WWF-INDIA

Khangchendzonga Landscape

 

WWF-India’s Khangchendzonga landscape lies at the heart of Eastern Himalaya. It includes the state of Sikkim as well as northern West Bengal. The area lies in the shadow of the towering 8,585 metre Khangchendzonga peak - the third highest mountain in the world. ‘Khangchendzonga’ literally means five repositories of God’s treasure, namely gold, silver, gems, grains and Holy Scriptures

 

 

This landscape is nestled in the Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot. A wide variety of endemic and threatened species thrive here because of the variations in elevation, climate, vegetation and habitat type. It is listed among the world’s ten most critical centres for biodiversity and endemism, with a vast array of floral and faunal species. Over 220 water bodies are found in Sikkim, fed mostly with glacial melt water, which also are the main sources for rivers in the state.

However, many parts of this beautiful landscape are under pressures from developmental projects, grazing and mass tourism. These have led to habitat loss for wildlife and at times have triggered more drastic manifestations of climate change. WWF-India seeks to maintain the biodiversity values and cultural integrity of the landscape and is working in both Sikkim & northern West Bengal. To facilitate this, a conservation alliance has been put in place with various NGOs and government agencies working for wildlife conservation in the region.

The northern part of this landscape is comprised of the mountainous state of Sikkim, which has about 82 % of its geographical area under forest cover. Darjeeling district and parts of Jalpaiguri in northern West Bengal constitute the southern part of this landscape. The total area of this landscape is less than 10,000 sq. km. Due to wide range of altitudes here, between 150 metres and 8500 metres, this landscape boasts of a great variety of plants that range from tropical to temperate to alpine and tundra. This is one of the few regions in the world to exhibit such diversity in a small area. A great diversity of wild animals found in this area include the Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, clouded leopard and gaur in the lowland areas and the red panda - Sikkim’s state animal, Asiatic black bear, goral, serow, snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, Tibetan gazelle, Tibetan argali, and musk deer are found in the higher reaches. Sikkim is also renowned for orchids. It is home to an impressive 695 species of butterflies of the 1438 butterfly species found in India!