A Perspective on Himalayan Wetland as Asset and Threat to Community

Himalayan wetland support souls of million populations from glaciated valleys to river mouths. The wetland acts as the mediator between the resource and beneficiaries. The life sustaining resource water, begin to descends from these wetlands in the forms of channel and feed million of population in a process of one complete hydrological cycle. Further, wetland functions as carbon storage unit, water filtration, supports diverse biodiversity, livelihood etc. The central discussion of this paper circles around the wetland resources of Sikkim Himalaya and the related hazards over the decades. From 1968 to 2023, 64 lives have been taken by such hazards which are likely to intensify in coming years with changing climatic patterns over Himalayan belt. Wetland resource map, stream order map and NDSI map of Sikkim has been prepared to understand its importance and urging different stakeholders for the urgent monitoring and preservation need of mountain wetlands.