11th December has been dedicated to the mountains by the world body, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) in the year 1992. In the right earnest the day has been regularly and consistently celebrated across the world from 1993 with different themes in order to high light the different issues confronting the mountains.
Mountains have arguably earth’s most striking features. They play a major role in determining global and regional climates, are the source of most rivers, act as cradles, barriers and bridges for species, and are crucial for the survival and sustainability of many human societies.
Mountains play a significant role in providing water and food supply to the millions of people in the world. Mountains cover around 22 percent of the surface of the earth and 13 percent of the world’s population live in the mountains. Mountains offer 60-80 percent of the world’s freshwater. Mountains are particularly important for their biodiversity, water, clean air, research, cultural diversity, leisure, landscape and spiritual values.
Mountains, as we know, are under tremendous pressure for different reasons and so are the mountain communities. Almost 1 billion people live in mountain areas, and over half the human population depends on mountains for water, food and clean energy. Climate change, land degradation and natural disasters threaten the well-being of mountain communities and the ability of mountain environments to provide essential ecosystem goods and services, with potentially far-reaching and devastating consequences for the rest of the world.
The aims and objectives of celebrating the Mountain Day with a particular theme is not only to highlight the issue but also to educate people about that very problem by conducting different programmes and convince the authorities to take immediate and concrete steps towards the mitigation of the problem so that the mountains and the mountain communities are made secure and sustainable. In the pursuit of its aims and objectives the UNO has selected the theme for 2020 International Mountain Day “MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY”.
Life on Earth is amazingly diverse, and exhibits striking geographical and global patterns in biodiversity. Although mountain regions cover only 25% of Earth’s land area, but amazingly they are home to more than 85% of the world’s species of amphibians, birds, and mammals, and many of these are found only in mountains.
The world’s mountains encompass some of the most spectacular landscapes, a great diversity of species and habitat types, and distinctive human communities. Mountains occur on all continents, in all latitude zones, and within all the world’s principal biome types.
Biodiversity is generally defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” Biodiversity is the shortened form of two words “biological” and “diversity”. It refers to all the variety of life that can be found on Earth (plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms) as well as to the communities that they form and the habitats in which they live.
Three componentsof biodiversity are ecosystem, species and genetic diversity. Ecosystems perform functions that are essential to human existence such as oxygen and soil production and water purification.
Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects.
The beauty of the mountains at lower altitudes is that it can support exceptional biodiversity, due to compression of a wide range of ecosystems into a relatively short distance and often provide islands of suitable habitat, isolated from unfavourable surrounding lowlands. Many mountain ecosystems are host to higher species richness and levels of endemism than adjacent lowlands.
Mountain species with narrow habitat tolerance, particularly higher elevation forms and those with low dispersal capacity, are at high risk from the environmental effects of climate change. Slope dynamics and livestock grazing are significant drivers of diversity in many alpine regions. Flower-rich alpine meadows are an important cultural heritage that is increasingly threatened as traditional grazing practices decline.
Hill region is very rich in biodiversity. Forests due to the altitude and topography host a spectacular variety of plants and animals. Different sorts of animals and plants are found here due to topography and diverse climate.
Biodiversity is important for ecological life support as well. Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, helps in pollination of plants, wonderfully control the pests, work for wastewater treatment and renders many more ecosystem services.
The recreation for mankind is an important factor for leading a happy life by trading off the tensions and anxieties which lead to a disturbed life style. It is a stark reality that many recreational pursuits rely on our unique biodiversity, such as bird-watching, hiking, camping and fishing etc. This is all possible only when we have a rich mountain biodiversity.
Food production relies on biodiversity for a variety of food plants, pollination, pest control, nutrient provision, genetic diversity, and disease prevention and control. Both medicinal plants and manufactured pharmaceuticals rely on biodiversity. Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition through its influence on world food production, as it ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic resources for all crops, livestock, and marine species harvested for food.
By all means we depend greatly on the biodiversities particularly those of mountains. Mountains are the great gift from the almighty and the treasures hidden in them is a boon to the mankind. It is the time to learn how to live in harmony with these mountains. Degrading these mountains may lead to the situation where chaos and confusion may be the end result for existing organisms which could smother every one of us.