Yaya tso to become ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site (bhs).

• 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).Local Biodiversity Management Committee, concerned panchayat, along with SECURE Himalaya Project recently resolved to declare Yaya Tso as Ladakh’s first BHS.
• 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 is one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.

Biodiversity Heritage Sites

• BHS are areas that are unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems having rich biodiversity.
• Under Biological Diversity Act (BDA) 2002, the State Governments are empowered to notify areas of biodiversity importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites, in consultation with local bodies.
• Criteria for BHS: includes species richness, high endemism, presence of rare, endemic and threatened species, keystone species, species of evolutionary significance etc.
• There are 36 BHS in India; Mahendragiri hill (Odisha) is the last BHS added in 2022.

About SECURE Himalaya

• It is a joint project of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), funded by Global Environment Facility. It is aimed at conservation and protection of the high-altitude ecosystems of the Himalayas.