ISSN 1013-7386 NUMBER 24 April 1996
Technologies
When ICIMOD was established in 1983, the main methods of communicating
with institutions in its member countries were by mail and telegramme.
Subsequently, telephone and fax have had a tremendous impact on
the efficiency of ICIMOD's operational and administrative contacts
in the region. We are very happy that, by entering into the INTERNET,
ICIMOD now also has the opportunity to interact in a very substantive
way on scientific issues, both within the region and outside,
with institutions and organisations with similar access. While at the moment the number of institutions and organisations
in the region with operational access to INTERNET may still be
somewhat limited, we are convinced that this technology will be
adopted by many of our partner institutions in the region within
the next few years.
Methodologies
Face-to-face communication is, however, still the preferred method
of communication in this region, as can be seen from the contents
in this Newsletter. This issue, once more, reports on several
workshops and seminars that took place in the region. Travel by
ICIMOD professional staff to our regional member countries is
also an important communication method when it comes to ensuring
that ICIMOD's programmes respond to the the needs and problems
of our partner institutions. This issue also contains a short
note on the response to our readership survey, which indicates
the continuing, if not increasing, need to send out our Newsletter
regularly to the more than 2,000 addresses on our mailing list.
The Ultimate Goal: Reaching Out to the Poor
Even in ten years' time, 99 per cent of the population of the
HKH Region will not have access to INTERNET and will not have
direct access to the ICIMOD Newsletter and other ICIMOD documents.
ICIMOD is therefore on the continuing lookout for partners who
can be intermediaries in reaching out to the poor of the region.
Please approach us through any of the methods listed in the box
'Communicating with ICIMOD', and we will try to be of assistance.
Egbert Pelinck
Director General
I. Conceptual Clarification(1)
Discussion on the Himalayan environment needs to begin with conceptual
clarity and this means the demolition of 'sacrosanct tenets'.
The obvious prevailing platitudes are ecological balance, fragility
of the mountains, the afforestation/soil erosion equation, native
ignorance of the environment, and environment and development
as antitheses (Table 1).
Ecological Balance: The spoliation of the natural ecosystem is inevitable with human intervention. The degree of imposition on the natural environment varies in rapacity, both in time and space, depending on whether it is for survival (poverty) or conspicuous consumption (affluence). Substantial advances in science and technology have, however, obliterated the Middle Path between traditional immobility and materialistic heedlessness.
Fragility of the Highlands: If vast quantities of sand and silt were not transported by the Himalayan rivers over millions of years, there would be no fertile Indo-Gangetic plains to contrast with the poverty of the highlands. Excessive exposure to natural elements makes highlands a high energy area for mass wasting. Therefore, it would be more realistic to consider the highlands as dynamic elements.
Erosion due to Deforestation: The instability of the highlands is related more to the declivity of the land surface of steep slopes. At excessive heights above the treeline, mass wasting takes place independently of vegetation cover. Soil creep erosion, solifluction, and land slips and slides are common in the highlands, whether there be vegetation or not. Human activities do contribute to deforestation, but the extent of human impact on consequent land degradation remains an unknown quantity.
Native Ignorance: General-ly, the natives are said to be ignorant of ecology or the adverse consequences of environmental degrada-tion. It is said that high-landers should not multiply so fast, that shift- ing cultivation is a bad land-use practice, and tree felling for fuelwood certainly leads to deforestation. However, these are adaptive mechanisms for survival in the absence of alternatives.
II. Environmental Problems
The two principal environmental problems in Nepal are land degradation
and deforestation. In recent years, pollution problems have also
emerged due to haphazard urbanisation and industri-alisation.
The first two processes are due to the nature of terrain and over-exploitation
of the natural resource base.
