Vol. 8, Issue 1 (2019)

Author(s):
Abhay Sharma and Abha Sharma

Abstract:
The degradation of Himalayan Ecosystem is emerging and one of the major concerned issues of challenge. As we know Himalayan ecosystems provide a variety of benefits to people, including provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. These services are interconnected and interlinked to each other which consists conservation of biodiversity, use of natural resources and environmental protection. But the deterioration of ecosystem services due to anthropogenic activities is becoming a big issue in the world. The impact of human activities on ecosystem services includes both negative and positive effects. The negative effects have weakened the ecosystem services through changing habitat, ecosystem structure and biogeochemical cycles. The main problems include industrialization, urbanization, climate change, grazing, hunting, international trade and agriculture are reported to influence risks to ecosystem services. There are many human demands on ecosystem services and will still grow in the coming decades. Unfortunately, ecosystem services are declining around the globe. Approximately 60 % (15 out of 24) of the ecosystem services are being degraded or used unsustainably. The degradation of ecosystem services often causes significant harm to human well-being and represents risks to natural asset or wealth of a country. This combination of ever growing demands being placed on increasingly degraded ecosystems seriously diminishes the prospects for sustainable development. Also, the degradation of ecosystem services is exacerbated by the associated lack of knowledge that could help to ensure the sustainable use of ecosystem services. Hence, it is provided that necessary management practices should be adopted to enhance and protect the ecosystem services. Also, a new concept of value addition to ecosystem services and payment for ecosystem services should be encouraged for their sustainable use.