scholarly journals Rhododendron diversity along the Kusong-Panch Pokhari transect in Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, the eastern Himalaya: a conservation perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 11192
Author(s):  
Prem K. Chettri ◽  
Bijoy Chhetri ◽  
Hemant K. Badola

Sikkim Himalaya, India is part of one of the richest global biodiversity hotspots, exhibiting a significant amount of native flora including Rhododendron (Ericaceae) species, which are particularly well represented with 37 species, 11 subspecies, seven varieties and two natural hybrids occurring along the rolling mountains between 1,500m to 6,000m.  Most of the habitats of rhododendrons in Sikkim Himalaya have not only been threatened by climate change but also by emerging eco-tourism and economic activities vis-à-vis trekking corridors.  In recent decades, it has been observed that the climate-governed phenology of rhododendrons of eastern Himalaya is shifting; further the urbanization, tourism influx, and clearances for the footpaths have adversely impacted the diversity of many forest areas.  To better understand the effects of trekking corridors on Rhododendron species for the tourist destinations, we performed a pilot survey along the Kusong-Panch Pokhari transect in relatively virgin forest of the northern part of Sikkim to assess the status of both Rhododendron diversity and potential environmental management strategies that can be employed within the transect as a new tourist destination in the Sikkim Himalaya.  Along with this transect, we recorded 23 Rhododendron species, with five eastern Himalayan endemics.  Our results indicate that the diversity of rhododendrons seem good along the Kusong-Panch Pokhari transect and we further recommend it could be a new potential eco-tourism destination as an alternative income generating source for the local people, provided that appropriate conservation management strategies are in place. 

Oryx ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tawqir Bashir ◽  
Tapajit Bhattacharya ◽  
Kamal Poudyal ◽  
Manjari Roy ◽  
Sambandam Sathyakumar

AbstractDuring 2008–2010 we investigated the ecology of the Endangered dhole or wild dog Cuon alpinus in Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve in the Eastern Himalaya in Sikkim, India. We conducted camera trapping (n = 71 sites, 6,278 camera-days) and sign surveying along trails (n = 24; 629.43 km of effort) to assess the relative abundance, distribution and activity pattern of the dhole. Morphological characteristics evident in the 61 camera-trap photographs indicate that the dhole population in the Reserve may be the rare and genetically distinct subspecies C. alpinus primaevus. We detected dholes over a wide elevation range (2,501–4,100 m) that encompassed the upper temperate, subalpine, and alpine scrub zones. Dholes were diurnal, with peak activity at 08.00–10.00. Analysis of 41 scats indicated a diet comprising mainly mountain ungulates, rodents and pikas Ochotona sp. Although the frequency of occurrence of rodents was highest (32%) in the scats, 98.7% of the total biomass consumed was of mountain ungulates. Historical reports (1888–1894) indicated that the dhole was formerly abundant in Sikkim but was hunted to meet the high demand for its alleged medicinal properties. With no information on the status of the dhole in Sikkim for over a century, our study suggests that the species is now rare in the Reserve. To aid the conservation of the dhole and its main ungulate prey species extensive research and monitoring are required in the Reserve and elsewhere in the Eastern Himalaya.