Land Degradation: The term 'degradation' used here is not in the form of a geomorphic process but in the sense of diminishing economic returns. Mass wasting in the form of landslides and slope failures is common on steep slopes. Soil erosion is natural on steep slopes, and the heavy precipitation during the monsoon intensifies the process. In arid transHimalayan areas, wind erosion is a predominant process. Road and canal construction activities also contribute to slope failure, but their scale of impact is minor compared to that of natural mass wasting in Nepal.
Nepal is said to lose 240 million tonnes of sediment annually through its three river systems. That the catchment area of the Koshi is only half that of the Karnali but transports a 2.4 times greater sediment load is indicative of the active contribution of heavy precipitation in the eastern part of the country. Mass wasting and surface erosion contribute to in-creased sedimentation and flood hazards in the inner terai and the terai plains.
Deforestation(2): Destruction of forests has two aspects: forest depletion through overexploitation and outright clearance for agriculture and other land uses. The former occurs near settlements and is due to the extraction of products and overgrazing. Expansion of cropland at the expense of forest land is indicative of increasing population pressure, while commercial exploitation is facilitated by road access. From 1964/65 to 1978/79, there was a loss of 382,000 hectares of forest land.
The rate of forest depletion varies widely among the elevation zones. The moun-tain zone is assumed to have gained marginally. In the hills, the loss was as low as 0.2 per cent. Nearly 90 per cent of the forest area lost was in the tropical Terai at a rate of 1.8 per cent annually. This was mainly because of agriculture and settlement for the large influx of migrants.
Depletion and destruction of forests have a highly negative effect on biological diversity. The rich floral diversity in Nepal is represented by 375 species of fern, 352 species of lichen, and 350 species of orchid. Furthermore, the country has high faunal diversity, being the convergence of the Oriental and Palaeoarctic realms. It includes 797 bird, 580 butterfly, 129 mammal, 120 fish, and 63 reptile species. Despite the designation of some areas as national parks and reserves, many biotic species fall in the endangered category.
Pollution: Solid waste of varying compositions, biodegradable to non-biodeg- radable, have become a problem in urban and industrial areas. It has also become a problem in heavily-trekked areas such as the Annapurna Sanctuary and the Upper Khumbu. Water contamination has also become a big problem in Kathmandu Valley due to industrial effluent, chemical pollution, and pesticides used on agricultural land. Air and noise pollution are very localised problems and refer particularly to the Kathmandu Valley. Air pollution in the Valley is mainly caused by brick kilns, cement factories, and the increasing number of vehicles.
III. Causative Factors
The three broad categories of environ-mental problems enumerated
above owe their genesis to discrete factors. Simply stated, land
degradation is mostly natural, deforestation is due to popu-lation
pressure, while pollution pro-blems are due to poor management.
Steep slopes are both the cause and effect of mass wasting. According to the databases of the Land Resources' Mapping Project, 58 per cent of Nepal's land surface is defined as steep to very steep. Deforestation, whether in the form of depletion or outright clearance, can be attributed to human interference.
The overpopulated hills are the sources of outmigrants. Some hill districts in central Nepal exceed 7.7 persons per net cultivated hectare, while the national average is 5.7 persons. This has put increasing pressure on forests for timber, fuelwood, fodder, and land for cultiva-tion. Another source of pressure on forest land is the large number of livestock, estimated from 13.3 to 18.3 million during 1980/81. Their density per hect-are of gross cultivated land is 7.6 on grazing land and 2.1 on forest land. Despite various attempts at agricultural development, increase in food produc- tion has not been through intensification or increase in productivity but through cropland expansion.
Except for the acute situation of solid waste, water, air, and noise pollution in metropolitan Kathmandu, these problems are still in the formative stage. The problems are evident and mainly due to the lack of any control mechanism or proper management.
IV. Poverty-Environment Nexus(3)
The relationship between environment and development in the highlands
of Nepal should be considered to be inverted since some of the
environmental stresses there are the making of extreme underdevelopment.
Poverty is the basic cause of poor land management, the consequence
of which is deepening poverty (4).
