• A comprehensive Database of Regional Biodiversity.

• List of threatened and endemic species with specific uses that require immediate attention.

• A database comprising 2862 species belonging to algae, fungi, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms has been prepared.

• Dicotyledons contribute 1407 of plant species distributed in 502 genera and 108 families; whereas monocotyledons share 561 plant species grouped under 191 genera and 28 families. • Gymnosperms are represented by 12 plant species belonging to 8 genera and 4 families.

• Pteridophytes comprised of 151 taxa belonging to 41 genera and 16 species.

• 262 bryophytes species grouped under 99 genera and 39 families were listed from Kashmir Himalaya.

• Algae hold 525 species, 135 genera and 7 families.

• Fungal diversity of Kashmir Himalaya revealed 238 species grouped under 112 genera, 66 families and 6 classes

• A document on Climate Change (CC)-induced variations and trends observed in the Kashmir Himalaya along with preventive measures.

• Trends in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) in the Kashmir Himalaya.

• Management strategies for existing invasive species and predictive framework for potential alien species.

• Temperature data in the Kashmir Himalayas overwhelmingly show a warming trend, though at different rates in different periods depending on the region and season. The study shows a 0.5 °C annual average maximum temperature (Tmax) warming over 1971-2005 compared to 1901-1960 with a 0.9 °C rise over 102 years (1901-2003), much of this observed trend is related to increases after 1972.

• Using winter (Dec-Feb) monthly temperature data from 1975-2006, the study showed a warming trend over the Kashmir Himalayas, with the greatest observed increase in Tmax (1.1-2.5°C).

• The study shows intra-regional differences in winter rainfall trends over Kashmir Himalaya representing statistically significant downward trend in winter precipitation (Jan-Feb) in the study area during 1901-2003. Land Use/Land Cover-2010:

• The LU/LC classification of Kashmir Himalayas has been done for 2010 year. The analysis of LULC of 2010 has revealed that Agriculture is a dominant class contributing about 3713.38 sq.km (23.29 %) followed by Evergreen forests as 3343.98 sq.km (20.98 %) and Scrub as 2196.36 sq.km (13.78 %).

• Deciduous Forests contributed to 1887.13 sq.km (11.84 %) while horticulture has a share of 1506.10 sq.km (9.45 %). The other classes consist of Pastures 979.61 sq.km (6.15 %), Wetlands 747.74 sq.km (11.84 %), Waterbody 624.92 sq.km (3.92 %), Built Up 481.10 sq.km (3.02 %) and Barren Rocks 460.68 sq.km (2.89 %). Invasive Species:

• Alien flora of Kashmir Himalaya comprising of 571 plant species belonging to 352 genera and 104 families has been documented. Land and Water Degradation:

• The study has revealed that unsustainable agricultural practice has promoted land degradation. Degradation of existing agricultural land has negative impact on food production, and thus negatively affects food security. The increasing food demand of growing population has caused a high pressure of land and water resources.

• Unscientific and over exploitation of water resources are one of the major issues of the study area.

• Screening and listing of species guided by traditional uses and biologically relevant metabolites with therapeutic potential.

• Potential Drug Leads

• The traditional medicinal system in Ladakh is popularly called “Sowa-rigpa” or “Amchi system of medicine”, which is principally based on Tibetan system of medicine. Nearly 329 ethno-medicinal plants from trans-Himalaya (Ladakh and Lahul-Spiti) have been recorded. Most commonly used genera in Ladakh were Artemisia (13 spp.), Nepeta (9 spp.), Saussurea (9 spp.), Gentiana (7 spp.), Astragalus (6 spp.), Corydalis (6 spp.), Pedicularis (6 spp.), Rhodiola (6 spp.), Berberis (5 spp.), Plantago (5 spp.), Rheum (5 spp.) and Tanacetum (5 spp.).

• Preliminary screening and listing of medicinal plants/herbs (Ephedra gerardiana, Hyoscyamus niger, Physochlaina praealta, Prangos pabularia, Nepeta spp., Artimesia spp., Achillea millefolium, Aconitum spp., Saussurea spp., Swertia spp., Gentiana spp., Picrorhiza etc) with therapeutic potential and commonly used by herbal practitioner (Amchis system) in Ladakh against particular ailment was collected from the literature and research groups working in the study area (Ladakh).

