Traditional Ecological Knowledge as an Effective Tool for Biodiversity Conservation in Ladakh: A Systematic Review

Conserving biodiversity in mountain ecosystems is becoming more difficult due to rapid climate change, habitat loss or degradation, lack of sustainable use of these landscapes, and socio-economic change. Ladakh, the Trans Himalayan region, is one of the most ecologically sensitive cold desert ecosystems with unique flora and fauna, and indigenous communities who have lived in harmony with nature for centuries. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which has been accumulated over the years by local communities through their interaction with their natural surroundings, gives precious ecological information to manage the natural resources of the area and to conserve biodiversity in a sustainable way. This is a systematic review where various scientific and factual evidence so far generated are brought together as an effective tool for biodiversity conservation in Ladakh. Peer-reviewed articles from the years 2000 to 2025 were systematically searched from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. It shows that indigenous land use systems, such as rotation of livestock grazing; collective management of water harvesting schemes; sustainable gathering of medicinal plants; protection of sacred landscapes; and participatory management of wildlife resources, have played a vital role in sustaining the resilience of these ecosystems and have conserved biological diversity. Traditional ecological practices contribute to the scientific conservation practices by incorporating ecological sustainability, cultural value, and community engagement. However, rapid climate change, the retreat of glaciers, general infrastructure development, the expansion of tourism, and the erosion of indigenous knowledge threaten the biodiversity and traditional conservation systems. It explicitly identifies the need to incorporate TEK in today's biodiversity policies, adaptive ecosystem management, and climate-resilient conservation responses. Improved scientists-policymakers-indigenous peoples relations will promote long-term conservation success and promote Ladakh's ecological and cultural values