2021 ◽  
pp. 13-41
Author(s):  
Ella Volodymyrivna Bystrytska

Abstract: A series of imperial decrees of the 1820s ordering the establishment of a Greco-Uniate Theological Collegium and appropriate consistories contributed to the spread of the autocratic synodal system of government and the establishment of control over Greek Uniate church institutions in the annexed territories of Right-Bank Ukraine. As a result, the Greco-Uniate Church was put on hold in favor of the government's favorable grounds for the rapid localization of its activities. Basilian accusations of supporting the Polish November Uprising of 1830-1831 made it possible to liquidate the OSBM and most monasteries. The transfer of the Pochaiv Monastery to the ownership of the Orthodox clergy in 1831 was a milestone in the liquidation of the Greco-Uniate Church and the establishment of a Russian-style Orthodox mono-confessionalism. On the basis of archival documents, the political motivation of the emperor's decree to confiscate the Pochayiv Monastery from the Basilians with all its property and capital was confirmed. The transfer to the category of monasteries of the 1st class and the granting of the status of a lavra indicated its special role in strengthening the position of the autocracy in the western region of the Russian Empire. The orders of the Holy Synod outline the key tasks of ensuring the viability of the Lavra as an Orthodox religious center: the introduction of continuous worship, strengthening the personal composition of the population, delimitation of spiritual responsibilities, clarifying the affiliation of the printing house. However, maintaining the rhythm of worship and financial and economic activities established by the Basilians proved to be a difficult task, the solution of which required ten years of hard work. In order to make quick changes in the monastery, decisions were made by the emperor and senior government officials, and government agencies were involved at the local level, which required the coordination of actions of all parties to the process.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Muhammad Aziz

This paper analyzes the historical conditions of Yemen’s Sufi movement from the beginning of Islam up to the rise of the Rasulid dynasty in the thirteenth century. This is a very difficult task, given the lack of adequate sources and sufficient academic attention in both the East and theWest. Certainly, a few sentences about the subject can be found scattered in Sufi literature at large, but a respectable study of the period’s mysticism can hardly be found.1 Thus, I will focus on the major authorities who first contributed to the ascetic movement’s development, discuss why a major decline of intellectual activities occurred in many metropolises, and if the existing ascetic conditions were transformed into mystical tendencies during the ninth century due to the alleged impact ofDhu’n-Nun al-Misri (d. 860). This is followed by a brief discussion ofwhat contributed to the revival of the country’s intellectual and economic activities. After that, I will attempt to portray the status of the major ascetics and prominent mystics credited with spreading and diffusing the so-called Islamic saintly miracles (karamat). The trademark of both ascetics and mystics across the centuries, this feature became more prevalent fromthe beginning of the twelfth century onward. I will conclude with a brief note on the most three celebrated figures of Yemen’s religious and cultural history: Abu al-Ghayth ibn Jamil (d. 1253) and his rival Ahmad ibn `Alwan (d. 1266) from the mountainous area, andMuhammad ibn `Ali al-`Alawi, known as al-Faqih al-Muqaddam (d. 1256), from Hadramawt.


Author(s):  
Sherzod Shadikhodjaev

ABSTRACT Many governmental incentives unilaterally offered in special economic zones affect competition in international markets and thus fall within the scope of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Until very recently, products made in such zones could face countervailing duty investigations abroad on a charge of improper subsidization. In 2019, the World Trade Organization issued its first ruling focusing on the legality of certain special economic zone subsidies. In particular, the panel in India—Export Related Measures found fiscal preferences under an Indian scheme to be prohibited export subsidies. This article examines the status of special economic zone incentives under the multilateral subsidy regime, discusses the relevant anti-subsidy practice, and identifies ‘risky’ and ‘safe’ types of support measures that constitute unilateralism of zones in promoting economic activities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Marcinko ◽  
Robert Nicholls ◽  
Tim Daw ◽  
Sugata Hazra ◽  
Craig Hutton ◽  
...  

