ABSTRACT
The forest of Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is one of the most important wilderness areas of the world, with 9000 plants species, of which 30 per cent are endemic, and with representatives of almost all the forest ecosystems of the world. These forests include four biodiversity hotspots, four Ramsar sites and 448 protected sites. Nevertheless, the forests are under threat in much of the region. It is not deforestation that is the problem, as this has largely been controlled, but degradation. Degradation comes about because of day-to-day dependence of people on forest biomass. Agricultural practices heavily depend on exploitation of fertility generated by forest; for example, farmers use forest leaf litter as mulch. People also cut branches of the trees for cattle fodder and gather wood for domestic energy. This continued and unsustainable off-take of forest biomass forms a major threat to the extraordinarily rich and endemic biodiversity of the region.