• Common ailment prevalent in the Ladakh division are: gastrointestinal disorders, upper respiratory tract diseases, hepatic diseases, skin diseases, urinary problems, cardiac disorders, inflammatory, rheumatism, asthma, jaundice, epilepsy, infertility, depression, hypertension, dental, general body ache, osteoarthritis, immunomodulatory etc. which are cured by traditional Amchis with the help of medicinal plants has been listed, which need further scientific validation and some preliminary assays.

• Metabolites (polyphenolic, alkaloids, terpenes, saponins, tannins etc.) with potential to act as drug leads are also listed and the presence of these active metabolites need to be verified and validated with some assays and experimentations. There are a number of species (listed in attached table) whose metabolomics or phytochemical screening has not been done so far.

•A comprehensive Biodiversity Database developed and utilized in decision-making (conservation practices)

•A brief report on preventive measures on Human-Wildlife conflicts and landscape-level best practices

• The human population growth and expansion, habitat degradation and fragmentation, land use transformation and increasing densities of livestock grazing in protected areas, conversion of prime habitats into croplands, orchards and human settlements, reduction in prey base, fencing along international borders and climate change are considered as major causes for human-wildlife conflicts.

• In a recent study carried out by Moten et al., (2017) in Kashmir, 1067 cases of wild animal injuries were reported for a period of 10 years between 2005-2016 with 811 (76%) injuries due to bear mauling, 67 (6%) due to leopard attack, 22 (2%) due to red fox, 14 (1.5%) due to monkeys. Males were victims in 77% of cases and females in 20% cases and 15% cases were children in the age group below 10 years. Also the conflict showed an increasing pattern during the last decade with 3 deaths and 79 injuries reported in 2005-06 and 22 deaths and 317 injuries reported in 2015-16.

• The topography of Kashmir Valley, India makes the people at risk of wild life injuries all the time. The wild animals mainly responsible for human wildlife conflict in Kashmir include leopard, black bear, brown bear, jackal, monkeys and red fox.

• A key step in enhancing the State Wildlife Board’s ability to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

• With the exception of a handful of case studies, we remain largely ignorant of the ecology and nature of human-wildlife conflict.

• There is need for establishing provincial leadership roles and promoting community-based solutions to prevent human-wildlife conflicts.

• The way forward should be Community Participation, Power Fencing, Culling, Sterilization and Translocation. Also relief should be provided for loss of livestock or human life and construction of latrines should be done and Gun licenses should be withdrawn in areas of high to medium conflict zones. Above all conservation education programs should be conducted to reduce the conflict.

•A Manual on Landscapes Restoration Practices by restricting proliferation of invasive alien species in the region

• Alien flora of Kashmir Himalaya comprising of 571 plant species belonging to 352 genera and 104 families has been documented. However, systematic approaches to management of biological invasions in Kashmir Himalaya are not yet visible.

• Based on literature survey, it becomes apparent that different restoration methods are effective at different stages of invasion which need to comsidered for implementation in Kashmir Himalaya so as to bring reduction in IAS.

• Quarantine screening and early detection protocols are effective at the level of prediction of alien invasions. Similarly, eradication, containment and control measures are prescriptive tools at later stages of invasion. However, for highly degraded sites, some other alternative mechanisms of invasion and restoration strategies can be done like:

• High resource availability eg: carbon additions to lower soil nitrogen availability (e.g; use of saw dust)

• Planting canopy trees to lower light availability

• Maintain native mutualisms, add native mycorrhizal inoculates to soil • Planting or seeding native species to increase biotic resistance

•Periodic studies on utilization of ground water and aquifers and their recharge to ensure sustainability.

•Development of a database on utilization and recharge of ground water and aquifers..

• For the assessments of groundwater, the Jammu Himalaya has been classified into different groundwater assessment units like Geographical area, Runoff / hilly area, Ground water assessment unit in which recharge is possible, Command area and Non-command area.