<p>The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding targets are significantly interconnected, with many interactions, synergies and trade-offs between individual goals across multiple temporal and spatial scales.  We propose a framework for the Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) of a complex deltaic socio-ecological system in order to analyse such SDG interactions. We focus on the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR), India within the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. It is densely populated with 4.4 million people (2011), high levels of poverty and a strong dependence on rural livelihoods. It is only 50 km from the growing megacity of Kolkata (about 15 million people in 2020). The area also includes the Indian portion of the world’s largest mangrove forest – the Sundarbans – hosting the iconic Bengal Tiger. Like all deltaic systems, this area is subject to multiple drivers of environmental change operating across different scales. The IAM framework is designed to investigate current and future trends in socio-environmental change and explore associated policy impacts, considering a broad range of sub-thematic SDG indicators. Integration is achieved through the soft coupling of multiple sub-models, knowledge and data of relevant environmental and socio-economic processes.  The following elements are explicitly considered: (1) agriculture; (2) aquaculture; (3) mangroves; (4) fisheries; and (5) multidimensional poverty. Key questions that can be addressed include the implications of changing monsoon patterns, trade-offs between agriculture and aquaculture, or the future of the Sundarbans mangroves under sea-level rise and different management strategies, including trade-offs with land use to the north.  The novel high-resolution analysis of SDG interactions allowed by the IAM will provide stakeholders and policy makers the opportunity to prioritize and explore the SDG targets that are most relevant to the SBR and provide a foundation for further integrated analysis.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1122-1130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotta Clara Kluger ◽  
Sophia Kochalski ◽  
Arturo Aguirre-Velarde ◽  
Ivonne Vivar ◽  
Matthias Wolff

Abstract In February and March 2017, a coastal El Niño caused extraordinary heavy rains and a rise in water temperatures along the coast of northern Peru. In this work, we document the impacts of this phenomenon on the artisanal fisheries and the scallop aquaculture sector, both of which represent important socio-economic activities for the province of Sechura. Despite the perceived absence of effective disaster management and rehabilitation policies, resource users opted for a wide range of different adaptation strategies and are currently striving towards recovery. One year after the event, the artisanal fisheries fleet has returned to operating almost on a normal scale, while the aquaculture sector is still drastically impacted, with many people continuing to work in different economic sectors and even in other regions of the country. Recovery of the social-ecological system of Sechura likely depends on the occurrence of scallop seed and the financial capacity of small-scale producers to reinitiate scallop cultures. Long-term consequences of this coastal El Niño are yet to be studied, though the need to develop trans-local and trans-sectoral management strategies for coping with disturbance events of this scale is emphasized.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0241256
Author(s):  
Daniela Vallejo ◽  
Diego A. Rojas ◽  
John A. Martinez ◽  
Sergio Marchant ◽  
Claudia M. Holguin ◽  
...  

Potato cyst nematodes (PCN) from the genus Globodera spp. cause major losses in the potato (Solanum tuberosum) industry worldwide. Despite their importance, at present little is known about the status of this plant pathogen in cultivated potatoes in Colombia. In this study, a total of 589 samples collected from 75 geographic localities in nine potato producing regions of Colombia (Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Antioquia, Nariño, Santander, Norte de Santander, Tolima, Caldas and Cauca) were assayed for the presence of potato cyst nematodes. Fifty-seven percent of samples tested positive for PCN. Based on phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) of the rRNA gene and D2-D3 expansion segments of the 28S rRNA gene, all populations but one were identified as Globodera pallida. Sequences of G. pallida from Colombia formed a monophyletic group closely related to Peruvian populations, with the lowest average number of nucleotide substitutions per site (Dxy = 0.002) and net nucleotide substitutions per site (Da = 0.001), when compared to G. pallida populations from Europe, South and North America. A single sample formed a well-supported subclade along with G. rostochiensis and G. tabacum from Japan, USA and Argentina. To our knowledge this is the first comprehensive survey of Globodera populations from Colombia that includes genetic data. Our findings on species diversity and phylogenetic relationships of Globodera populations from Colombia may help elucidate the status and distribution of Globodera species, and lead to the development of accurate management strategies for the potato cyst nematodes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arindam Chowdhury ◽  
Milap Chand Sharma ◽  
Sunil Kumar De ◽  
Manasi Debnath

