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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Ives, Jack D.
The Himalayan Dilemma:
Reconciling development and conservation
1. Asia, Himalaya. Economic development.
Environmental aspects
I. Title
II. Messerli, Bruno
330.954'052

ISBN 0-415-01157-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ives, Jack D.
The Himalayan Dilemma:
Reconciling development and conservation
Bibliography: p. Includes index.
1. Human ecology-Himalaya Mountain Region.
2. Environmental policy-Himalaya Mountains Region.
I. Messerli, Bruno.
II. Title. GF696.H55194 1989 333.73'0954
88 17382
ISBN 0-415-01157-4

'As the dew is dried up by the morning sun,
So are mankind's sins at the sight of Himalaya'

The Puranas, scriptures of ancient India

Dedicated to the mountain subsistence farmers,
men and women of the Himalaya, the best hope
for resolution of the dilemma.

1. The theory of Himalayan environmental degradation: what is the nature of the perceived crisis?

The theory
Linkages of the theory and their implications

2. The Himalayan region: a geographical overview

Introduction
The physical basis
People and population
Breakdown into regions

3. When did deforestation occur? A historical perspective on Himalayan forest-cover changes

Introduction
Widely held perceptions about the mountain forests of the Himalayan region

4. Perceived pressures on the Himalayan forests and their role as environmental shield

How much fuelwood is consumed and how much biomass do the forests produce?
Perceptions of the forests
Fuelwood collection and the villagers' use of animal dung
What are the physical effects of deforestation?

5. Mountain slope instability: natural processes or human intervention?

Introduction
The nature of mountain geomorphology: what is known about slope process in densely populated mountain terrain?
Estimation of denudation rates in the Himalaya
Geomorphic processes and human interventions: summing up

6. The Himalayan-lowland interactive system: do land-use changes in the mountains affect the plains?

Introduction
Regional assessment of watershed degradation
Downstream effects of watershed degradation

7. The human dimension: what are the facts?

Introduction
Poverty in the Himalaya
Women and young people
Conclusions

8. Two approaches to the population pressure/land productivity decline problem in the Himalaya

Introduction
Livestock and land degradation in the Kumaun Himalayan foothills
Population growth and land-use planning in Nepal
Discussion and conclusions

9. Crisis, pseudo-crisis' or supercrisis?

Introduction
What is the nature and extent of crisis in Nepal?
Some crisis indicators from the wider region
Conclusions

10. Research strategy for the Himalayan region

Introduction
Uncertainty revisited: what are the critical gaps in knowledge?
A conventional approach for the natural scientist
Implementation failure caused by institutional problems
Himalayan development: development for whom?

Postscript

References

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