• The assessments of groundwater were taken for the year 2010.

• In the command area there are 144 domestic use wells and 78 irrigation wells are operating, whereas in the non-command area there are 133 domestic uses well and 11 irrigation wells.

• The annual groundwater draft for all uses such as domestic and irrigation has been calculated about 20611.78m3.

• The annual groundwater recharge in the study area was determined 82739.38m3 and net annual groundwater availability was calculated as 74141.89m3.

• The groundwater utilization and stage of groundwater development have also been determined and the overall stage of groundwater development of Jammu Himalaya is 27.80%.

• There is no significant rise or fall of water levels during both the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon intervals in the study area.

•Multi-purpose trees and other flora for different agro-climatic zones identified

• Due to harsh climatic conditions the tree species diversity in the Ladakh region is meager. In this regard besides the available trees due attention was also provided to woody shrubs.

• A number of multifunctional tree species and woody shrubs both indigenous and introduced have been mostly reported to be found confined to the river banks and nallah beds. They are highly significant to the local population as a source of fodder, fuel and timber besides playing important role in land rehabilitation. Some of these are listed as Populus alba, P. euphratica, P. nigra, P. ciliate, P. angustifolia, Salix elegans, S. alba, S. sclerophylla, S. fragilis, , Juniperus macropoda, J. communis, Myricari prostrata, Hippophae rhamnoides and Ephedra vulgaris (Kachroo et al., 1977; Kala, 2011; Dvorsky et al., 2015).

• For the purpose of rehabilitation of degraded lands J&K State Forest Department had launched high scale plantation drive by planting multifunctional Salix and Populus trees.

• Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), has been found an important multifunctional thorny shrub which the villagers use for food, fuel, fodder, medicine and as well as for fencing their fields. Being a nitrogen fixing species, it is planted in Igoo-PHE canal as rehabilitation measures for degraded lands.

• In addition to planting multifunctional timber trees, it is has been found that due attention is also given to fruit trees like apricot, apple, walnut, mulberry, cherry, and vine in different areas which had yielded fruitful results in checking wind erosion hazards.

•Their roles, norms and practices for sustainable resource management, environment protection and socio-economic development

• Some of the renowned NGO’s or voluntary global as well as regional organizations such as, Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG), Ladakh Environment and Health Organization (LEHO), Leh Nutrition Project, WWF, Snow Leopard Conservancy, SECMOL, Ladakh Heart Foundation, Operation New Hope, Ladakh Women's Alliance, Rural Development and You, Mahabodhi International Meditation Center, have focused on the environmental perspective of Ladakh region. They are doing good work in terms of generating environmental awareness, introduction of innovative techniques, scientific establishment of environmental sustenance and management etc.

• Traditionally, the farmers have made use of the barren alleviated semi desert conditions by cultivation through skillful irrigation. Wherever it is possible farmers have skillfully canalized the water through construction of long canals, some of them running over few kilometers traversing through Rocky Mountains.

• A very rare nomadic tribe in Ladakh, Champa tribe has embraced a very innovative technique which is to an extent modification of a very famous movement called “Chipko Movement” or “Hug the Trees”. People of the tribe halt any environmental intrusion by timber smugglers thus contributing significantly in favor of environmental management and prevent its degradation.

•Alternate livelihood options giving emphasis on green job creation and value chains recognized

Information was collected about different agriculture and horticulture produce commonly grown in the region of Ladakh using secondary data sources: The principal crops of Ladakh region includes barley (Hordeum vulgare), grim (H. aegiceras), wheat (Triticum aestivum), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), millets (Panicum miliaceum) and oat (Avena sativa). Small cropped area is also occupied by pea (Pisum sativum), potato (Solanum tuberosum), mustard (Brassica spp.), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), and sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides).

• Main dairy fermented products of this region include chhura or chhurphe, maar, sri, labo, and jho, etc. Value addition of products In order to increase the marketability of both fresh and processed products an ideal packaging is required. In case of fresh fruit canning is preferred. For jam and pickle, glass and PET bottles is required. In case of juices and other beverages, laminated carton is used whereas as in dehydrated products shrink packing is preferred. Identification of locally available dairy based products and up-gradation of their existing processing techniques to increase their shelflife is need of the day.

