ITANAGAR, 11 Dec: International Mountain Day was jointly observed by the Northeast regional centre of the GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and the Zoological Survey of India’s (ZSI) regional office here on Monday.
During the programme, Professor Hui Tag from Rajiv Gandhi University’s botany department spoke on the topic, ‘Community traditional knowledge and restoration of mountain ecosystem’. He highlighted the diversity of indigenous communities in the Arunachal Himalaya and their age-old traditional knowledge systems, which have contributed to biodiversity conservation.
Prof Tag emphasised the importance of traditional knowledge for biodiversity conservation in the Arunachal Himalaya, and stated that “modern influence has led to diminishing of traditional knowledge, impacting biodiversity conservation in the region.”
Kolkata (WB)-based ZSI scientist Dr Lalit Kumar Sharma spoke about ‘Conservation of biodiversity of the Indian Himalayan region through adopting science best practices’. He focused mainly on the vertebrate fauna of the Himalayan landscape, and emphasised that “climate change and forest fires impact the biodiversity of the Himalayas.”
ZSI Officer In-charge Dr SD Gurumayum in her address spoke about the diverse fish species in Arunachal, and about “the possibility of doubling the documented number of fish species in the state of Arunachal through ongoing molecular genetics studies.”
Sixty participants, including faculty members and students of Himalayan University, scientists and research scholars participated in the programme.
