Yaya Tso to be proposed as Ladakh’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site

LEH, Jan 31: The community members, Biodiversity Management Committee, the panchayat of Chumathang village, along with GoI-UNDP-GEF SECURE Himalaya Project recently resolved to declare Yaya Tso as Ladakh’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS) under the Biological Diversity Act.

The resolution was signed on 17^th January 2023 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. Further, the project will facilitate the official notification of the BHS after taking the application up with the Ladakh Biodiversity Council.

SECURE Himalaya has also proposed to subsequently develop a management plan for the BHS and pilot interventions to support conservation of this lake.

The proposed Yaya Tso BHS will have an approximate area of 60 sq. km. which will also include the lake’s watershed.