Design & Development Of Involving Local Communities Bilal Habib Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks. And it’s always harder than it looks.” Nanda Devi Peak CONTENTS 01 Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve 01 02 Biodiversity Features 03 03 Origin of Biosphere Reserves 05 04 UNESCO MAB Programme 06 05 Development of Monitoring Programme 07 06 Literature Review and Baseline Maps 07 07 Field Protocol (Sampling Design) 07 08 Field Protocol (Sampling Strategy) 12 09 Field Protocol (Data Collection Formats) 12 10 Data Format for Carnivore Species 13 11 Instructions for Carnivore Data Format 14 12 Data Format for Ungulate Species 18 13 Instructions for Prey Point Data Sheet 19 14 Statistical Analysis 20 15 Expected Outcomes 20 16 Recommendations and Learnings 20 17 Success of the Exercise 21 18 Key Reference 22 Design and Development of Ecological Monitoring Programme in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Uttarakhand India, Involving Local Communities Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve: Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NBR) (30°05' - 31°02' N Latitude, 79012' - 80019' E Longitude) is located in the northern part of west Himalaya in the biogeographical classification zone 2B. The Biosphere Reserve spreads over three districts of Uttarakhand - Chamoli in Garhwal and Bageshwar and Pithoragarh in Kumaun. The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve falls under Himalayan Highlands (2a) zone of the biogeographic zonation of India. It has wide altitudinal range (1,500 - 7,817 m). It covers 6407.03 km2 area with core zone (712.12 km2), buffer zone (5,148.57 km2) and transition zone (546.34 km2). The buffer zone is inhabited by 47 villages whereas the transition zone is inhabited by 52 villages. These villages are distributed in Chamoli (Garhwal region), Bageshwar and, Pithoragarh (Kumaun region) districts. The Nanda Devi National Park is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi, 7,817 m (25,646 ft) in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India that was established in 1982. Along with the adjoining Valley of Flowers National Park to the northwest, it was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. In 1939, the area was declared as a game sanctuary. Photograph showing highest peak in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve was designated as biosphere reserve in 2004 including the core areas of both Nanda Devi National park and Valley of Flowers National Park. The reserve is one of the spectacular wilderness areas of Western Himalayas covering an area of 6407.03 sq.km. Mount Nanda Devi (7800m), India's second highest mountain and Rishi Ganga George, one of the world’s deepest gorge is the major attraction of the reserve. The biosphere reserve has very diverse fauna and flora. The Valley of Flowers National Park, one of the core area is well renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers where more than 600 Himalayan species grow in an area of less than 2,500 hectares. The reserve is also the habitat of the endangered snow leopard, Asiatic black bear, brown bear, Himalayan musk deer and bharal. Vegetation is scarce in the inner sanctuary due to the dryness of the conditions. You won’t find vegetation near Nanda Devi Glacier. Ramani, alpine, prone mosses and lichens are other notable floral species found in Nanda Devi National Park. Figure 1 shows the location of Nada Devi Biosphere reserve. Figure 1: Location Map of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve with forest cover categories Biodiversity Features: Province: Main himalayas Mixed mountain and highlands Biomes: The main vegetation types are mixed temperate and subalpine. The vegetation growth in the forests is of fir, birch, rhododendron and juniper. The conditions are drier in the inner part of the sanctuary. There is almost no vegetation near the Nanda Devi Glacier. The vegetation changes to Vegetation: alpine from the place called Ramnani and only juniper scrubs dominate the vegetal growth. This type of vegetation gradually gives way to grasses, prone mosses and lichens. There are around 312 floral species found in this national park out of which around 17 are considered rare. Over 15,000 people live in the Biosphere Reserve. The buffer Community structure zone includes 45 villages and the local communities living and Ethnic groups: here mainly belong to two ethnic groups, the Indo-Mongoloid (Bhotia) and Indo-Aryan including Brahmins and rajputs. Nanda Devi, named after Devi (‘goddess’), consort of Shiva, is a manifestation of Parvati and has been revered since ancient times (Reinhard, 1987). Hindus have deified the entire basin and every twelfth year devotees make the Nanda Devi Raj Jat pilgrimage to the foot of Trisul to worship their patroness the Cultural Significance: 'Bliss-giving Goddess' Nanda Devi (Kaur, 1982). The Valley of Flowers which is Seven kilometres south of the Park entrance, at Ghangrea, a track leads off to the Hemkund Sahib shrine sacred to Sikhs, and the Hindu temple to Lakshman, brother of Ram, beside Lake Lokpal. These have long been places of pilgrimage to both Sikhs and Hindus, and 400,000-500,000 pilgrims visit them every year. The local communities practice marginal subsistence agriculture, rear cattle for milk and sheep for wool. Livelihood strategies: Cultivation of medicinal plants, sheep farming, apiculture and horticulture are among the main income sources of the villagers. Photograph showing valley of Flowers during different seasons Origin of Biosphere Reserves: Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are internationally recognized, nominated by national governments and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Biosphere reserves serve in some ways as 'living laboratories' for testing out and demonstrating integrated management of land, water and biodiversity. Collectively, biosphere reserves form a world network: the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR). Within this network, exchanges of information, experience and personnel are facilitated. There are over 500 biosphere reserves in over 100 countries. The origin of Biosphere Reserves goes back to the "Biosphere Conference" organized by UNESCO in 1968. This was the 1st intergovernmental conference examining how to reconcile the conservation and use of natural resources, thereby foreshadowing the present-day notion of sustainable development. This Conference resulted in the launching of the UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) Programme in 1970. One of the original MAB projects consisted in establishing a coordinated World Network of sites representing the main ecosystems of the planet in which genetic resources would be protected, and where research on ecosystems as well as monitoring and training work could be carried out. These sites were named as "Biosphere Reserves", in reference to the MAB programme itself. Each biosphere reserve is intended to fulfil 3 basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing: a conservation function - to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation. a development function - to foster economic and human development which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable. a logistic function - to provide support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development. There are three main parts to a reserve. The first part is called the core zone, which is strongly protected for the conservation of biological diversity — to make sure that different types of plants and animals are safe from human impact. The second part is called a buffer zone, and surrounds the core zones and provides a space for environmental research, recreation, and tourism. The last part is called a transition zone, and this area is for local communities that have a hand in managing the resources of the area through farming, fisheries, and other activities. Ultimately, the ways that these three zones operate depend on the specific needs of the biosphere reserve they are in. Only the core area requires legal protection and hence can correspond to an existing protected area such as a nature reserve or a national park. This zonation scheme is applied in many different ways in the real world to accommodate geographical conditions, socio-cultural settings, available legal protection measures and local constraints. This flexibility can be used creatively and is one of the strongest points of the biosphere reserve concept, facilitating the integration of protected areas into the wider landscape. Core Areas: These areas are securely protected sites for conserving biological diversity, monitoring minimally disturbed ecosystems, and undertaking non- destructive research and other low-impact uses (such as education). Buffer Zones: These areas must be clearly identified, and usually surround or adjoin the Core Areas. Buffer Zones may be used for cooperative activities compatible with sound ecological practices, including environmental education, recreation, ecotourism and applied and basic research. Transition, or Cooperation, Zones: These areas may contain towns, farms, fisheries, and other human activities and are the areas where local communities, management agencies, scientists, non-governmental organizations, cultural groups, economic interests, and other stakeholders work together to manage and sustainably develop the area's