Study predicts massive habitat decline for the Himalayan brown bear by 2050 due to climate change

News: The Zoological Survey of India has released a study titled ‘Adaptive spatial planning of protected area network for conserving the Himalayan brown bear’.

Facts:

Key Takeaways:

• About the study: The study was carried out in the western Himalayas.It has predicted a 73% decline of habitat of Himalayan Brown Bear by the year 2050.
  • This decline will also impact 13 protected areas.Out of these 13 protected areas, eight will become completely uninhabitable by 2050.
• Recommendations: The study has suggested adopting an adaptive spatial planning of protected area networks in the western Himalayas for conserving the Himalayan Brown Bear species.
  • Adaptive Spatial Planning: It refers to the process of conserving the existing landscape and augmenting the fragmented areas of the habitat of the species.

Additional Facts:

• Himalayan brown bear: It is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of Himalayas. 
• Habitat: It occupies the higher reaches of the Himalayas in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan and India, in small and isolated populations and is extremely rare in many of its ranges.
• IUCN: The brown bear as a species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.
  • However, the Himalayan Brown Bear as a subspecies is highly endangered and populations are dwindling.It is Endangered in the Himalayas and Critically Endangered in Hindu Kush region.