User:Hcbjoshi

= About me =

I am Dr. Harish Chandra Joshi and born &amp; brought up in Uttarakhand Himalayan Hills. I am basically a forestry professional with Masters degree in Forestry and Doctorate in Forestry from Department of Forestry, Kumaun University, Nainital. I have got an oppurtunity to travell across the Himalayas as a part of my research and development programmes. I have worked in close association with Himalayan communities. Presently I am working with Uttarakhand Open University in School of Sciecnes as an Acedemic Consultant in Forestry.

= Educational Profile =

'M.Sc. (Forestry):' I did my masters in Forestry from Kumauan University Nainital.

Ph.D. (Forestry):

Title of thesis

"Assessment of Habitat Diversity, Forest Vegetation and Human Dependence in the buffer zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve of West Himalaya."

Summary

My Ph.D. work is on Forest Resource Assessment in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, west Himalaya, India. It was an outcome of an extensive field work from July 1998 to June 2000 in a very tough Himalayan terrain. The study gives a detailed information on forest communities, plant species diversity, human dependence, native, endemic and rare – endangered species of the Biosphere Reserve. The study revealed 23 forest communities with 507 vascular plants. Detailed information regarding the altitudinal distribution, habitats, nativity and endemism of species has been compiled. Further, indigenous uses of species and their parts has also been compiled and a list of &gt;200 such species has been documented following PRA tools and techniques. It was found that the area had a high percentage of native elements (&gt;60%) and, due to geographical barriers and severe climatic conditions, alien elements did not find much scope to establish in the area. Diversity of alien species decreased with altitude. One of the important outcome of the study was the identification of rarity and prioritization of species and communities for conservation based on the population size, anthropogenic pressure, distribution range and habitat specificity the rarity of species. Eighty two (82) such species have been identified and categorized as rare endangered. Cypripedium elegans and C. himalaicum (Rare); and Acer caesium, Dioscorea deltoidea and Nardostachys grandiflora (Vulnerable) have already been placed in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants. Using current criteria of IUCN these species along with others have also been categorized as Critically Rare (Aconitum balfourii, Angelica glauca, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Dioscorea deltoidea, Nardostachys grandiflora, Podophyllum hexandrum, Taxus baccata subsp. wallichiana and Valeriana wallichii); Endangered (Berberis aristata, B. lycium, Heracleum candicans, Polygonatum verticillatum and Swertia angustifolia); and Vulnerable (Bergenia ligulata, Curculigo orchioides, Hedychium spicatum, Paeonia emodi, Rheum australe, Rhododendron anthopogon and Thalictrum foliolosum). Finally, communities and species have been prioritized for conservation and management based on Prioritization Index.

G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development GBIHED. Koshi Almora
I have worked in G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development for about more than 05 years in various projects and assignment relating to nature conservation in Hiamalaya

Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi
I worked in Birla Institute of Technology Ranchi for about 2 years. Here I taught Environmental Science to Undergraduate students of Pharmacy and Technology.

PRAGYA an NGO
Pragya is an NGO working maninly in High altitude HImalayas 8000ft and above. In Pragya I worked as Senior Core Member and got an oppurtunity to travel and explore Himalayas from Leh, Laddakh, Lahaul, Spiti in the North West to the Arunachal Pradesh in the East. I worked here for the conservation and management of rare endangered medicinal and aromatic plants e.g. Aconitum heterophyllu, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Bunium persicum, Angelica glauca and Saussurea costus with the active participation of hill community.

Uttarakhand Open University (UOU)
Research interests My research interests mainly include nature conservation and sustainable development. I am particularly interested in conservation of rare endeangered plants of high altitude Himalayas which are at risk particulalry due to thier habitat destruction and over expolitation due to thier high market demand.

/Seminars / Workshops / Expeditions Attended/
= Hobbies = I like playing Cricket and Vollyball in outdoor games. Among indoor games my favourites are Badminton and Table Tennis. I am also fond treking, collecting information on traditional knowledge of rural people.

= /Research Publications/ =

C.Research Articles
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/Research Publications