Monitoring and Conservation Status of Wetlands in Himachal Himalaya

The Ramsar Convention of IUCN held in 1971 in Iran attracted global attention regarding conservation and management of wetlands. Subsequently, 3 wetlands in the Indian State of Himachal Pradesh have been declared as wetlands of international importance. The other lakes located in high altitude area of Himachal are not an international importance. It is important because of socio-cultural and ecological values and services it provides. Presently lakes are under threat due to anthropogenic pressures. Therefore, present study endeavour aimed to generate data base in terms of socio-cultural and ecological aspects i.e. physical aspects / land use, extent of water spread and its water quality, vegetation status of catchment's area and surrounding of lake. Further objective of the study was to determine the importance of these wetlands for the local people and to give an indication of the distribution of the benefits among various stakeholders. In this study threats to the high altitude wetlands have been identified and adequate measures for their conservation and management suggested.