The Eastern Himalaya
The Eastern Himalaya extends from the Arun-Kosi valley in eastern Nepal, through Bhutan,
Northeast India, Southeast Tibet and northern Myanmar to Northwest Yunnan in China. They
also include the mountains that extend from Nagaland and Manipur in India, south to the Chin
Hills in Myanmar and the Chittagong Hills in Bangladesh.
The Eastern Himalaya is considered a part of the Indo-Burma hotspot of biodiversity. The Indo-Burma hotspot encompasses about two million square kilometers of tropical Asia east of the Indian subcontinent, and includes all of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and nearly the entire territories of Thailand, Myanmar, and Bhutan. In addition, the hotspot covers part of Nepal, far-eastern India, and extreme southern China, as well as several offshore islands such as Hainan Island in the South China Sea and the Andaman Islands in the Andaman Sea. About 7,000 of the 13, 500 plant species found in the Indo-Burma hotspot are endemic, as are 528 of the 2,185 species of terrestrial vertebrates.
The Eastern Himalayan region is also the meeting ground of the Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese biogeographical realms as well as of the Himalayan and Peninsular Indian elements. Forest cover in the Eastern Himalaya has dwindled over the past several decades, along with concomitant decline in biodiversity. Despite this loss, the region is home to botanical rarities and is exceptionally rich in endemic plant species along with mammals, birds and other animals
The Indian Eastern Himalaya
The Eastern Himalaya in India is spread over the nine states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal. Approximately thirty million people live in the 2,65,000 sq. km. that comprise the Eastern Himalaya in India. Though the population is relatively small, compared to the billion people that live in India, the people in this region display an astonishing diversity of cultures, languages, customs, and patterns of resource use. The region is topographically diverse. This topographic diversity generates a range of natural ecosystems, extraordinarily rich in plant and animal life. In the state of Sikkim alone the altitude can rise sharply from 300 to 8,500 meters within a short distance of less than 50 km. Sikkim, with an area of 7,096 sq. km or 0.2 % of India ‘s land surface, includes 4,000 species of flowering plants, 700 species of butterflies, 550 species of birds, 400 species of orchids and 156 species of mammals. These numbers respectively represent 25%, 50%, 45% ?? % and 45% of India's species in these groups.
The Eastern Himalayan Program (EHP) of ATREE focuses on conservation and management of natural resources in Northeast India, particularly, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Area of West Bengal.
As one of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots, the region is not only biologically rich but also culturally very diverse. There are myriad traditional institutions and practices for conserving and managing natural resources. However, over time these institutions and practices have eroded and have often conflicted with the new regulations imposed by the State. The technical capabilities of local institutions, whether traditional, voluntary, or state-sponsored, to address challenges in conservation and natural resources management are also extremely limited.
With this backdrop, ATREE’s Eastern Himalayan Program has initiated scientific and educational activities that advance biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, sustainable development, and human resource development through capacity building at various levels.
The major goals of ATREE’s Eastern Himalayan Program are to strengthen local institutions for addressing the pressing problems in conservation and sustainable use of resources through research, action, and outreach activities, and environmental education. The Program focuses on six areas, namely,
1) Livelihoods and conservation,
2) Biodiversity assessment and monitoring,
3) Conservation planning,
4) Networking and capacity building,
5) Environmental education, and
6) Legal and policy framework for conservation.
A recent noteworthy addition is the strategic planning for the protection and management of the World Heritage Sites in Northeast India.
Apart from its own projects, ATREE provides technical inputs to individuals and organizations and helps build scientific and technical capacity in the region. This work is done in cooperation with official agencies such as the forest, revenue, and rural development departments; educational institutions such as schools and universities; non-governmental groups including voluntary and professional organizations; the corporate sector; and independent experts and concerned individuals.
ATREE's initiatives are expected to strengthen prospects for conservation, enhance the capacity of local institutions to address environmental issues, and improve policy and the institutional framework for conservation.
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