The risks can only be mitigated through economic development for it is the poor that impose on marginal resources.
The main agenda of highland develop-ment revolves around reconciling land-use conflicts, reducing demographic pressure, and developing alternative sources of energy. The last item has much relevance for the protection of natural vegetation. Programming of activities will be more realistic through a better understanding of traditional re-source management systems. Since the highlands are generally away from the centres of economic and political power, successful implementation will be contingent on the full involvement of local institutions and beneficiary participation.
* This article is based on a presentation by Dr. Harka Gurung
to ICIMOD staff on 9th January. Dr. Gurung is a Member of ICIMOD's
Board of Governors, a former Minister of Industry and Commerce
and of Tourism for HMG/Nepal, and currently the Director of the
Asia Pacific Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
(1) Harka Gurung, 'Ecological Change', Seminar Journal (Nepali Reflections),
Delhi, June 1982, pp57-64
(2) Harka Gurung, "Management of Temperate Forests in the Central
Himalaya," in Wil D. Verwey (ed) Natural Management and
Sustainable Development, Amsterdam, 1989, pp. 203-215.
(3) Harka Gurung, 'Mitigation of Environmental Risks in the Highlands',
paper presented at the IFAD Project Implementation Workshop for
Asia and the Pacific Region, Chengdu, Oct. 22Nov 2, 1990.
(4) Piers Blaikie and Harold Brookfield, Land Degradation and Society,
London, 1987.
Table 1: Notion vs Reality Notion Reality 1. Balance between Technological development to nature and man adapt/control nature Temporal sequence a. Dominance of nature over man b. Adaptation of man to nature c. Balance between man and nature d. Adaptation of nature to man e. Dominance of man over nature 2 Mountains are Mountains are dynamic fragile 2a Mountain and hill Temperate mountain environment + Subtropical hill = Highland environment 3. Deforestation = Surface erosion is due to Erosion steepness of slopes 4. Natives are Natives have intimate knowledge ignorant of of the environment environmental degradation 5. Development is Environmental protection is anti-environment possible only through development
In order to foster regional cooperation for sustainable development of mountain agriculture among agricultural research and educational institutions located in or concerned with mountain agriculture in the HKH, ICIMOD organised a regional consultation in Kathmandu. The consultation was intended to provide a platform for sharing experiences, discussing issues of common concern, and identifying areas for action at national and regional levels.
Participation
Among the participants at the meeting were 20 Vice Chancellors from Universities based in the HKH and a similar number of high-level functionaries from National Agricultural Research Centres. Another 20 participants represented Ministries of Agriculture, NGOs, and other organisations with a mandate for agricultural extension.
Common Platform
It was basically agreed that all mountain agricultural research and development was facing a number of common issues. After an extensive review of existing constraints and potentials, the meeting concluded with the following key recommendations under four specific topics.
I. Strategies for Transformation of Education Systems
II. Redefining Research Priorities
III. Incorporating Gender Concerns into Agricultural Institutions
IV. Strategies for Creating Regional and International Partnerships and Alliances
The Report of the Consultation will be available later in 1996.
Introduction
The Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Ministry of Water Conservancy (MWC) is based in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. It is a premier institute for research on mountain hazards and environment in the Chinese Himalayan Region. The institute was established in 1965 as the Southwest Branch of the Geographical Institute, CAS, and renamed the Sichuan Institute of Geography and the Chengdu Institute of Geography in 1971 and 1978, respectively. The institute was given its present name in 1987 and is now under the dual leadership of CAS and MWC.
Mandate and Ojectives
The main mandate and objectives of the institute are to conduct basic and applied research on: 1) distribution, formation, and control of mountain hazards (debris flow, landslides, and soil erosion); 2) formation, evolution, and protection of mountain environment and human impacts on mountain environment; 3) development and utilisation of mountain resources, especially soil resources; and 4) application of remote sensing and computer mapping for mountain planning and development.
