Govind Ballabh Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment

Ladakh Regional Centre (LRC)

About the Centre

Ladakh Regional Centre of NIHE was established in December, 2019, to ensure research and development outreach in the Trans-Himalayan region of Indian Himalaya. The Trans-Himalayan landscape with most of its areas lying above 3000 m asl is characterised by extreme cold climate, minimal rain and with very sparse vegetation. This landscape, most often, is also termed as ‘Cold Desert’. The region is endowed with rich diversity of culture, unique biodiversity elements and significantly large number of wetlands/water bodies. Although, the communities inhabiting these areas have adapted for extremely harsh climate and resource poor living conditions, they face numerous challenges.

Especially under changing climate scenario, when impacts are expected to be more intense in higher altitudes, the Trans-Himalayan landscape and people are likely to face more sever challenges. This calls for better understanding of its landscape and developing strategies and implementation of plans for addressing issues of environmental conservation, people's livelihoods, and sustainable development under changing scenario. Considering this, the Ladakh Regional Centre of NIHE aims to ensure R&D outreach in Trans-Himalayan region of Indian Himalaya.

Collaborative Institutions

Council

Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh

Government Department

Department of Wildlife Protection, Ladakh (WLPD), Govt. Of Ladakh UT

Institution

Municipal Committee Leh and Kargil, Govt. Of Ladakh UT

Institution

Urban Local Bodies Ladakh UT, Govt. Of Ladakh UT

Institution

University of Ladakh (UoL)

Council

Ladakh Biodiversity Council (LBA)

Institution

Wildlife Conservation and Bird Club of Ladakh (WCBCL)

Institution

Ladakh Ecological Development and Environmental Group (LeDEG)

Focal areas of activities

-Towards bringing changes and achieving the targets, the center is focusing on two cardinal principles: (a) science for society, and (b) networks and collaborations.

- To achieve the targets, centres’ major activities include:

(i) Development of Knowledge Network of institutions/organizations working in the Ladakh &Knowledge Repository for policy inputs on issues of Trans-Himalayan Region.
(ii) Demonstration of successful and sustainable technologiesfor adoption and partnership of private sector.
(iii) Promoting energetic young professionals in providing solutions to address environmental challenges.

Vision

- Promoting alternative livelihoods for climate change vulnerable cold-desert communities

- Facilitating conservation of critical and important cold desert habitats and biodiversity

- Strengthening and establishing approaches for addressing issues of water scarcity

- Fostering climate smart communities in the trans-Himalayan landscape

Objectives

- To develop and upscale of low-cost technologies for sustainable livelihood promotion and dissemination of the developed technologies through capacity building programmes.

- To promote ex-situ conservation of threatened and high-value Trans-Himalayan plants.

- To address water scarcity through integrated water resource management and monitoring of high-altitude wetlands, springs and glaciers.

- To assess climate change impact on the economical marginal societies of Trans-Himalaya and to develop adaptation and mitigation measures.

Facilities

Arboretum

A well established area has been developed for specimen plantings of trees and shrubs.

Himalayan Knowledge Network (HKN)

Data Centre of NMHS's funded project has been develped "Himalaya Calling: Bridging science, policy and practice to foster sustainable development in the IHR

Air Quality Monitoring and Weather Station

A unit for Air Quality Monitoring and Weather Station set has been established

Rural Technology Centre (RTC)

Rural Technology Centre (RTC) with various section such as Poly Tunnels, Vermi Compost, Weed Compost and Zero-Energy Cool Chamber, etc. has been developed

Green Net Shed

Green Net Shed for Medicinal Plants

Nursery

A well maintained nursery for various plants

Paper Recycling Unit

Paper Recycling Unit for recylcing of waste paper

Poly House and Net House

Poly House and Net House for enriching of various plants

Soil and Water Analysis Laboratory

Soil and Water Analysis Laboratory for performing experiment on Soil and Water

Medicinal Plant Laboratory

Medicinal Plant Laboratory for experiment on Medicinal Plants

Environmental Observatory Laboratory

Environmental Observatory Laboratory for analysis on various environmental aspects

Remote Sensing and GIS Lab

Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System Lab for geographical analysis

