Contribution of livestock to the conservation of biodiversity of Palas valley
Contribution of livestock to the conservation of biodiversity of Palas valley
Klaus Euler and Zulfiqar Ali Qazi
ABSTRACT
Palas Valley is globally known for the last intact Moist Temperate Forests of the Western Himalayas and its unique fauna, including the endangered Western Tragopan. Palas Conservation & Development Project (PCDP) is active in the Valley to conserve its unique biodiversity through community participation. Spaced over 135,300ha, the Valley has 27.4% of its area under forests, 24.2% under rangelands, 39.4% under wastelands, 7.6% under water bodies and permanent snow, while 1.4% of its area is under agriculture. Livestock rearing and subsistence agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy With about 32,000 livestock heads, there is a tremendous pressure on the rangelands Reduction in the numbers, better breeds, stall feeding, better marketing facilities, awareness raising, etc. are some of the possible remedies to reverse the trend of degradation. In order to reduce pressure on forests as a source of income, improved livestock health could be one way to do so. Based on a recent survey, the local people loose a staggering amount of 42 million rupees each year because of the livestock casualties caused by various diseases. In 2003, about 10% of the livestock was vaccinated. This came to a net saving of about 4.2 million rupees. While comparing it to the net income of Rs.730,000 - that the people of the Valley receive as revenue from timber-they are well off by a respectable margin of Rs.3.470 million rupees. If somehow, this message is made clear to the local people, a possibility exists that they might opt for better animal husbandry practices, than to go for timber.
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June 2003
Vol. 53, Iss. 2
