Situated in close proximity to the Eastern Himalayan global biodiversity hotspot, the city of Gangtok is the capital and the largest urban center in Sikkim. Gangtok accounts for more than 65% of the total urban population of Sikkim. According to the Census of India (2011), the population of Gangtok city is 1,00,286. Gangtok has historically and consistently recorded a very high growth rate of population. The last decade i.e. 2001-2011 has observed the most exceptional growth rate of 241.64%.
Rapid urbanisation has led to the reduction and exploitation of natural resources like surface and groundwater and also led to the dwindling of traditional resource utilisation and management practices which were earlier followed by the communities. Urbanisation has also led to the acceleration of pollution, which has, in turn, had an impact on the biodiversity of the city-region. Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and natural resource management into urban planning is thus needed to ensure sustainable development.
Project Duration: August 2018- December 2020
Cities: Gangtok