Abstract. Glaciers of the Tista basin represent an important water resource for mountain communities and large population downstream. The present article attempts to assess the observable changes in the glacier area in the Chhombo Chhu Watershed (CCW) of Tista basin, Sikkim Himalaya. The CCW consists of 74 glaciers (>0.02 km2) with a mean glacier size of 0.61 km2. The change of such glacier outlines obtained from the declassified hexagon KH-9 (1975), Landsat 5 TM (1989), Landsat 7 ETM+ (2000), Landsat 5 TM (2010), and Sentinel 2A (2018). The total glacier area in 1975 was 62.6 ±0.7 km2; by 2018, the area had decreased to 44.8 ±1.5 km2, an area loss of 17.9 ± 1.7 km2 (0.42 ± 0.04 km2 a−1). Debris free glaciers exhibit more area loss by 11.8 ± 1.2 km2 (0.27 ± 0.03  km2 a−1) followed by partially debris-covered (5.0 ± 0.4 km2 or 0.12 ± 0.01 km2 a−1) and maximum debris-covered (1.0 ± 0.1 km2 or −0.02 ± 0.002 km2 a−1) glaciers. The quantum of glacier area loss in the CCW of Sikkim Himalaya took its pace during 2000–2010 (0.62 ± 0.5 km2 a−1) and 2010–2018 (0.77 ± 0.6 km2 a−1) timeframes. Field investigations of selected glaciers and climatic records also support the trend in glacier recession in the CCW due to a significant increase in temperature trend and more or less static precipitation since 1995. Glacier retreat rates in the CCW were almost similar to the Changme Khangpu basin and other selected glaciers in Sikkim Himalaya. This glacier inventory and area change analysis will provide valuable information to the glaciological and hydrological community to model and plan the water resources in the Sikkim state of Eastern Himalaya. The dataset is now available from the Zenodo web portal: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4457183 (Chowdhury et al., 2021).


Bothalia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Hahn

Background: The first checklist for the Soutpansberg was published in 1946, and the second list was compiled by the author in 2006 as part of his doctoral thesis. Currently, there is a need for an updated account of the biodiversity of the Soutpansberg Centre of Endemism and Diversity for conservation planning in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, within which the Soutpansberg is the principle geomorphological feature.Objectives: To present an updated list of vascular plants recorded for the Soutpansberg.Method: The list was compiled from various sources including literature reviews, herbarium specimens, herbarium databases and personal observations.Results: This article presents the most geographically accurate and taxonomically updated list of the indigenous vascular flora of the Soutpansberg, the northernmost mountain range of South Africa. Altogether 2443 taxa are recorded belonging to 922 genera in 187 families and 64 orders.Conclusion: The list presented in this article confirms the status of the Soutpansberg as a centre of floristic diversity in southern Africa. Notable is the higher-order diversity of the flora. It is likely that both future surveys and reviews of herbarium collections will add new taxa to the current total.


Author(s):  
Osvaldo Augusto Vasconcelos de Oliveira Lopes Da Silva ◽  
José Machado Moita Neto ◽  
Marcos Antônio Tavares Lira

The expansion of Brazilian higher education institutions (HEIs) organized in multicampi structures brought a significant complexity to the academic and administrative management. In this context, environmental management strategies become quite relevant, especially when considering the low effectiveness of the Brazilian Labeling Program (BLP) for the classification of buildings in practice. The main objective of the present paper is to evaluate the BLP efficacy as applied to HEI buildings, aiming to develop a new environmental labeling model for multicampi HEIs. For this purpose, the BLP was applied to the labeling of Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí (IFPI), employing data obtained from electricity bills between 2016 and 2018. The energy diagnosis was performed considering distinct indicators,performance indexes, levels and rankings of relative energy efficiency, from which energy efficiency labels could be developed. The results allow the verification of the low efficiency of the BLP, especially in the environmental labeling of HEIs. From the detailed analysis of bills, it is possible to develop environmental labels inspired by the BLP, resulting in a different approach. A novel type-II environmental labeling methodology is then introduced based on the breakdown of electricity bills and statistical methods.


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