24-Oct-2020: Study predicts massive habitat decline by year 2050 due to climate change

A study carried out by scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the western Himalayas with respect to the Himalayan brown bears.

The study predicts a massive decline of 73% of the Himalayan brown bear’s habitat by the year 2050 due to climate change. The elevation gradient in which the brown bear is distributed is most vulnerable to global warming as this elevation belt is getting warmer faster than other elevation zones of Himalayas. This predicted loss in habitat will result in loss of habitats from 13 Protected Areas (PAs), with eight of these predicted to become completely uninhabitable by the year 2050.

The study notes that apart from suitable habitats even the biological corridors for the species would be impacted which would negatively impact the genetic diversity of the species. Furthermore, the simulation study also predicts a significant qualitative decline in remaining habitats of the species within the protected areas of the landscape.

There is the need for adaptive spatial planning of the protected area network in the western Himalayas for conserving the Himalayan brown bears. This would involve mapping of suitable habitats outside the existing PAs and suitable areas should progressively be brought into the PA network.

The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China and Nepal. It is mainly found across remote parts of the western Himalayas. The Himalayan brown bear is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of the Himalayas. These bears hibernate during the winter.

Given the vulnerability of animals to climate change, there need to be adaptive measures for even the vulnerable species.