Bee-keeping

Bee Keeping infrastucture

Library

A well maintained study area for scholars with hundreds of books

Scholar’s Sitting Hall

A dedicated space for Researchers & Scholar for their work

Scholar’s Hostel

Hostel facility for Researchers

Faculties

Scientist E

Dr. Sandipan Mukherjee

Designation: Scientist E

Discipline: Climate Change ; Meteorology ;

Email Id: sandipanmukherjee@hotmail.com

Profile

Scientist C

Dr. Purushottam Kumar Garg

Designation: Scientist C

Discipline: Glaciology ; Remote sensing ;

Email Id: garg.glacio@gmail.com

Profile

Scientist-C

Dr. Ajay Kumar Gupta

Designation: Scientist-C

Discipline: Environmental Science ;

Email Id: ewmajay@gmail.com

Profile

Scientist C

Dr. Naveen Chandra

Designation: Scientist C

Discipline: Ecology and Biodiversity ;

Email Id: bhattnaveen857@gmail.com

Profile

Technical Assistant-II

Dr. Dalbeer Pharswan

Designation: Technical Assistant-II

Discipline: Biodiversity Conservation ;

Email Id: dalbeerp3@gmail.com

Profile

Researchers

Field Coordinator

Ms. Sonam Chorol

Designation: Field Coordinator

Discipline: Political Science

Email Id: sonamchorol12@gmail.com

Junior Project fellow

Ms. Jigmet Chuskit Angmo

Designation: Junior Project fellow

Discipline: Botany

Email Id: cangmo9997@gmail.com

Young Professional-I

Mr. Sidharth Singh

Designation: Young Professional-I

Discipline: Environmental Science

Email Id: imsinghsidharth@gmail.com

Junior Project fellow

Mr. Mohit Prajapati

Designation: Junior Project fellow

Discipline: Glaciology/ Remote Sensing

Email Id: mohitp672@gmail.com

Junior Project Fellow

Ms. Stanzin Dolma

Designation: Junior Project Fellow

Discipline: Bitechnology

Email Id: stanzindolma130@gmail.com

Junior Project Fellow

Mr. Mohd Ilyas

Designation: Junior Project Fellow

Discipline: Geology

Email Id: ilyasladakh978@gmail.com

Project Associate-I

Ms. Rinchen Dolkar

Designation: Project Associate-I

Discipline: Life Science

Email Id: eachen22rchan@gmail.com

Junior Project Fellow

Ms. Anupriya Soni

Designation: Junior Project Fellow

Discipline: Environmental Science

Email Id: annupriyasoni99@gmail.com

Junior Project Fellow

Mr. Aamir Jan Farooq

Designation: Junior Project Fellow

Discipline: Environmental Science

Email Id: aamirfarooq813@gmail.com

Services

Rural Technology Centre

Provide access to Rural Technology Center (RTC) of LRC to partner organizations/ stakeholders for demonstration, training, and teaching.

Analytical Laboratory

Provide laboratory access to local students and researchers from partner organizations/ local stakeholders.

GIS and Statistical Analysis Facility

Provide GIS and Statistical Analysis Facility students and researchers from partner organizations/ local stakeholders.

State Advisory

Provide advisory services to local partner organizations/ stakeholders.

Library and Conference Room

LRC provide library access free to local Students form Local universities and colleges

Researchers’ Hostel

Provide Accommodation to researchers and trainees.

Major Achievements

INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Temporal change assessment of glaciers in J&K (UT); and updated glacier mass balance studies for Ladakh (UT). Glacial lake inventory of Kargil district of Ladakh UT. Assessment of long-term meteorological drought scenarios of Ladakh and J&K (UT). Creation of artificial snow reservoir through participatory approach for addressing the rural water scarcity

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

A comprehensive account of Birds and Mammals of Ladakh (UT) developed using citizen science approach. Accessions of medicinal plants and tree species maintained at Herbal Garden and Mini Arboretum. People Biodiversity Registers for Leh Municipal Committee Leh, Ladakh (UT)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION MEASURES

Action plans on management and mitigation of disasters in Ladakh UT. A policy document on review, recommendation and action agenda for sustainable tourism in Ladakh UT. Promoting the Carbon Neutral Ladakh Campaign through outreach progammes targeting minimization of single use plastic and tree-based products.

SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Rural Technology Centre (RTC)-Leh in collaboration with Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh developed and demonstrated Trans Himalayan specific low-cost technologies for livelihood improvement i.e. low-cost simple portable polyhouses, low-cost simple solar powered hydroponic prototype, low shading poly-tunnels, biocomposting unit, micro-irrigation model, floriculture through vernalization, integrated pest and nutrient management, integrated vegetable and mushroom cultivation, etc. <>
Green skill development programmes are being executed to develop local resource based entrepreneurship and to create off-farm livelihood employment opportunities in the remote areas of Ladakh. Since 2020, four major training programs namely (i) Apricot fruit processing, (ii) Seabuckthorn fruit processing, (iii) Basket Weaving, and (iv) Integrated Mushroom cultivation have been organized across 25 villages in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh. These programs, tailored to the natural resources available in each village, aimed to enhance capacity and skills, fostering local entrepreneurship and sustainable resource utilization. Till date efforts have yielded positive outcomes, with 623 participants (585 female and 38 male) from 26 villages of Ladakh actively engaging in the training programs

Projects

Ongoing

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem Task force on Forest Resources and Plant Biodiversity (TF-3)

Exploring the use of treated wastewater for vegetable cultivation through hydroponic techniques in Ladakh UT.

Assessment of glacier-climate functional relationships across the Indian Himalayan Region through long term network observations.

Strengthening Ladakh’s livelihoods: Empowering selp-help groups (SHGs) through harvesting and primary processing of Seabuckthorn

Natural grassland ecosystem monitoring system for peninsular and trans-Himalayan India to sustain pastoral communities

Multidimensional Assessment of Ecological Dynamics and Ecosystem Health of Selected High-Altitude Wetlands of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) for Effective Conservation and Management planning.

Mainstreaming Passive Solar Buildings in the Indian Himalayan Region: Integrating science with traditional practices to enhance climate resilience.

Completed

Pine-Oak systems: interactions between water-climate and plant biodiversity.

Demonstration of Plastic Free – Rajbhawan Complex, Ladakh.

Timberline and Altitudinal Gradient Ecology of Himalayas, and Human Use Sustenance in a Warming Climate.

Himalaya Calling: Bridging science, policy and practice to foster sustainable development in the Indian Himalayan region (IHR)- Ladakh Chapter.

Carrying Capacity estimation of Tourism in Leh town complex in Ladakh.

People Biodiversity Register of Municipal Committee Leh.

Developing new and improved agriculture techniques (mushroom cultivation) in the GoI-UNDP-GEF SECURE Himalaya Project Landscape in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Develop educational mini urban arboretum using permanent flower pot container located in main market of Leh town.

Research Articles

In vitro propagation and antioxidant potential of Berberis asiatica from western Himalaya.

Authors Bisht A, Lalit Giri, Belwal T, Pandey A, Bahukhundi A, Bhatt ID, Rawal RS

Plant Biosystems, 2021

Two hundred years of research on Himalayan biodiversity: Trends, gaps, and policy implications.

Authors Suresh K Rana, Ranbeer S Rawal, Bhawana Dangwal, Indra D Bhatt and Trevor D Price

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2021

Anthocyanins, multi-functional natural products of industrial relevance: Recent biotechnological advances.

Authors Belwal T, Singh G, Jeandet P, Pandey A, Lalit Giri, Ramola S, Bhatt ID, Venskutonis PR, Georgiev MI, Clément C, Luo Z.

Biotechnology Advances, 2020

India’s contribution to mitigating the impacts of climate change through vegetation management.

Authors Dash, J., M. D. Behera, C. Jeganathan, C. S. Jha, Subrat Sharma, R. Lucas, A. A. Khuroo, A. Harris, P. M. Atkinson, D. S. Boyd, C. P. Singh, M. P. Kale, P. Kumar, Soumit K. Behera, V. S. Chitale, S. Jayakumar, L. K. Sharma, A. C. Pandey, K. Avishek, P. C. Pandey, S. N. Mohapatra & S. K. Varshney

Tropical Ecology, 2020