353 wildlife species found in 10 years in N-E India .Snow white orchid among 353 new species
Gangtok , Aug. 10: The eastern Himalayas is one of the last biological frontiers of Asia with 35 new species being discovered on an average annually for the past 10 years, according to a report of the World Wildlife Fund.
The WWF report titled The Eastern Himalayas — Where Worlds Collide and released today says between 1998 and 2008, at least 353 new species have been discovered in the region.
“The Eastern Himalayas is certainly one of the last biological frontiers of Asia and, without doubt, there are still many new discoveries waiting to be made,” the report said.
The eastern Himalayas is spread across north Bengal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Sikkim besides the far north of Myanmar, Nepal and the southern parts of Tibet.
The report says the cache, quality and diversity of species newly discovered between 1998 and 2008 make the mountainous region one of the world’s most important biological hotspots. “The extent of the new species finds place the eastern Himalayas on a par with more well known biological hotspots such as Borneo,” it says.
The WWF has asked the governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal to commit to cooperate in conservation efforts in the geographic region that transcends the borders of the three countries to protect the landscape and the livelihoods of people living in the eastern Himalayas.
The rugged and largely inaccessible landscape of the eastern Himalayas has made biological surveys in the region extremely difficult, resulting in poor wildlife survey and large areas still remaining unexplored.
One of the discoveries in 2007 highlighted by the report is the bright green, red-footed tree frog Rhacophorus suffry called “flying frog” because its long-webbed feet allow the species to glide when falling.
The species is mainly found in swampy areas and is known only from five specific sites, including the Suffry tea estate in Assam where it was originally found and in neighbouring areas. Other new species from Assam include Amolops assamensis, a green and brown species which is also called the Assamese cascade frog. The report also mentions the “miniature muntjac”, also called the leaf deer (Muntiacus putaoensis) the world’s oldest and smallest deer species. It also highlights growing pressures on the ecosystems and species as a consequence of unsustainable development in the region.
“Despite protection efforts, in the last half-century, this area of South Asia has faced a wave of pressure as a result of population growth and the increasing demand for commodities by global and regional markets. The host of threats include forest destruction as a result of unsustainable and illegal logging, agriculture, unsustainable fuel wood collection, overgrazing by domestic livestock, illegal poaching and wildlife trade, mining,” the report says.
Gangtok , Aug. 10: The eastern Himalayas is one of the last biological frontiers of Asia with 35 new species being discovered on an average annually for the past 10 years, according to a report of the World Wildlife Fund.
The WWF report titled The Eastern Himalayas — Where Worlds Collide and released today says between 1998 and 2008, at least 353 new species have been discovered in the region.
“The Eastern Himalayas is certainly one of the last biological frontiers of Asia and, without doubt, there are still many new discoveries waiting to be made,” the report said.
The eastern Himalayas is spread across north Bengal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Sikkim besides the far north of Myanmar, Nepal and the southern parts of Tibet.
The report says the cache, quality and diversity of species newly discovered between 1998 and 2008 make the mountainous region one of the world’s most important biological hotspots. “The extent of the new species finds place the eastern Himalayas on a par with more well known biological hotspots such as Borneo,” it says.
The WWF has asked the governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal to commit to cooperate in conservation efforts in the geographic region that transcends the borders of the three countries to protect the landscape and the livelihoods of people living in the eastern Himalayas.
The rugged and largely inaccessible landscape of the eastern Himalayas has made biological surveys in the region extremely difficult, resulting in poor wildlife survey and large areas still remaining unexplored.
One of the discoveries in 2007 highlighted by the report is the bright green, red-footed tree frog Rhacophorus suffry called “flying frog” because its long-webbed feet allow the species to glide when falling.The species is mainly found in swampy areas and is known only from five specific sites, including the Suffry tea estate in Assam where it was originally found and in neighbouring areas. Other new species from Assam include Amolops assamensis, a green and brown species which is also called the Assamese cascade frog. The report also mentions the “miniature muntjac”, also called the leaf deer (Muntiacus putaoensis) the world’s oldest and smallest deer species. It also highlights growing pressures on the ecosystems and species as a consequence of unsustainable development in the region.
“Despite protection efforts, in the last half-century, this area of South Asia has faced a wave of pressure as a result of population growth and the increasing demand for commodities by global and regional markets. The host of threats include forest destruction as a result of unsustainable and illegal logging, agriculture, unsustainable fuel wood collection, overgrazing by domestic livestock, illegal poaching and wildlife trade, mining,” the report says.
