This past summer, USP collaborated with the Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Sikkim (ECOSS) and the Voluntary Health Association of Sikkim (VHAS) to bring you PROJECT HIMALAYA 2: SIKKIM HIMALAYA. Students were led by our Biodiversity and Conservation Biology lecturer, Prof. Maharaj K. Pandit on this fieldtrip.
Sikkim, a tiny Himalayan state of India, is sandwiched between Nepal in the West and Bhutan in the East. This picturesque Himalayan state abounds in serene natural beauty, wilderness, wildlife, vast glaciers, glacial lakes, rivers, forests, clouds and cool mists. A part of the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim const14 March, 2008nservation. The state has the distinction of having the highest number of species and endemic species of plants, animals, birds, butterflies per sq km in India.
The unparalleled biological diversity of Sikkim is matched by the extraordinary cultural diversity among its people – Nepalis, Bhutias, Lepchas and plainsmen, professing diverse religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. The old civilizations that have flourished through millennia in Sikkim have brought about a unique cultural blend of Indo-Nepalese and Indo-Tibetan mix.
This summer Programme offered a grand opportunity to know and appreciate the amazing biological diversity of Himalaya, local attempts at the conservation, novel experiments in eco-tourism and initiatives of alternative healthcare based on sound traditional knowledge. It also opened an exclusive window to India’s cultural diversity in the Northeast.