The institute offers Masters' Degrees in education on mountain sciences and provides consultations for mountain development.
Organisation
The institute has a Directorate co-ordinating the following divisions and field stations.
Research Divisions
Staffing and Facilities
The Institute has about 400 staff, including 120 senior research fellows and 100 middle research fellows. It has a library of documents on mountain hazards and development. Several Journals are published by the Institute, of which Mountain Research is the first journal to be published on mountain development in China.
Programme
To meet the needs for sustainable mountain development, the institute focusses on a number of aspects.
The Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment has been involved in the ICIMOD Programme/Projects since ICIMOD's establishment, in particular in the field of landslide hazard assessment.The current Mountain Risk Engineering Project focusses on training at field level (Newsletter 24).
The promotion of sustainable development in the HKH Region is the mandate and mission of ICIMOD. Beyond the ecological concerns alone, sustainability also incorporates social, political, and economic factors. Gender is one aspect that is closely linked to sustainable land use and the alleviation of poverty, which is fast becoming more feminised in the region. Men and women's differing roles and responsibilities, access to resources and benefits, and their practical needs affect the priorities and interests of the sexes in different ways. Due to their social and economic roles, poor rural women have a close association with the natural resources from which they must provide water, food, fuel, and income for their families. As a result, women's lives are very much affected, in ways that are different from the ways in which men are affected, by the environmental degradation which is occurring in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region.
It is the under-represented needs of women, in addition to the better-known priorities of men, therefore, that must be understood and accounted for in the planning and implementation of sustainable development programmes. Due to the tremendous variations in cultures, constraints, and opportunities in this mountain region, policies and plans for the incorporation of gender per-spectives must be based on local realities, which differ widely from east to west; a gender perspective for sustainability in the HKH Region will necessarily be derived from a knowledge of this diversity, gained with the full participation of both sexes in the information collection and analysis.
As was often commented on during the recent ICIMOD-sponsored Regional Consultation on Agricultural Research and Education in Sustainable Mountain Agriculture, most institutions involved in agriculture and natural resource management (including NGOs) in the region have not formally incorporated gender concerns into their research, extension, and training programmes. Indeed, many of their staff are not aware of what 'gender and development' refers to and demonstrate a gender blindness that leads to the widespread exclusion of rural women from participation in re-search and extension activities, limiting the degree of sustainability that these outreach actions may achieve. The common problems that women of this region experience - those of heavy workloads, low education, little access to financial and health services and new technologies, and limited control over resources - go largely unaddressed by those institutions responsible for rural poverty alleviation through improved land use. Clearly, a strategy to bring about gender-sensitised planning and implementation in these key agencies could do much to encourage more equitable development between men and women and more sustainability.
To address this institutional neglect of gender concerns, ICIMOD has developed an institutional strengthening programme focussed on, but not limited to, agriculture and natural resource management institutions in the region. This programme will have both research and training components, as well as support for a Gender Network for information exchange. Research will begin in 1996 with a fact-finding mission to identify relevant institutions and indi-viduals, collect existing data, and analyse the situations of women and men farmers throughout the mountain areas within the eight countries of the region. These analyses will then point the way to the development of a more in-depth and systemised databank to meet the needs identified.
From this mission, participants from eight countries will be selected for attendance in a training course on incorporating gender into organisational policies and programmes, as well as development activities for mountain dwellers. Women and men engaged in policy formulation for agriculture, forestry, livestock development, and environmental development in general, whose institutions demonstrate an interest to incorporate gender concerns into their programmes, will be eligible. These participants will gain the skills to guide their organisations to become more gender-responsive. A network formed around this core group of participants will provide the nexus for information collection and sharing in the HKH Region.
To help us in the identification of institutions working on gender issues within the HKH Region, please complete the form below and return it to Jeannette Gurung, Gender and Development Specialist, Mountain Farming Systems' Division.