•Documentation of environment-friendly traditional farming systems.

• The following information was collected about different traditional food products, underutilized crops and organic farming in Kargil (Ladakh) by using secondary sources of data.

• The various traditional foods and beverages made in the region are- Tagi Khambir or Skyurchuk, Tagi Buskhuruk, Tagi Thalkhuruk, Tagi Mer-Khour, Tagi Thal-Khour,agi Tain-Tain, Tagi Kiseer/Giziri, Skien/Mayaro, Kaptsey/Makhori, Tagi Tsabkhur, Sephe Tagi, Khura, Ready to serve Kholak, Tsiri Kholak, Sbangphe, Chuu Kholak, Cha Kholak, Der Kholak, Chhang Kholak, Phemar, Chubtsos, Kushi Phey Kholak, Chuli Phe Kholak, Baril, Thud, Ruskhu, Paba, Tsamik, Tangthur, Zathuk, Tsong chhu, Markhu, Sharjen, Tsha chhu or Shespa, Thukpa, Tsap-Thuk, Chhan-Thuk, Ngamthuk, amthuk, Pakthuk, Thenthuk, Gyathuk, Lama Pakthuk, Trimthuk, Trapthuk, Chhu Tagi, Skyu, Paktsa Marku, Timok, Mok Mok, Loko Mok Mok, Gur Gur Cha or Shrusma Cha, Khunak, Cha Shrul, Chuli Chhu, Chhang, Arak, Rguntshang, Sri, Labo, Chhurkhu, Chhurphe, Bhaksa Markho and Dried Apricots.

• Data regarding major forest/wild crops e.g., Capparis spinosa, Ephedra gerardiana, Hippophae rhamnoides and Rosa webbiana known to traditional communities of Kargil which are important resources in the development of livelihood strategies for marginal communities.

• Information of rural traditional organic farming practices such as Night soil, Farmyard manure (FYM), manual weeding, plugging off the diseased plant, etc.

• Following issues need consideration for production and utilization of organic foods.

• To explore the market destinations for organic products.

• Some of the vegetable crops like peas, garlic, knol khol and other vegetables in Kargil region are grown without application of any fertilizers /pesticides and as such are organic in nature. Efforts have to be made to make producers aware about organic products and their certification requirement

•Identify key sectors and capacity building needs of those having immediate bearing on conservation and livelihoods

• On the basis of review of literature following sectors have been identified for generation of income and livelihood:

1) Agriculture Sector• Agriculture sector is one of the largest contributors towards state’s economy. In 2015 agriculture sector contributed 13.7% of the GDP at national level and at state level it contributed around 21.09%. Some of the major agricultural crop having high potential for livelihood is wheat, maize, paddy crop, oil seeds and pulses.

• 2) Horticulture Sector Horticulture is crucial for the rural economy, providing employment to large number of local inhabitants. Out of total area of horticulture in the State, 90% is occupied by the Kashmir valley due to its suitable climate with annual turnover of $75 million. About 6 lakh families are involved in horticulture industry and around 30 lakh persons (approx) get employment directly or indirectly from fruit industry of state. Some of the major horticulture crops which contribute maximum share towards state’s GDP and having high international value include apple, saffron, walnut, and cherry.

•3) Handicraft Sector There has been a tremendous growth in handicrafts products especially carpets which has seen continuous increment in its contribution to state’s GDP which almost accounts an export of 43.00% (approx) as compared to other products from this sector. Craft like embroidery, shawls, crewels, namda, wood carving, paper machie, costume and jewelry have high demand at national and international level.

•4) Tourism Sector Tourism industry is also playing a pivotal role in the state economy which is evident from the fact that tourism sector accounts for more than 6% of India’s GDP and 8% (approx) to J&K economy. There are wide prospects of tourism potential in Kashmir Valley. The potential areas of this sector include adventure tourism, houseboats, restaurants, hotels and radio taxi etc.