of the total species followed by wetlands(16%). Despite promising policies and legal provisions, the landscape faces numerous challenges including habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting and trapping, unsustainable extraction of natural resources, invasive alien species, unregulated tourism and global climate change. We suggest protection and management of birds through strengthening Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, reduction in forest encroachment and habitat destruction, conservation awareness programmes and comprehensive bird surveys with long term monitoring to assess the impact of environmental change as some of the approaches to conserve the rich avifaunal diversity of the landscape.

Impact of land cover change on a mountain ecosystem and its services:case study from the Phobjikha valley,Bhutan

Introduction:Mountains occupy 24%of the global land surface and are home to 12%of the world’s population;they host the world’s principal biomes and supply a diverse array of ecosystem services.But they are also highly sensitive to both natural and human induced changes,which can affect service provision meant for one third of humanity.Systematic research on impacts of land cover change from mountains at the local scale are limited,especially in developing countries,which poses a barrier to informed planning for sustainable management.Bhutan being in the forefront as contributor towards global conservation goals,a case study following a systematic research framework considering quantitative,qualitative and geospatial tools was experimented.Outcome:Respondents identified and ranked 24 ecosystem services,among which the provisioning services were the most important,followed by cultural,regulating,and supporting services.Forest was the most important land cover type for services,followed by marsh,scrub,water bodies,and agriculture.The area of forest declined by 2%and marsh by 7%over the 32-year period,suggesting a potential decrease in ecosystem services,which was also observed by the local community.Discussion:It was observed that 80%of the local people are still directly dependent on the diverse ecosystems for services.Though subtle,the decrease in land cover has implications for livelihoods of the people and the rich biodiversity of the area.Aspiring communities for local development needs guidance for identifying trade-offs in land cover types in sustainable management.An integrated and holistic approach focusing on both conservation and community development should be used to manage and develop the valley and the region sustainably.Conclusion:We recommend diversifying the limited livelihood strategies(potato farming and livestock grazing)to reduce the potential vulnerability of the local community and reduce the pressure on forest and marsh.Proper land use planning in the valley would be beneficial to maintain and regulate land uses in an effective way and avoid possible conflicts between settlement,agriculture,forest,and marsh.