Slow-melting glaciers due to global warming may cause huge floods in Bhutan in the future and result in loss of keystone species and encourage probable animal poachers to hunt in this country, Indian researchers say.
Bhutan is one of the few countries in the world with negative carbon emissions. However, its status as a negative carbon emitter does not make it immune to the impact of climate change.
“Currently, loss of keystone species is not recorded for Bhutan but the snow leopard, tiger and white-bellied herons are presently threatened. India could be affected in a way that probable animal poachers will hunt in India if loss of keystone species occurs in Bhutan. Also, some international policies (relating to the environment) can also be affected,” Bandopadhyay said.
The presence and absence of a keystone species impacts the existence of all other organisms around it. In a critical analysis in Current Science, Bandopadhyay and Aparna Banerjee of the varsity have drawn attention to Bhutan and its biodiversity links with India in reference to their location in the Eastern Himalayan (EH) range, one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world.
Spanning nearly 7,50,000 sq. km, the EH hotspot covers Nepal, Bhutan, the Indian states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, southeast Tibet and northern Myanmar.
Conservation of the natural environment is one of the four pillars of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness creed. Its constitution says that “a minimum of sixty percent of Bhutan’s total land shall be maintained under forest cover for all time” to conserve the country’s natural resources and to prevent degradation of the ecosystem.
“We have parks which are connected with biological corridors. Indian Manas Park has a good future because it’s connected to Bhutan’s Manas National Park which is connected to all the parks,” a source in the the Royal Manas National Park said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
“Bhutan’s ethics and principles on conservation are very strong and their population ratio is very slim. We have good biodiversity in India but we need to take care of it,” Bandhopadhyay concluded.
(Published in an arrangement with IANS)
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