| Sanction Date: | 15.12.2025 | |||
| Project Category | Category I | |||
| Year | 2025-2026 | |||
| Project Duration | 3 Years | |||
| BTA : | BCM | |||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Western Himalaya (Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) |
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| Organization/ Implementation Agency: | Centre for Biodiversity and Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India | |||
| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | ||
| 1. | CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, -176061, Himachal Pradesh | |||
| 2. | HAPPRC, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar-Garhwal 246174, Uttarakhand | |||
| 3. | G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand | |||
| 4. | Krishi Vigyan Kendra Leh-194101, SKUAST-K, Ladakh | |||
| Lead Proponent: | Professor Anzar Ahmad Khuroo |
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| Project Brief Description: | In recent times, the Himalaya is experiencing ever-increasing land-use changes and heightened risks of climate change. This has put its rich biodiversity and the natural ecosystems under intense pressure which has serious consequences for the ecological security, socio-economic sustenance of high-land communities and provisioning of life-supporting ecosystem goods and services to vast human population in low-land plains. The alpine grasslands i.e. herbaceous vegetation above the treeline, in the Himalaya, are rich repositories of endemic biodiversity and provide precious ecological and climate services. Historically, these grasslands have remained the abode of fodder for livestock to transhumant agro-pastoral communities who temporarily reside in these high-lands during summer. However, with increase in unsustainable anthropogenic activities beyond the carrying capacity, such as overgrazing, medicinal plants over-harvesting, tourism-related physical infrastructure, compounded by climate change and increasing frequency of natural disasters, and extreme weather events (less winter snow, early snow-melting, summer droughts and autumn snowfall), the alpine grasslands in the Himalaya face grave ecological degradation. Although tree-focussed restoration of forest ecosystems in the Himalaya has received wide attention, but the restoration of grasslands has remained almost ignored. To fill this knowledge gap, the present project proposal envisages to undertake restoration of degraded alpine grasslands in the Himalaya using strategies based on the premise of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), with an aim to sustain their ecosystem services and build ecological resilience. In this project, we have selected the two states and two union territories of Western Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh) as the study region. Leveraging the decade-long local field experience of the PI and Co-PIs in the study region, and based on the strength of previous research conducted by the proposed project team particularly long-term alpine monitoring sites, and biodiversity assessments, the present project is expected to implement and design region-, microhabitat-, vegetation-specific grassland restoration protocols, backed by scientific data. We would be working towards Natural Climate Solutions World Atlas identified specific NbS pathways, including revegetation, grazing management, and ecosystem restoration. The project implementation is going to be undertaken with close coordination with the relevant Govt departments (Forest/Wildlife/Agriculture) and active participation of the local communities in the study region. Although restricted to Western Himalaya, the insights from the study can help neighbouring Himalayan regions as well, and can be upscaled in future. We expect that the data generated and protocols developed during the proposed project can have local, regional, national and global implications during this United Nations-declared Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). | |||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
• Traditional pastoral communities |
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| Activity Chart (For 3 years) | ||||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs.20000000/- (Rupees Two Crore Only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
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• Ecological assessment of vegetation composition, biomass, soil and microclimatic conditions for establishment of reference restoration plots at alpine grasslands across Western Himalaya • Selection of representative degraded alpine grassland plots at micro- habitat scale and implementation of active and passive nature-based restoration solutions • Monitoring of the restoration success using quantitative indicators of ecosystem services and ecological resilience • Development of restoration protocols specifically designed to vegetation types at micro-habitat scale and drivers of environmental change in the alpine grasslands • Conduct of local community awareness and training programs on climate- resilient best practices for restoration of the alpine grasslands |
• Baseline ecological assessment report covering vegetation composition, biomass, soil properties, and microclimate conditions for reference plots. • Ecological resilience indicators such as plant functional traits. • Quantitative estimates of carrying capacity and critical thresholds. • Estimation of fodder provision services. • Rehabilitation plans of alpine grassland ecosystems submitted to concerned State/UT Govt agencies for vetting. • Temperature & soil moisture profiles. • Community awareness, training modules, and field demonstrations on climate-resilient grassland restoration practices. • Knowledge products: SOPs, restoration manuals, and policy-oriented briefs for state agencies. |
• Monitoring in comparison to the baseline information/ data to be provided by the proponent: • No. of reference and degraded plots assessed and ecologically characterized. • Area (ha) brought under active and passive restoration interventions. • Changes in species composition, diversity and biomass/ productivity of grasslands by grazing exclusion. • No. of community members trained and adoption of best practices. • No. of research papers, technical reports, and policy documents published. |
| S.No. | No. of Sanctioned Post | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 01 RA I | @ Rs.58,000/- + 18% HRA |
| 2. | 04 SPF | @ Rs.28,000/- + 10% HRA for 3rd year |
| 3. | 01 SPF | @ Rs.28,000/- + 18% HRA for 3rd year |
| 4. | 04 JPF | @Rs.24,000/-+ 10% HRA for 1st and 2nd year |
| 5. | 01 JPF | @Rs.24,000/-+ 18% HRA for 1st and 2nd year |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Use of Equipment/ Details | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | 05 Dry-matter forage analyzer @Rs.2.75 Lakh per Unit. | 13,75,000 |
