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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

04/09/22 17:54 PM IST

Pangi gets 2 biodiversity heritage sites, Lahaul 1

In News 
  • For protecting the biodiversity of Himachal Pradesh’s tribal valleys of Pangi (Chamba) and Lahaul, the state government has declared some of their areas as biodiversity heritage sites. Pangi gets two of these sites, while Lahaul gets one.
About the sites 
  • The sacred grove at Sural Bhatori Monastery and the high-altitude meadow of Muhal Dhar Shinkal, both in Pangi, and the Nain Gahar birch-pine forest patch in Mooring panchayat of Lahaul’s Udaipur subtehsil are now protected under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and rule 17 of Himachal Pradesh Biological Diversity Rules, 2019.
  • The three sites—Hudan Bhatori, Sural Bhatori, and Nain Gahar—have unique, threatened and endemic biodiversity components.
Muhal Dhar Shinkal 
  • The 108-bigha high-altitude meadow at Muhal Dhar Shinkal in Hudan Bhatori panchayat of Pangi is at an altitude of 3,850m.
  • Dominant plants are cranberry, honeysuckle, whitebeam, slender false brome, hairy brome, fescue grass, bluegrass, drumstick, kutki, windflower, iris, wormwood, kala jeera, and Himalayan dolomiaea.
  • The important flowers are kutki, Himalayan marsh orchid, atis, Himalayan May apple, and putchuk (cultivated).
  • Major animals are snow leopard, brown bear, black bear, Tibetan wolf, Himalayan marmot, ibex, and royle’s pika.
Nain Gahar
  • The 151-bigha Birch-pine forest patch on left bank of the stream at Nain Gahar in Udaipur sub-tehsil of Lahaul-Spiti district is at 3,400 to 3,653m and under the local community’s control.
  • It is known for Himalayan birch, blue pine trees, West Himalayan spruce, deodar, and juniper trees, willow and sea buckthorn, amid others.
The Changes 
  • Ban on grazing cattle,sheep and goat in the zone for 5 years.
  • Ban on tree felling and timber extraction for 5 years.
  • Ban on extraction of medicinal and aromatic plants for 5 years.
  • Rights and privileges of locals to be respected
  • Use of traditional and scientific methods for valuation, conservation and rehabilitation of landscape and biological resources
  • Participation of local community,line departments and district administration in executing site plan 
Biodiversity Act 2002 
  • The act was enacted in 2002, it aims at the conservation of biological resources, managing its sustainable use and enabling fair and equitable sharing benefits arising out of the use and knowledge of biological resources with the local communities.
  • The act envisaged a three-tier structure to regulate the access to biological resources:
  • The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)
  • The State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs)
  • The Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) (at local level)
Source- Times of India

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