**2. Importance of IHR biodiversity**

Forests support life for more than 70% of terrestrial biodiversity; regulate water cycles, sustain soil quality, and reduce the threat of natural disasters like floods and landslides, as well as directly and indirectly sustaining the livelihoods of >1.6 billion people on the globe [9]. IHR is continuously deteriorating despite its crucial importance in maintaining the ecosystem, as the value of ecosystems to human welfare

#### *Biodiversity Conservation of Western Himalayas: A Pluralistic Approach DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107075*

is still underestimated. The high Himalayan ranges and glaciers cover most of the northern parts of the Western Himalayan region of Indian sub-continents. Whereas, the adjoining lower reaches are under forest land use that occupies about 2/3rd of the landscape. The mountainous parts of the region are gifted with rich biodiversity having tree species from sub-tropical to alpine zones. The commonly collected NTFPs from these forests include a variety of wild edibles, medicinal, and aromatic plants such as pine resin, lichens, moss, wild mushrooms, fruits, and flowers and these also provide income and employment to its inhabitants through forest-based activities [10]. In India, Western Himalayas is one of the two important diversity hotspots, the other being the Western Ghats [11] and is unique because of the different geomorphic conditions, changing thermal regimes, and fast water current. The Himalayan Mountains are important sources of water to the Indo-Gangetic plains through the perennial glacier-fed rivers. The value of ecosystem services provided by the Himalayan forests was estimated to be \$1150*/*ha annually.

The Himalayan region is known for the diversity and richness of its medicinal plants and it harbors a large number of ethnic communities, each with a distinct culture and traditional knowledge system [12]. IHR has been reported to house 8000 angiosperms, 44 gymnosperms, and 600 pteridophyte species [13], and of these, 1748 species fall under various traditional and modern therapeutic uses. The highest number (701) of medicinal and aromatic plant species (MAPs) have been reported from the Uttarakhand region [14, 15]. Among different biogeographic provinces, nearly 643 species of medicinal and aromatic plants are known from Himachal Pradesh and 701 from Uttarakhand in Western Himalayas. Nearly 26% of known MAPs are native to the Himalayan region while another 6% share their nativity with Himalayan and adjoining areas [15]. India has emerged as a strong destination in the herbal sector with 8.13% of the global share and 22% growth, which is highest in the world [16]. MAPs have been used for decades and serve both as a source of income and affordable healthcare in many developing countries [17]. Today, more than 90% of plant species used in the pharmaceutical industry are harvested from the wild, many of these come from the subalpine and alpine regions of the Himalayas. Depletion and loss of medicinal plant diversity and its knowledge base may have significant impacts on human health and livelihood [11]. Hence, protection of the genetic pool of this valuable wealth in nature is urgently required for long-run sustainability and making it available for future generations.

These are also used by pharmaceutical companies for developing herbal medicine and used for the synthesis of new molecules [18] which has directly increased their demand and also promoted their illegal collection from the wild. In the Western Himalayas, around 30% trade of MAPs operated from alpine areas, and 90–95% material is collected from wild habitats through destructive practices [19] and their population declined considerably.