ICIMOD's first workshop in 'Women, Development, and Mountain Resources: Approaches to Internalising Gender Perspectives' took place in November 1988 to promote interaction between ICIMOD professional staff and guest participants who were resource experts on women's issues. The workshop was coordinated by Dr. Vandana Shiva and Dr. Deepak Bajracharya.
From that time, the need for gender perspectives in mountain development has moved out of the tentative phase to becoming an accepted concept; if indeed there was ever any doubt about the importance of women in mountain development and in development per se. The first workshop was useful in that it came up with several suggestions about practical approaches to enhance the role and effectiveness of women in mountain resource development and management. Since then, internalising gender has progressed from the general to the particular.
Forty women from Nepal, lndia, and Pakistan came together in Kathmandu in December 1995 and decided to form the Himalayan Grassroots' Women's Natural Resources' Management Network. This workshop was a continuation of the process which had begun in May 1995 at the First Regional Community Forestry Users' Group Workshop organised by ICIMOD's Participatory Natural Resources' Management Programme.
The December forum brought together the women who had been nominated to the regional committee and who had been given the mandate to operationlise a regional network for women in May 1995.
In his inaugural address, Egbert Pelinck, Director General,lCIMOD, welcomed the participants and said that this was a unique meeting for ICIMOD. This was the first meeting in which grass roots' women from ICIMOD's three member countries had come together to discuss the involve-ment of women in natural resources' management and mountain develop-ment. ICIMOD had already recognised the important role of women in this area and had established a special programme on gender and development. He said he was happy to see that men had also been invited to the forum and hoped that they would contribute to the discussions. ICIMOD would be eagerly looking forward to the outcome of the workshop so that the recommendations could be fed into ICIMOD's ongoing programmes.
The first two days of the workshop were spent in small groups to identify issues related to natural resources' management and the barriers which prevented women from playing a stronger role. It became clear during the plenary presentations that the status of women within the household was a critical issue and that women had to have a greater say in decision-making at all levels. The barriers identified were related to social and cultural issues, lack of education,the legal rights of women,and lack of aware-ness about rights. In addition men's attitudes towards women, political manipulation, and caste and class structures were considered to be wider issues which need to be addressed.
The plenary also recognised that the key to sustainable mountain develop-ment was rooted in the ability of women to have a greater role in decision-making. This would only be possible if mechanisms to address gender and related issues were created so that women could collectively address them on a continuing basis.
The women participants endorsed the formation of the network and decided to create the Himalayan Grassroots' Women's Natural Resources' Management Network. As a principle it was also essential to ensure that leadership for this forum remained vested with grassroots' women. With this in mind, the group elected a new committee from the three countries of Nepal,lndia, and Pakistan. A follow-up meeting of the regional committee is scheduled to be held in Nepal in May 1996 to evolve a strategic action plan for the future.
A basic feature of the HKH Region is that the majority of the population lives in the countryside, quite removed from the amenities of modern cities and towns. These people are forced to lead simple lives, meeting virtually all their energy requirements from the environment. The price of this energy self-sufficiency, particularly for the poor, and specifically women and children, can be quite enormous in terms of human effort. This tedious and arduous labour is aggravated by the low efficiency of end-use devices. As a result: i) biomass is the principal fuel for cooking and space heating; ii) animate energy is the main source of mechanical energy; iii) the domestic sector is the main consumer of energy; and iv) cooking and space heating are the predominant end uses.
The slow pace of energy transition in the HKH Region can be attributed to the slow rate of growth in economic activities due to prevailing development barriers. These barriers are caused by mountain specificities which are manifested by inaccessibility, marginality, and fragility (Box 1). Besides these constraints and the 'niche' imposed on the energy sector, the numerous barriers it faces with regard to policy, planning, technology, cost, financing, institution, and information pose a serious predicament for the development of the sector. However, a more positive strategy would be to capture the opportunities generated by the mountain-specific characteristics rather than harping on the constraints.
