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Himalayan Perceptions: Environmental Change and the Well-Being of Mountain Peoples (Routledge Studies in Physical Geography and Environment) - Hardcover
Synopsis
In the 1970s and 1980s many institutions, agencies and scholars believed that the Himalayan region was facing severe environmental disaster, due primarily to rapid growth in population that has caused extensive deforestation, which in turn has led to massive landsliding and soil erosion. This series of assumptions was first challenged in the book: The Himalayan Dilemma (1989: Ives and Messerli, Routledge). Nevertheless, the environmental crisis paradigm still commands considerable support, including logging bans in the mountain watersheds of China, India, and Thailand, and is constantly being promoted by the news media.
Himalayan Perceptions identifies the confusion of misunderstanding, vested interests, changing perceptions, and institutional unwillingness to base development policy on sound scientific knowledge. It analyzes the large amount of new research published since 1989 and totally refutes the entire construct. It examines recent social and economic developments in the region and identifies warfare, guerrilla activities, and widespread oppression of poor ethnic minorities as the primary cause for the instability that pervades the entire region. It is argued that the development controversy is further confounded by exaggerated reporting, even falsification, by news media, environmental publications, and agency reports alike.
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About the Author
Jack D. Ives is Senior Advisor on Sustainable Mountain Development at The United Nations University, Tokyo.
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Himalayan Perceptions: Environmental Change and the Well-Being of Mountain Peoples (Routledge Studies in Physical Geography and Environment)
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Routledge, 2004
ISBN 10: 0415317983
ISBN 13: 9780415317986
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: killarneybooks, Inagh, CLARE, Ireland
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover, xxi + 271 pages, b&w photos in text, NOT ex-library. Minor handling wear, book is clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Issued without a dust jacket. ISBN sticker on rear board. -- Himalayan Perceptions: Environmental Change and the Well-Being of Mountain Peoples reassesses the widely accepted but scientifically contested Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation. Prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s, this theory linked rapid population growth and subsistence farming in the Himalayas to deforestation, soil erosion, and downstream flooding in the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin. Drawing on post-1989 research, the book critically analyzes how this narrative emerged, gained institutional support, and persisted in policy frameworks, despite growing counter-evidence. Chapter 1 deconstructs the theory's eight-point model, which outlined a feedback loop between forest loss, agricultural decline, and increased flooding. It traces how aid agencies, governments, and media promoted this scenario, often in the absence of consistent empirical data. Chapter 2 extends the discussion beyond Nepal to the wider Hindu Kush-Himalaya, including the Karakorum, Pamir, and Hengduan Mountains, arguing that regional heterogeneity was overlooked in favor of oversimplified generalizations. Chapters 3 through 5 revisit the key claims around forest cover, land degradation, and the supposed link to flooding. Chapter 3 uses historical evidence to argue that large-scale deforestation occurred mostly before 1950, driven by taxation policy and state incentives rather than local subsistence needs. Chapter 4 uses geomorphological studies and comparative photography to challenge assumptions about terrace failure and slope instability, demonstrating that local farmers actively manage and maintain agricultural landscapes. Chapter 5 questions the correlation between mountain deforestation and lowland flooding, suggesting more significant influences from plain-based hydrological factors. Chapter 6 addresses physical hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods, distinguishing between human-induced and naturally occurring events. The discussion emphasizes how tectonic uplift, precipitation variability, and river dynamics shape long-term geomorphological processes. Chapter 7 evaluates the role of tourism in shaping cultural landscapes, livelihood strategies, and environmental stress. Case studies from Nepal, northwest Yunnan, and northern Pakistan explore how increased tourism influences land use, architectural preservation, and local economies. Chapter 8 highlights socio-political tensions, particularly the marginalization of ethnic minorities, military interventions, and state-sponsored development. It links resource extraction, conflict, and insurgency to wider issues of governance and exclusion. Chapter 9 surveys opportunities and constraints for sustainable development, contrasting top-down planning with grassroots initiatives. It discusses institutional bottlenecks, donor agendas, and the resilience of local practices. Chapter 10 examines how distorted narratives and selective reporting have shaped public perception and policy design, reinforcing crisis discourses despite contradictory evidence. Chapter 11 reflects on the persistence of misleading environmental paradigms and proposes reframing development around the needs and knowledge of mountain communities. It advocates for regional cooperation, culturally appropriate resource management, and policy grounded in multi-scalar, interdisciplinary research. The study integrates data from field surveys, historical records, remote sensing, and local narratives. It draws on two decades of collaborative work under the United Nations University Mountain Project, offering a resource for scholars and practitioners examining environmental policy, mountain livelihoods, and the politics of development discourse. Seller Inventory # 011479
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Himalayan Perceptions: Environmental Change and the Well-Being of Mountain Peoples (Routledge Studies in Physical Geography and Environment)
Seller: BennettBooksLtd, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! Seller Inventory # Q-0415317983