| Sanction Date: | 18.06.2020 | |||
| Project Category | MG | |||
| Year | 2020-2021 | |||
| Project Duration | 3 Years + 06 Months and 15 Days Project Extension + 02 Months Project Extension | |||
| BTA : | BCM | |||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Indian Himalaya (Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh) |
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| Organization/ Implementation Agency: | Desert Regional Centre Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Jodhpur New Paliroad, Jhalamand, Rajasthan-342005 | |||
| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | ||
| 1. | Desert Regional Centre (DRC) | |||
| 2. | Zoological Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Govt., of India) Jodhpur Rajasthan, 342005 | |||
| 3. | Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipur Kolkata- 70053 | |||
| Lead Proponent: | Dr. Rifat Hussain Raina |
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| Project Brief Description: | India's Himalayan region (IHR) has many farmers and growers who depend on crops (including medicinal plants) that in turn depend on pollination by bumblebees, leafcutter bees and mining bees . Large parts of the montane landscape are highly valued culturally and generate substantial tourist income because of their vegetation, all of which depends ultimately on pollinators. In mountain areas above the outer foothills, the most important pollinators are often the indigenous bumblebees. These bumblebees are the most efficient pollinators in many cases because they can work at lower temperatures than other pollinators and they can often work faster. Indigenous pollinators play a significant role in the sustenance of plant diversity, which further supports the existing fauna. Among the different pollinators in the temperate regions of the Himalaya, bumblebees (Apidae), leafcutter bees (Megachilidae) and mining bees (Andrenidae) have a very important place. These Bees contribute to complex, interconnected ecosystems that allow a diverse number of different species to co-exist in IHR. There are many pollinating bee species (Apoidea: Hymenoptera) in the Himalayan region. Most are restricted to different regions, to different elevations, and to different habitats. Therefore, it is very important to know which species occur where, in order to ensure that locally adapted species can be protected from threats of environmental change. It is vital that local people appreciate, value, and protect their local heritage of these pollinators, so that they and their children can continue to enjoy the benefits that they have from them. In India, pollinators especially bumblebees, mining bees and leafcutter bees face increasing threats from broad habitat loss, introduced diseases, pesticides, and climate change. It is therefore appropriate to address conservation for the entire group. Substantial conservation effort is already being applied to these bees throughout the rest of the world. With India's rich and unique diversity of these important pollinators, especially in mountain ecosystems, it is now time to assess India's needs before it is too late. | |||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
• Farmers/Tribal people |
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| Activity Chart (For 3 years) | Click Here | |||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs. 84,95,880 (Rupees: Eighty four lakh ninety five thousand eight hundred eighty only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
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• To identify that priority geographic areas and habitats that most need to be conserved to prevent extinctions of rare Himalayan bumblebees. • To strengthen the network of expertise available for bumblebee conservation in the Himalaya, so that conservation assessments can be kept current and so that expertise can be targeted to address the highest priorities for conservation. • To documentation of Indigenous mountain pollinator's viz., bumblebees, mining bees and leafcutter bees (Apoidea) to confirm how their diversity changes along the great expanse of the Indian Himalaya. • To describe their distribution as stratified by elevation, by region, and by habitat. • To compile bumblebee/mining bee/leafcutter bee visit records in databases so that information on host plants can be searched to discover important linkages in insect-plant relationships. • To analyse linkages between mountain pollinating bees viz.,bumblebees, leafcutter bees and mining bees with flowering plants to discover their role in conserving the plant genetic diversity. • To capitalise fully on the diversity of plants depending on these economically important bee species occurring at different elevations of the IHR from 1000-5500m amsl. • To extend an active outreach programme to local farmers for education on the role and value of these pollinators in the farmers' lives. • To describe new species, if any |
• Database on bumblebee as well as assessments and conservation in 3 states (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh) and 2 Union territories (Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh) • Establish a permanent reference collection of identified and fully labelled and documented specimens for use as a resource by future pollinator projects • Digital distribution maps of Himalayan bumblebee species and other pollinating bees of Megachilidae and Andrenidae as an online resource • Develop artificial nesting habitat/ sites model for conserving the target species for 3 states and 02 UTs. • Conduct workshops and distributing pamphlets of advice for farmers and growers • Knowledge Products (>4 research articles in well reputed journal, 01 Book, 01 Manual and 01 Policy brief) |
• Database on Himalayan Bumblebee (Nos.) • Permanent reference collection Centre established (Nos.) • Developed spatial database on Himalayan Bumblebee species (Nos.) • Develop artificial nesting habitat/ sites model (Nos.) • Number of state and national level workshop conducted (Nos./total beneficiaries ) • No. of Reports/Research articles/Policy documents prepared and published (Nos.) |
| S.No. | No. of Sanctioned Post | Qualification | Designation (Sanctioned) | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 03 JPF | @ Rs.20,000/-+ HRA | ||
| 2. | 01 Field Assistant | @ Rs.10,000/- |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Use of Equipment/ Details | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | Stereo zoom motorized research microscope with accessories- 2 nos Rs. 17.00 Lakh, GPS handsets (Navigation device)- 2 nos Rs.0.95 Lakh, Digital Camera- 1 nos Rs.1.00 Lakh and Laptop/ Desktop- 1 nos Rs.0.60 lakh. | 19,55,000/- |