The objective of the energy system is to provide energy services. Energy services are the desired and useful products, processes, or services that result from the use of energy - for instance, illumination, cooking, space conditioning, and so on. The energy chain that delivers these services begins with the collection or extraction of primary energy, which is then converted into energy car-riers that are suitable for end uses (Fig. 1).
Therefore, better efficiency of energy use permits significant improvements in the physical quality of life without any increase, or even with decrease, in the amount of primary energy, while, at the same time, it reduces the release of environmental affluent. Also, when a particular energy carrier is used efficiently, or a shift is made into more efficient energy carriers, then inefficiently used sources will be available for alternative uses. For example, large-scale dissemination of improved cooking stoves might make it possible to use animal dung as farmyard manure.
Mountain development and the associated poverty alleviation are believed to be feasible if development is both equitable (in group, gender, and generational dimensions) and sustainable (from both environmental and fiscal aspects). This would require a significant change in the energetics of mountain lives, besides the energy services required to fulfill the most basic needs such as water and food.
Sustainable human development could be achieved if energy systems' transformation means movement towards a model that embodies lower energy system supply costs; greater financial sustainability, reflective of users' preference and ability to pay; improved environmental sustainability through greater reliance on renewable energy and improvement in the supply chains of traditional fuels; adoption of a system in a manner that maximises both direct and indirect benefits; and use and development of alternative institutional and financial approaches and incentives by all key players.
To facilitate sustainable environmentally-friendly development, other infrastructural development activities, as well as income-generating activities associated with credit facilities, are also crucial. At the same time, the system of decentralised governance and identification of appropriately-designed technology with in-built institutional attributes need to be packaged for intervention in mountain communities.
It is important to understand the overall food, fuel, fodder, fertiliser, and fibre (F5) system when considering the possibilities of transforming the energy systems in support of economic development. In the HKH Region, F5 systems are intertwined in many ways.
Animals and animal energetics are important in both subsistence and market-based development phases. Also significant is the value of the multiple outputs of animal husbandry and how it affects the alleviation of drudgery, increased productivity, and overall livelihood of the household.
Box 1: Mountain Specificities and Implications on and for the Energy Sector Mountain Primary Attributes Adaptation Implication on Implication for Specificit Characteristics Energy Sector Energy Sector ies Inaccessib Isolation; high cost of Multiple use of Interventions Better ility supply system; limited resources and failed due to understanding of access; invisibility of technologies a sectoral sectoral links, problems approach i.e., fuel, fodder, and food chain Fragility Resource highly High community High cost of Augment energy vulnerable to rapid participation; interventions; supply; improve deforestation; low people-oriented higher level efficiency of productivity and problem-solving; of energy conversion resource capacity, integrated farming input dispersed settlements system; prevailing barter system Marginalit Limited resources and Exploitation of Destruction at Encourage forest y productivity; minimal potentials by core margin process management to consideration of areas/population, provide fodder, areas/people use of marginal fuel, and timber areas by others, dependency Subsistence economy Low risk-taking Slow pace of Link energy and capability dissemination income generation Diversity Diverse resources and Multiple cropping, Increase in Adopt the approaches; diversified energy inputs, need-based environmental upland/lowland increased approach and situation; large-scale farming systems dependency on diversify fuel micro-variations in a specific use physical/biological fuel attributes; interdependence of production bases Niche Small-scale Emphasis on Decentralised Indigenous specialisation; activities that are energy system technical location and mostly of an preferable knowledge-base area-specific extractive nature; for maintaining comparative advantage; logging; forest areas, location-specificity of hydroelectricity traditional production and machinery/ water consumption wheels Source: Banskota and Jodha (1992), Sharma and Banskota (1992), Sharma (1994), Jodha and Shrestha (1994), PEP (1994).
The intricate relationship which exists between energy - economy - environment is generally understood. However, lack of knowledge concerning how to capture the dynamic linkages of these sectors continues due to the weak database and poor analytical capabilities.
