Wildlife Highlights India: How the Himalayan mountain ranges shaped India
Bloom in Doom would like to welcome our two additions to the Wildlife Highlights column, Annie and Adele Santamaria. Annie has previously written articles for Bloom in Doom including Back from the Brink: Extinction doesn't have to be a Death Sentence and has written alongside her sister Adele for their piece titled Who Framed the Shark? The fantastic pair come together again in part 1 of a 4 part series about wildlife in India…
Illustrations by Katie de Lusignan.
When describing the world’s tallest mountain, Salman Rushdie said, “Everest silences you...when you come down, nothing seems worth saying, nothing at all.”
The Himalayan mountain ranges, which Mount Everest is a part of, can only be described as otherworldly. It formed from the fossilized shells of sea creatures of the Tethys sea when a part of the supercontinent Gondwanaland hit the Eurasian tectonic plate and pushed the sea bed towards the heavens. The impact was so powerful that the earth formed a puckered scar where the two land masses met, some fifty million years ago, and continues to grow at more than a centimetre a year.
The Himalayan mountain range from afar, from Pxfuel (CC0).
From the time of the Mongols and Alexander the Great, the lofty peaks and extreme climate made the range an unbreachable barrier to foreign invasion. It wasn’t until the arrival of the British in 1802 that the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India sought to create detailed maps of the subcontinent to measure the peaks of the mountains in the range, giving concrete evidence that the mountain that the Nepalis called the “Peak of Heaven” was indeed the earth’s highest mountain at 8,849 meters above sea level, it was later christened Mount Everest.
The mountainous range acted as a climatic barrier as well, the mountains to the north were deprived of rain while the rivers of southern ranges overflowed their banks. Landscape changes rerouted major rivers and melting glaciers in the Himalayas feed 19 major rivers, three of which are the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra, that bring water to billions of people across Asia and create unique ecosystems with endemic species. The Ganges River Dolphin, an endangered freshwater dolphin once called the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh home, but it is now extinct in most of these ranges and after a century of over-killing there are only 2000 of them left.
Gangabal Lake and the Harmukh mountain in the background by Mehrajmir13 via WikiMedia Commons CC-BY SA 4.0.
This seemingly forbidden realm has inspired many myths and religious practices for the indigenous people that call this region home. Many of the tribes, like the Begun, have for centuries practised sustainable farming, living off the prosperous land by taking only what they need. The combination of complex topography and altitude creates an atmosphere that is ideal for a variety of plants and animals to thrive. The biodiversity that exists here makes it a hotspot with species that are endemic only to the Himalayas. Animals like the clouded leopard are only found in the foothills of the Himalayas and are endangered species. They are among some of the best climbers and have been observed in zoos to walk vertically down trees. Despite being on the list of endangered animals and a prohibition on hunting in many states and countries, they are still poached for their fur and body parts.
Two greater one-horned rhinos at the Chitwan National Park, by Meg and Rahul via Flickr CC BY 2.0
Threats of deforestation and poaching have rendered charismatic species like the red panda and the largest of the rhino species, the greater one-horned rhino, endangered as well. Almost 50% of the total red panda population is found in the Eastern Himalayas but deforestation of nesting trees and bamboo have threatened their very existence. The number of greater one-horned rhinos went from 200 in the 20th century to around 3700 now, thanks to the efforts of the Nepali and Indian governments.
The ranges are often referred to as the ‘third pole’ but rarely do they receive as much attention in conversations about climate change. Melting glaciers and a decline in seasonal snow pose a considerable risk that could lead to water scarcity. The populations that depend on this water are spread across different countries, making this a transboundary issue that requires policymakers from different regions to work together to make any lasting change. But the mountains are one of the most politically tumultuous regions in the world with great and powerful countries like India, China and Pakistan contesting national borders, rivalries shaping international relations and affecting the lives of the 750 million individuals that live in the Himalayan belt.
View of the Valley of Flowers, Uttaranchal, India by Raghuram. A via WikiMedia Commons CC-BY SA 2.5
One of the leading causes of climate change in this region comes from deposits of black carbon created by incomplete combustion from brick kilns, diesel exhausts, and the burning of biomass. Another contributor are the uncaring tourists that leave behind tonnes of litter on their treks. Discarded oxygen cylinders, piles of rubbish, human faeces and even dead bodies lay strewn along the slopes of Mt. Everest. Today, there are roughly 200 corpses left behind on Everest, some of which act as landmarks for other climbers and have nicknames like ‘green boots’, ‘sleeping beauty’ and ‘the german woman’. A particular area with a large number of corpses all dressed in colourful mountain gear is macabrely named ‘Rainbow Valley’. Nepal has implemented a £2,900 garbage disposal deposit that is refunded to climbing teams that return with a minimum of 40 kilogrammes of trash in a bid to clean up the Himalayas. The Healing the Himalayas Foundation conducts more than 40 treks each year to clean up the waste left behind by tourists.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change in India recently announced the launch of a National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem with the aim to preserve Himalayan Glaciers and prevent hydrological consequences, protect traditional knowledge and livelihood, conserve biodiversity and sustain the Himalayan ecosystem. Over 105 Protected Areas have been established in the Himalayas, protecting about 6% of the total geographical area. While it may seem like the journey to restoring this important ecosystem is long, with government support and conscientious tourism, these goals are achievable.
Thank you to Katie de Lusignan for her beautiful illustrations. You can find more of her work on her Instagram @myhandsmadethese.
This article is the first of a four-part series on India’s biodiversity and varied ecology.
Adele Santamaria
Adele is currently in her last year of her degree in English, Journalism and Psychology. She loves writing and believes in writing about important world issues to try to bring about change. Annie is an MSc. graduate from the University of Exeter. She is passionate about her research and aspires to make a positive impact on human and animal welfare. You can find her on Instagram @adele_santamaria_
Annie Megan Santamaria
Annie is an MSc. graduate from the University of Exeter with interests in disease evolution. She is passionate about her research and aspires to make a positive impact on human and animal welfare. Annie was a part of the editorial team at Gubbi Labs where she managed an online science news journal and created graphics, podcasts and wrote pieces on scientific developments. Her goal is to bridge the gap between the researcher and the public by making science more accessible and easy to understand.