Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

Poaching has been significantly reduced since the formation of the Eco-development Committee in 2003 and formalization of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve plan (Gupta et al., 2018a). Although, opportunistic hunting cannot be ruled out, especially during winter when the wildlife (as part of seasonal migration), park staff, as well as local people, descend to the lower altitudes (UNEP-WCMC, 2011). Eight species of large mammals (Hemitragus jemlahicus, Naemorhedus goral, Capricornis thar, Semnopithecus schistaceus, Ursus thibetanus, Panthera pardus fusca, Vulpes vulpes and Macaca mulatta) have been recorded in the area, which may come into human-wildlife conflict and therefore need effective protection (Yadav et al., 2019b). llegal hunting of Asian Black bears (Ursus thibetanus) has been reported, especially of conflict animals that crop-raid or at chance encounters when humans venture into the forest for minor forest produce collection (Yadav et al., 2019a). There are also occasional reports of Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster) poaching (Ilyas, 2015). 

Climate change and melting of glaciers in the Himalayas and resultant disasters has been a cause of global concern. Shifting phenologies (Devi et al., 2018), alteration of treeline across the altitudinal gradient (Maletha, 2017; Singh et al., 2019) and range expansion of invasive alien species are some of the new emerging climate change related threats (Bisht et al., 2018). Previously, a few native opportunistic herbs, e.g., Polygonum polystachyum and Impatiens sulcata, dominated the valley portion of the National Park, suppressing other dwarf herbaceous communities thereby causing changes in floristic composition (Negi et al., 2017; Mal et al., 2018; Bisht et al., 2018). New reports of Cuscuta europaea, a stem parasite adversely affecting size and density of medicinal plant populations, is a new emerging threat (Bisht et al., 2018). Further, there are a number of species, such as Arenaria musciformis, Aruncus sylvester, Bupleurum dalhousieanum, Callianthemum cachemerianum, Campanula immodesta, Carpesium cernuum, Corydalis clarkei, Draba gracillima, Gentiana tenella, Geum elatum, Leontopodium monocephalum, Lychnis apetala, Melanoseris lessertiana, Nepeta eriostachys, Potentilla peduncularis, P. sibbaldia, Primula wigramiana, Saussurea piptathera, Sedum trifidum, Silene moorcroftiana, Swertia pulchella, Valeriana dioica and Viburnum erubescens that were recorded almost 100 years ago (Smythe, 1938), but seem to have become locally extinct in recent years (Bisht et al., 2018). The response of timberline to global warming, anthropogenic pressure and change in microclimatic condition has been observed in the form of increasing seedling and sapling recruitment and growth of Himalayan birch (Betula utilis) above the timberline (Maletha, 2017; Singh et al., 2019) and altitudinal additions of Himalayan blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) in Valley of flowers national park. The decline in suitable habitat of Royle’s pika (Ochotona roylei), an important high-altitude prey species due to climate change has also been reported (Bhattacharyya et al., 2019).

Of the 8000 species of wild edibles reported from India, nearly 1748 species are known to have medicinal and therapeutic value and also utilized in traditional systems of healthcare and by pharmaceutical firms (Maikhuri et al., 2017). Most of these plant species (90%) used in traditional healthcare systems and in herbal industries are harvested from their natural habitats (i.e. sub-alpine and alpine meadows), sometimes rather extensively, thereby impacting their natural abundance (Maikhuri et al., 2017; Negi et al., 2019). A survey (Kumar, 2017) has indicated that 242 plant species of therapeutic significance grow naturally in the vicinity of Nanda Devi National Park and have been traditionally utilised by local inhabitants for medicinal purposes. Out of these, six species (2.2%) were identified as critically endangered, 19 species (7.1%) as endangered, eight species (3.0%) as rare, 17 species (6.4%) as threatened and 14 species (5.2%) as vulnerable (Kumar, 2017). Intruders/herb-smugglers also enter in the area and illegally collect tons of valuable medicinal and aromatic species, including the endangered ones, causing an extensive issue of unregulated exploitation. Species of Taxus, Bergina, Astragalus, Allium, Primula, Cupressus, Pleurospermum, Juniperus, Artemisia, Nardostachif, Jurinea, Acoitum, Batula, Crocos, Dactylorhiza, Rheum, Ephedra, Arnebia, Valeriana,Angelica, Orchis, Picrorhiza, Podophyllum and Swertia are under threat by their very high demand by pharmaceutical, ayurvedic and cosmetic industries (Kumar, 2017).
Illegal harvesting and over-exploitation of medicinal plants have led to local extinction of more than 150 species in the wild. Among the alpine meadows, Dibrugheta represents 44.65% (348 species) of the total species of Nanda Devi National Park, indicating highest priority for conservation of the meadow. Local community inhabitants, particularly from Lata, Tolma and Reni villages, have resorted to harvesting medicinal plants, such as Allium humile, Allium stracheyi, Angelica glauca, Arnebia benthamii, from the alpine meadows in Nanda Devi National Park and in the Dharasi and Dibrugeta meadows (Kumar, 2017). There is also widespread collection of Ophiocordyceps sinensis throughout the region. The ecology and impacts of this collection are not well known (Yadav et al., 2019). Other than this, trekkers, tourists, and pilgrims often pluck flowers, fruits, seeds, barks and/or the whole plant of specific species viz. Saussurea obvallata (Brahmakamal - a mythical flower of Gods), Aconitum heterophyllum, Arnebia benthamii, Betul autilis, Corydalis spp., Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Orchis habenarioides, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Rhem spp., Taxus wallichiana, Angelica glauca, Carum carvii, Hyssopus officinalis, Juniperus spp., Jurinea dolomiaea, Nardostachys grandiflora, Origanum vulgare, Pleurospermum brunois, Saussurea costus, Thymus linearia, Valeriana hardwickii, etc. as a ‘remembrance’ of their journey and as a gift of God (Maikhuri et al., 2017; Kumar, 2017; Negi et al., 2019).

If tourism pressure from mountaineering tourism has subsided, the pressure from religious and cultural tourism has increased manifold. The presence of prominent shrines in the buffer zone attract a large number of pilgrims. The presence of Hindu and Sikh shrine Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib results in numerous visits to Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve for religious purposes (~1.5 million per year). The religious tourists do not require permit and do not have to pay any entry fee, resulting in a high volume of unregulated tourists (Dobriyal et al., 2017; Tiwari, 2019). Hemkund Sahib, the famous Sikh Shrine, has steadily emerged as a strong religious as well as a tourist destination, despite the fact that its geographical location is not accessible by road. It involves an arduous trekking on a steep slope for the last six kilometres and dearth of way-side facilities. Despite this, the pilgrim arrivals recorded at 340,578 in 2002 increased to 557,129 in 2007, witnessing an overall increase by over 63.5% and per annum average growth of over 10.5% during the period (Gupta et al., 2018a). High volume mass tourism leads to trail erosion, and introduction of non-native plants, undisposed non-biodegradable rubbish and human waste deteriorating water quality, are some of the emerging threats that are highly detrimental to the fragile Himalayan ecosystem (Huddart and Stott, 2020).