| Sanction Date: | 26-02-2018 | |||||
| Project Category | MG | |||||
| Batch Year | 2017-2018 | |||||
| Project Duration | 3 Years + 9 Months Extension | |||||
| BTA : | Biodiversity Conservation and Management | |||||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: | Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh | |||||
| Organization/ Implementation Agency: |
Department of Botany University of Kashmir, Srinagar |
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| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | Roles & Responsibilities | |||
1. |
Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu Tawi |
1. Assessment of traditional uses, population status, habitat characteristics, biotic interactions and causes of rarity of the target species; 2. To predict suitable habitats through species distribution modelling vis-a-vis the impact of climate change; 3. To recover the target species through active participation of local communities; 4. Bio-prospection of target species for value added products; 5. Mass awareness of mountain communities through conservation education for up scaling the propagation and utilization |
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2. |
Department of Botany, Kargil Campus, University of Kashmir, Srinagar. | |||||
3. |
Department of Botany, University of Kashmir | |||||
| Lead Proponent: | Dr. Manzoor A. Shah Department of Botany University of Kashmir Srinagar |
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| Project Brief Description: | Notwithsatnding the fact that plants are much more important, the conservation of plant diversity has received considerably less attention than the conservation of animals (Goettsch et al., 2015) and plant conservation is greatly under- resourced in comparison with animal conservation (Havens et al., 2014), especially in he Himalayan context. Although government funding available for species protection and recovery is one of the best predictors of successful recovery, government spending is both insufficient and highly disproportionate among groups of species. Hence, prioritizing species of utmost conservation concern is the bottomline for success of conservation projects. However, conservation of species at risk of extinction requires data to support decisions at landscape to regional scales. There is a need for information that can assist with locating suitable habitats in fragmented and degraded landscapes to aid the reintroduction of at-risk plant species. To design a strategy for the conservation and management of threatened endemic species, it is necessary to identify their current geographic distribution and obtain information about their abundance, genetic variability, population dynamics and reproductive ecology (LopezToledo et al. 2011). However, even basic information, such as spatial distribution and abundance of a vast majority of species, particularly endemic species especially in species rich areas is woefully inadequate (Sober�n and Peterson, 2009; Costa et al. 2010). The conservation of such poorly known but economically important species is difficult because of incomplete knowledge about their biology and distribution (Papes and Gaubert, 2007). It is in this context that in recent times rather holistic multidiscplinary and interdisciplinary approaches for biodiversity conservation are gaining the ground. For effective conservation of threatened species, it is important to have their importance perceived well by peoples and other stakeholders so that a community-based participatory approach becomes easier to follow to achieve the goals of recovery and restoration. Besides understanding the species biology well, approaches such as ecological niche modelling has been used to identify potential areas for species reintroductions (Rodriguez et al. 2007). For example, Klar et al. (2008) identified the suitable but unoccupied area for re-introduction of European wildcats. With the advent of modern geo-spatial tools, it is now possible to model the specific biotic and biotic factors associated with a particular species. It is in this context that the present study envisions to combine field and laboratory based studies with community-based approaches to recover, restore and monitor the dwindling populations of highly important threatened species. The motivation and justification for such studies gets even stronger in the context of Jammu and Kashmir, an Hmalayan biomass state, which is quite vulnerable to the effects of climate change and other anthropogenis stressors. Moreover, the bioprospecting the target species for value added products can significantly contribute to local livelihoods and regional socio-economic development. The results of this study can potentially go a long way to conserve and bioprospect not only the target species but also lay a framework that could be followed for other such species that merit attention. | |||||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: | a. Lakes and Waterways Development Authority, Govt. of J&K. b. Department of Forests, Environment and Remote Sensing c. Departments of Agriculture/Horticulture/Floriculture 15 d. Department of Science and Technology e. Department of Tourism |
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| Activity Chart (For 3 Years): | Click Here | |||||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs. 61,94,200/- (Rupees Sixty One Lakh Ninety Four Thousand Two Hundred only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
| Assessment of traditional uses, population status, habitat characteristics, biotic interactions and causes of rarity of the target species; | Knowledge products on the actual population status of the target rare species in 3 regions i.e., Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir; | No. of New Database/ Datasets generated on the identified dynamics, i.e. threatened plant species linking with Livelihood Options (No. of species); |
| To predict suitable habitats through species distribution modeling vis-�-vis the impact of climate change; | Predictive model for species distribution in the context of projected climate change for 3 regions in state; | Regular, periodic updates on region-specific best practices/ models developed (No.); |
| To recover the target species through active participation of local communities; | Improved conservation status of threatened target species through participatory community involvement in all 3 regions of J&K. | No. of Stakeholders benefitted/ trained (No. of Rural Youth, No. of Women, and Total No. of Beneficiaries); |
| Bioprospection of target species for value added products; | Other Publications and knowledge products (Nos.). | |
| Mass awareness of mountain communities through conservation education for upscaling the propagation and utilization. |
| S.No. | Name | Qualification | Designation | Salary |
| 1. | Irfan Iqbal Sofi | JPF | 16,000/- +HRA | |
| 2. | Shivali Verma | 16,000/- +HRA | ||
| 3. | Umer Ikhlaq | FA | 10,000/- | |
| 4. | Mr. Jhony Lepcha | Post Graduate (MSc in Remote) | Research Associate | 39,600/- |
| 5. | Mr. Siddharth Negi | MBA-marketing | Research Associate | 39,600/- |
| 6. | Mr. Ramesh Kumar | PG Degree Pol. Science | Research Associate | 39,600/- |
| 7. | Ms. Manpreet Kaur | M.Sc. Environment Management | JRF | 27,500/- |
| 8. | Mr. Rohit Singh | M. Plan Urban & Regional Planning (Environment) | JRF | 27,500/- |
| 9. | Mr. Yogeshwar Kumar | BE (IIT, Delhi) | Consultant | 30,000/- |
| 10. | Ms Upasana Joshi | M.Sc. Environment Management | Consultant | 30,000/- |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned equipment) | Details | Cost (in INR) (Sanctioned Budget) |
| 1. | Seed germinator | @Rs.10.00 | |
| 2. | Field Camera 1 Nos | @ Rs.1.00 lakh | |
| 3. | Softwares for data analysis | @ Rs.3.00 lakh | |
| 4. | Handheld GPS 3 Nos. | @ Rs.1.50 lakh |
