Lham Dorji
Merak and Sakteng are two gewogs (village block), semi-nomadic communities, located in remotest and eastern most part of Bhutan. It is located at 27° 18’06.8’’N, 91°51’20.8’’E and 27°24’14.1’’N and 91°55’20.4’’E respectively. It shares border with Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the north and east. It is inhibitated by a unique cultural people called Brokpas, who depends mostly on livestock rearing and with little subsistence farming. It is famous for ecotourism and trekking due to its exquisite landscape and rich biodiversity.
According to mosses of Bhutan by David G. Long (1994), of all the countries and states in the Himalayan region, Bhutan is probably one of the richest in bryophyte owing to its location. Bhutan lies in the region of Eastern Himalayan Hotspots and climatic conditions are characteristically moderate in the favour for growth of diverse bryophytes, yet Bhutan has least number of bryophytes recorded.
Moreover, the 5th National Report by National Environment Commission and Bhutan's Convention on Biological diversity (CBD) also mentioned that, although there are many species of non- vascular plants, such as Sphagnum mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, there are no detailed inventory of this group of plants, indicating a huge research and information gap in comprehending the biodiversity of the country. Currently, only 282 species under 156 genera of mosses and 55 species of liverworts are recorded from Bhutan. Therefore, the present project is first kind in Bhutan, intended to narrow the gaps through bryodiversity assessment and to help in long-term conservation of bryophytes through identification of conservation challenges and creating awareness in Merak and Sakteng sub-district.
This project aims to document and evaluate the diversity of bryophytes with its conservational challenges from the remotest part of Bhutan. This will generate baseline data on bryophyte of Merak and Sakteng gewogs and will also help in updating information on bryoflora of Bhutan, for better comprehending the biodiversity of the country. Protected area ‘Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary ‘is located in the project site. The findings of the project will be presented to the officials of the protected area, which will support in understanding the protected area's biodiversity more completely with the inclusion of non-vascular plants and a baseline for further research development on it. The main outcome of this project will be the knowledge dissemination about bryophytes to local communities; with an intention to bring bryophytes in public attention, for its conservation and protection, which otherwise will remain unnoticed.