Alpine Treeline Rise, Climate Change Response and Its Effect on Sustainable Development in High Mountains in the Northwestern Indian Himalaya

Alpine forest treeline is one of the important natural features of high altitude mountain ecosystem that plays a vital role in human well-being by nurturing sustainable livelihood and facilitating development process in the form of natural resource conservation, biological diversity, geo-hydrological cycle, water resources, atmospheric circulation and other eco-system benefits. Treeline is very sensitive to climate change and register the prevailing scenario by its spatial dynamics as a climate marker. Ecologically treeline rise is a direct indication of shrinking snow and glacier regime alongwith the various changes in natural resources and overall climatic set-up of the region which is bound to hit the sustainable development and even the survival of the human being, especially of deprived section of society. Himalaya is the youngest and highest mountain chain of the World located in Asian sub-continent and because of its vast water reservoir and unique terrain, it is globally known as Water Tower of Asia and Roof of the World. The main Himalayan range forms an arc of 2,400 km. and serves as a source of some of the world's major river systems encompassing 18 countries. In spite of being rich in natural resources, climate change impact has become a serious environmental concern in Himalaya, because of profound influence and potential threat on natural resources, ecological cycles, biodiversity and socio-economic affairs in the region. The sustainable productivity in Himalayan region depends on the inter-related ocean-atmosphere and terrestrial system that control the Asian monsoon and winter Westerlies. The estimated weakness and continuing delay in the Asian monsoon/Westerlies is predicted to generate resource crunch, productivity loss, socio-economic constraints and various environmental stresses and ultimately hamper the sustainable development in the region