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High Altitude Wetlands of the HKH Region of Northern Pakistan – Status of Current Knowledge, Challenges and Research Opportunities

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Abstract

This review paper reports on current information about the physical and biological diversity of high altitude wetlands in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) mountains of northern Pakistan. It also highlights the major reported threats, points out existing deficiencies in knowledge and conservation strategies, and identifies crucial avenues of future research and approaches for long-term conservation. It is hoped that gaps highlighted and recommendations set forth will spur effective research and conservation strategies regarding these important ecosystems. High altitude wetlands of northern Pakistan are a vital link in the mountain ecology of the broader HKH region spanning southern Asia. In recent years, they have come under increasing threat of human interference and potential climate change. There is an urgent need to document their biodiversity, understand their natural processes and functions, identify threats and launch concerted conservation efforts.  The review shows that existing research, except in some categories of biodiversity, is quite inadequate. Efforts have been limited to one-time baseline surveys and mapping of lakes only. And although some climate change studies have been undertaken, none have focussed on the nature and extent of climate change impact on these wetlands. Conservation initiatives have also been sporadic.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Abbottabad, Pakistan, especially Dr. Bahadar Nawab Khattak, for providing us with the research environment and encouragement to carry out extensive literature review and write this paper. Thanks are also due to our colleague Ms. Zainab Khalid, who assisted in the literature review process, and to the anonymous reviewers whose comments were central to improving the paper.

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Khan, H., Baig, S. High Altitude Wetlands of the HKH Region of Northern Pakistan – Status of Current Knowledge, Challenges and Research Opportunities. Wetlands 37, 371–380 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0868-y

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