News: The Zoological Survey of India has released a study titled ‘Adaptive spatial planning of protected area network for conserving the Himalayan brown bear’.
Facts:
Key Takeaways:
- About the study: The study was carried out in the western Himalayas.It has predicted a 73% decline of habitat of Himalayan Brown Bear by the year 2050.
- This decline will also impact 13 protected areas.Out of these 13 protected areas, eight will become completely uninhabitable by 2050.
- Recommendations: The study has suggested adopting an adaptive spatial planning of protected area networks in the western Himalayas for conserving the Himalayan Brown Bear species.
- Adaptive Spatial Planning: It refers to the process of conserving the existing landscape and augmenting the fragmented areas of the habitat of the species.
Additional Facts:
- Himalayan brown bear: It is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of Himalayas.
- Habitat: It occupies the higher reaches of the Himalayas in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan and India, in small and isolated populations and is extremely rare in many of its ranges.
- IUCN: The brown bear as a species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- However, the Himalayan Brown Bear as a subspecies is highly endangered and populations are dwindling.It is Endangered in the Himalayas and Critically Endangered in Hindu Kush region.