A particular concern is the health impact associated with domestic use of traditional fuels. Many people, especially women and children, are seriously affected by exposure to very high concentrations of emissions caused by cooking with low-grade fuels and stoves in poorly ventilated environments. An energy system transformation that reduces the health risks as well as poverty must be promoted.
It can therefore be concluded that energisation of mountain communities can be made feasible only if appropriate technological interventions, in terms of energy sources, technologies, and institutional mechanisms, are conceived and translated into reality. Energy technology interventions with increased economic activities will lead to breaking down the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation. If energy transformations are implemented appropriately, even the poor can contribute in a significant way to development, which would affect their lives as well as the overall economy.
The Hindu ush-Himalayan (HKH) Region is one of the world's highest ecosystems. This mountain ecosystem is extremely rich in biodiversity due to its great variety in altitude, climate, geology, biophysics, and soil formation. Human interactions with mountain envi-ronments throughout history have further enriched their biodiversity with particular distribution patterns of plant, animal, and genetic diversity. Recently, as part of an effort to promote national biodiversity conservation, several countries of the region began preparing national biodiversity action plans or programmes which also take mountain ecosystems into consideration. The biodiversity convention, however, also considers an ecosystemic approach in the wider geographical context, which is essential for further conservation, and Agenda 21 reinforces that concept by devoting a full chapter (13) to: 'Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development'.
Biodiversity conservation is accorded high priority by the HKH member countries, and, as a consequence, ICIMOD is planning to play a more active role in the field of biodiversity in the HKH Region. Since May 1995, ICIMOD has been engaged in a programme of regional collaboration on 'Biodiversity Assessment, Monitoring, and Management in the HKH Ecosystems'. To ensure that ICIMOD coordinates a regional programme that is complementary to and in support of national programmes, the programme carried out a state-of-the-art review on biodiversity and organised a regional consultation workshop for further development of the programme.
The main purpose of the state-of-the-art review is to recommend a regional collaborative programme on biodiversity assessment, monitoring, and management as a whole, as well as other activities specific to the needs of each country. The reviews will help to identify the existing knowledge base and areas of high priority for the future. On the basis of available information, and in consultation with other biodiversity experts, the state-of-the-art review papers were prepared at the end of 1995 by experts from the respective member countries of the HKH Region. All the review papers highlighted the main issues involved in biodiversity conservation and management in mountain eco-systems in the respective countries, with updated information, data, and maps on biodiversity.
A Regional Consultation on Biodiversity Assessment, Monitoring, and Management in the HKH Region was organised from December 19 to 20, 1995, at ICIMOD, Kathmandu. It was attended by 23 participants from the regional member countries and concerned international agencies such as WWF, WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre), IUCN, and ICIMOD; participants included the authors of the state-of-the-art review papers. The workshop was organised with the purposes of (1) exchanging and sharing information on biodiversity conservation in the mountain ecosystems of the HKH Region and improving the existing knowledge for better collaboration on the subject; (2) assessing and discussing the state-of-the-art review papers prepared by experts from the regional member countries; and (3) providing a forum for regional collaboration on biodiversity in the HKH. The principal outputs of the workshop were the positive comments made on the country review papers.
A wide range of common issues on biodiversity conservation and management in the mountain ecosystems was raised and discussed and the outcome was outlined into two groups of issues, one related to the biophysical aspects of regional cooperation for biodiversity conservation and the other related to the socioeconomic aspects which essentially build up the basis for formulating a medium-term work programme for regional collaboration on biodiversity. The workshop proceedings, including the state-of-the-art review papers, will be published by ICIMOD in the near future.
Background
In October 1995, ICIMOD carried out a Newsletter Readership Survey for the first time. We are extremely grateful for the responses we received and are happy to share with you some of the significant findings.
