The Indian Himalayan Region – The Target Area
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With geographical coverage of over 0.53 million km2
area, the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) constitutes
nearly 17% of country's geographical area and contributes greatly to richness and representativeness
of its biodiversity components at all levels (i.e., genes, species and ecosystems). Although the region
represents only about 4% of total human population of the country, it exhibits great diversity of ethnic
groups (e.g., 171 out of a total 573 reported scheduled tribes in India), often inhabiting remote and
inhospitable terrains. The diversity of biophysical features in IHR is adequately represented through
representation of 3 bio-geographical zones and 9 bio-geographic provinces (Table).
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Table: Diversity of biophysical features in IHR
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Bio-geographic Zones
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Bio-geographic Provinces
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% of geographical area of India
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Major Biome Representation
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Trans Himalaya
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1A: Ladakh Mountains
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3.3
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Tundra
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1B: Tibetan Plateau
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2.3
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Alpine
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1 C: Sikkim Trans Himalaya
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< 0.1
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Alpine, Tundra
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The Himalaya
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2A: North west Himalaya
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2.1
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Alpine, Temperate, Sub Tropical
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2B: West Himalaya
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1.6
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-do-
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2C: Central Himalaya
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0.2
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-do-
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2D: East Himalaya
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2.5
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-do-
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Northeast India
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9A: Brahamputra Valley
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2.0
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Tropical Evergreen Forest, Very Moist Sal
Forest, Tropical Grass Lands
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9B: Northeast Hills
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3.2
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Tropical evergreen, Tropical Moist
Deciduous, Subtropical, Montane
Temperate, Wetlands
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Source: Rodgers and Panwar, 1988; Rodgers et al., 2000 (Wildlife Institute of India).
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