• Yaya Tso, known as birds’ paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres, has been proposed as Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site (BHS).

• The Biodiversity Management Committee, the panchayat of Chumathang village, along with SECURE Himalaya Project recently resolved to declare Yaya Tso as Ladakh’s first BHS under the Biological Diversity Act.

• The resolution was signed after multiple rounds of consultations between the village stakeholders and SECURE Himalaya project to declare the high-altitude lake and its catchment as a biodiversity heritage site.

• The proposed Yaya Tso site will have an approximate area of 60 square kilometers, which will also include the lake’s watershed. Yaya Tso is among the most beautiful lakes in Ladakh.

• The lake could be reached from Mahe monastery on the way to Tsomoriri lake after driving up to the nunnery and then crossing a small mountain pass. 

• Yaya Tso is a nesting habitat for a large number of birds and animals, such as the bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duck. It also has the distinction of being one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India. 

SECURE Himalaya project

• In 2017, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the ‘SECURE Himalaya’ project for the conservation of high range Himalayan ecosystems, which constitute the habitat of the Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia). 

• The project is a part of “Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development” (Global Wildlife Programme).

• The project promotes sustainable management of alpine pastures and forests in the high range Himalayan ecosystems to secure conservation of globally significant wildlife, including endangered snow leopard and their habitats to ensure sustainable livelihoods and socio-economic benefits for communities in the selected high altitude landscapes in the Himalayas. 

• It contributes to the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP), a joint initiative of governments of 12 countries, international agencies, civil society and private sector.

• The project is being implemented in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.

• SECURE Himalaya project aims to demonstrate a matrix of best practices of high range Himalayan ecosystem and snow leopard conservation for scaling up and replication in other landscapes, nationally and globally.

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