The Himalaya, a global biodiversity hotspot, sustains about one-fifth of the humankind. Nestled within the north-western mountain ranges of the Himalaya, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State harbours more than half of the biodiversity found in the Indian Himalaya. The wide expanse of State, spread across the subtropical Jammu, through the temperate Kashmir valley, to the cold arid Ladakh, is typical representative of the extensive elevational and topographical diversity encountered in the entire Himalaya. This book, the most comprehensive and updated synthesis ever made available on biodiversity of the J&K State, is a valuable addition to the biodiversity literature with global and regional relevance. The book, arranged into 7 parts, comprises of 42 chapters contributed by 87 researchers, each of whom is an expert in his/her own field of research. The precious baseline data contained in the book would form the foundation for assessing current status of knowledge about the bioresources, identify the knowledge gaps, and help prioritization of conservation strategies to steer the sustainable use of biodiversity in this Himalayan region. Given the breadth of topics covered under the banner of biodiversity in this book, it can surely serve as a model for documentation of biodiversity in other regions of the world. The book will be of immense value to all those who, directly or indirectly, have to deal with biodiversity, including students, teachers, researchers, naturalists, environmentalists, resource managers, planners, government agencies, NGOs and the general public at large.

Biodiversity of Fishes in Arunachal Himalaya: Systematics, Classification, and Taxonomic Identification provides a detailed piscatorial resource of the fish species living in the rich mountain waterbodies of the eastern Himalayan region. It presents the latest classifications and updated taxa of fish dwelling in high-altitude cold waters, mid-altitude cold and warm waters, and warm waters in the low altitude foothill regions of the Arunachal Himalaya. The book includes the scientific and vernacular names of more than 200 fish species, as well as coloration, distributional and conservational status. It addresses increasing threats to the endemic fishes of this region, including habitat shrinkage, habitat destruction, and more. This book will be a valuable resource for biodiversity and conservation researchers, especially those specializing in ichthyo-faunal diversity. Fishery researchers and students will also find the information presented on taxonomic and classification very useful to their initiatives. - Documents the taxonomy of 218 freshwater fish species from the headwaters of the Brahmaputra basin - Includes quality photographs of each species, either in the wild or as fresh specimens, for easy visual identification - Provides species registration numbers and key distinguishing features for fast field and research references

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities around the world. This book is the second volume in the new series Biodiversity Hotspots of the World, which highlights the 36 hotspot regions of the world, regions that have been designated as reaping maximum benefit from preservation efforts. This series is our humble attempt to document these hotspots as a conservation and preservation measure. The concise volumes in this series focus on the most interesting and important properties of these hotspots, covering physiography and climatology; vegetation and forest types; amphibian and reptile biodiversity; genetic diversity of crops, plants, fishes, butterflies, insects, birds, mammals, angiosperms, and gymnosperms; and much more. And of course, the unique threats and conservation efforts for the areas are addressed as well. The Himalayan Mountains are the highest mountain range in the world and include Mount Everest as well as eight other highest peaks of the world. While it is difficult to document the biodiversity of this inhospitable terrain, we do know that out of the 9,000 different species of plants recorded in the area, 3,500 plants are endemic to the Eastern Himalaya region. Anthropogenic activities including deforestation, fragmentation of habitats, pollution, high population, climate change, and poaching of wildlife pose serious threats to the biodiversity of the region. The highlands have exceptionally rich biodiversity, high endemism, and over 160 globally threatened species, including the densest population of Bengal tigers and the three largest herbivores on the continent: the Asian elephant, greater one-horned rhinoceros, and wild water buffalo. The region boasts the world’s richest counts of alpine flora within its temperate broad-leaved forests, with a total of 10,000 species of plants. This volume, Biodiversity Hotspot of the Himalayas, as well as the other volumes in this series, will be essential resources for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology, and evolution as the series concisely records the existing biodiversity of these hotspots of the world.

Covering 100 medicinal plant species of the Lesser Himalayas including Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms, this book reviews ethnobotanical aspects, marketing and anthropogenic pressures, and also includes scientific description and traditional uses.

This book presents some results on selected taxa in the Himalayan region (mainly Nepal), pinpoints the threats to their survival and suggests ways how to avoid their extinction. Most chapters are based on graduate research projects – relatively long-term field studies. The data presented here can be a good source of updated information on the subject and will prove to be a very useful reference in future studies of Himalayan biodiversity. They also tend to pinpoint the existing gaps in our knowledge of this region. All the chapters are based on recent trends of biodiversity and conservation vision, so the book can be a potential alternative to the existing relatively older books with outdated vision and information. Its main goal, however, is to disseminate the information about biodiversity conservation problems in the Himalayan region among the people in the developed world.

This open access volume is the first comprehensive assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. It comprises important scientific research on the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable mountain development and will serve as a basis for evidence-based decision-making to safeguard the environment and advance people’s well-being. The compiled content is based on the collective knowledge of over 300 leading researchers, experts and policymakers, brought together by the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP) under the coordination of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This assessment was conducted between 2013 and 2017 as the first of a series of monitoring and assessment reports, under the guidance of the HIMAP Steering Committee: Eklabya Sharma (ICIMOD), Atiq Raman (Bangladesh), Yuba Raj Khatiwada (Nepal), Linxiu Zhang (China), Surendra Pratap Singh (India), Tandong Yao (China) and David Molden (ICIMOD and Chair of the HIMAP SC). This First HKH Assessment Report consists of 16 chapters, which comprehensively assess the current state of knowledge of the HKH region, increase the understanding of various drivers of change and their impacts, address critical data gaps and develop a set of evidence-based and actionable policy solutions and recommendations. These are linked to nine mountain priorities for the mountains and people of the HKH consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. This book is a must-read for policy makers, academics and students interested in this important region and an essentially important resource for contributors to global assessments such as the IPCC reports.

Freshwater Fishes of the Eastern Himalayas provides a guide to describe the internationally accepted methods used in the accurate identification of fishes, morphometry, i.e., body proportions, meristics, i.e., counts of countable characters, viz., scales, fin rays, pores, vertebrae etc., characters of bones wherever necessary, special characters, viz., serrations of fin spines, axillary lobes, lobes, color patterns, etc. All the available taxa of the region are covered, making this an essential reference that provides the original description of genera and species. Diagnostic characters in the book can be easily examined by an unaided eye or by a binocular dissecting microscope with transmitted light. - Provides diagnostic characters which are unique for a species or a combination of characters to differentiate each species from its congeners - Includes both verbal and technical aspects, along with color illustrations of the particular part of the fish showing the distinguishing character - Presents diagnostic characters, illustrations or images of the fish and of its parts, showing the unique character and distribution to make it easy for species identification