Hindu Kush Himalaya faces 70% Biodiversity decline in 100 Years: ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) declares the Hindu Kush Himalaya region a biosphere on the brink of collapse and calls for action to prevent nature loss. "It is almost too late…70% of the (region's) original biodiversity has been lost over the last century," an ICIMOD official says. The region spreads across eight countries, including India, China, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Biodiversity loss threatens mountain communities

Scientists have said that the Hindu Kush Himalaya, a region with a lot of different types of plants and animals, is in danger. This was announced at a big meeting of experts on nature in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) made this announcement as more than 130 experts from around the world came to Nepal. They are there for a meeting about the connections between food and water safety, health, nature, and climate change.

The ICIMOD also said that the loss of nature and habitats in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region is happening very fast and on a large scale. This region is 3,500km long and covers eight countries. Izabella Koziell, the Deputy Director General of ICIMOD, told the people at the meeting that it’s almost too late to save the region.

This region has four of the world’s 36 most important areas for biodiversity. It also has 12 of the world’s 200 eco regions, 575 Protected Areas, and 335 important bird areas. But we are losing nature fast, despite everyone’s efforts. In the last 100 years, we have lost 70% of the original biodiversity.

Mountain communities rely on biodiversity

Still, 85% of mountain communities depend on this biodiversity for food, water, flood control, and their cultural identity.

Sunita Chaudhary, an author for IPBES and a specialist at ICIMOD, says that the loss of nature in this region is happening so fast that it’s threatening not just animals and plants, but also people. 241 million people live in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. 31% of them don’t have enough food, and half of them are malnourished.

Chaudhary said, "This region needs to be a top priority for investment. We need to fund efforts to stop the loss of nature and the extinction of species. We’re seeing more and more investment in restoring ecosystems around the world, and people are starting to understand how important nature is for our survival".

She further added, "We need to make sure that funding for the Hindu Kush Himalaya increases quickly before these important and fragile ecosystems collapse. We need to include nature in all our investments and actions. We also need to speed up changes to policies, institutions, and markets. And we need to push for a much faster increase in global finance, especially for valuable and vulnerable regions like the HKH'.

Chaudhary, along with her colleagues Abid Hussein and Nakul Chettri at ICIMOD, are among the experts contributing to a report on these issues. The final meeting of the lead authors of this report will be held from February 5-9 at ICIMOD’s headquarters in Kathmandu. After that, there will be a meeting to prepare a summary for policymakers from February 10-11.

ICIMOD recognized for protecting biodiversity

This is the first time an IPBES assessment meeting is being held in South Asia. It shows the strong relationship between the Secretariat and ICIMOD. ICIMOD has been a trusted partner in this global process since it was founded in 2012. It has contributed to many assessments, including the Global Assessment, the Regional Assessment for Asia and Pacific, Scenarios and Models, Pollinators, pollination and food production, and the Transformative change assessment.

The Deputy Director General of ICIMOD, Izabella Koziell, says, "IPBES has honored us by choosing ICIMOD as the host for its first lead authors meeting in South Asia."

She sees this as recognition of ICIMOD’s commitment to science diplomacy about this very rich and fragile area over the last 40 years. But more importantly, it recognizes the important role that mountains, and especially the Hindu Kush Himalaya, play as refuges of biodiversity, and the big risks now facing these places and species.

Mountains cover 22% of the Earth’s land surface but hold 50% of the world’s most important areas for biodiversity. Because mountains are very vulnerable to climate change, researchers at ICIMOD have called for IPBES to consider a special assessment of mountains.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent group of governments, with 143 member states. It was set up to strengthen the connection between science and policy for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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