A total of 2,071 questionnaires were sent out with Newsletter No. 22 to 79 countries and, to date, 300 (15%) responses have been received from 30 countries. Out of these responses, 181 (60%) were from the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Region and the rest, totalling 119 (40%), were from outside the region. The two primary reasons for carrying out the survey were:
Here is the feedback
1. Are you receiving the ICIMOD Newsletter regularly?
217 (73%) respondents indicated that they were receiving the Newsletter regularly; however, some of them complained about irregularity or late receipt. (This probably has more to do with the vagaries of postal authorities worldwide than with ICIMOD - something that ICIMOD has no control over.)
2. Do you wish to continue receiving the ICIMOD Newsletter?
All but five respondents wished to continue receiving the Newsletter.
3a. Is the ICIMOD Newsletter interesting to read?
284 (95%) respondents find our Newsletter interesting and 3 (1%) do not (4% had 'no comment').
3b. Does the Newsletter provide useful/practical information?
Several readers expressed the opinion that the Newsletter should provide more practical, technical, and scientific information, focussing on the results of research activities carried out by ICIMOD and on highlighting 'success stories' in the region. Nevertheless, 275 (92%) found the Newsletter interesting.
3c. Does the Newsletter help you to understand the activities of ICIMOD?
282 (94%) of you responded favourably, 5 (2%) did not, and 4% had 'no comment'.
Readers would, nevertheless, like more information on activities that are going on or which are about to be launched by ICIMOD in the region. They would also like the Centre to be more involved in on-line interactive communication systems such as the Internet, List Servers, and World Wide Web. We are happy to inform you that you can find us on the Internet (see front page).
4. Have you ever contacted ICIMOD with an enquiry after reading an article in the ICIMOD Newsletter, or enquired about its programmes and publications?
118 (40%) readers contacted ICIMOD after reading an article in the Newsletter, whereas 169 (56%) did not, and 4% had 'no comment'.
5. Do you think the articles are too technical, about the right level, or too general?
240 (80%) of you find our Newsletter about the right level in terms of its content, 12 (4%) too technical, and 33 (11%) too general. The general feeling here is that the Newsletter should contain more technical or lead articles highlighting research activities, case studies, or 'success stories'. At the same time, some urged us to maintain a balance between items that are of wider interest and those that are technical.
6. Are there any particular topics(s) or item(s) you would like to see in the ICIMOD Newsletter?
More than half (54.33%) of the respondents provided information on topics of interest, many of which related to natural resources' management.
7.Do you keep copies of the ICIMOD Newsletter in your library or documentation centre?
263 (88%) responded that they keep the Newsletter in their library/ documentation centre.
8. Do you have any comments on the frequency, language, and visual presentation of the ICIMOD Newsletter ?
While readers complimented us for the improvements we have made over the years in terms of layout, formatting, and visual presentation, there is a strong indication that most would like to see the frequency increased either to quarterly or bi-monthly, if not monthly.
9. Do you have any other comments about the ICIMOD Newsletter, or recommendations about how we can improve it ?
Some of the responses to this question were the same as those covered in question number 6 above. In addition, our readers would like to see information and reports on a broad range of additional subjects.
We hope that readers will recognise in this and future editions of the Newsletter that we have received to make it even more responsive to the needs of our readership. In the meantime we thank all f you who contributed to our understanding of the Newsletter's readership.
1. Landslide Hazard Management and Control in Pakistan
-M.H. Malik, and S. Farooq
ISBN 92-9115-483-0
This country review on landslides on Pakistan deals with all the aspects of land-slides, their types; causative factors; their relation to geology, earthquakes, mon-soons, and deforestation; their impact; and possible studies to overcome disasters and control. This paper systematically identifies the problem areas and gives details of the historical background, clearly establishing the connection with certain natural (earthquakes, lithology) and man-made (excavations and indiscriminate construction) causative factors. The extent of the impacts of landslides depends upon various factors such as the depth and rate of movement, stresses from the environment, volume of materials involved, and, most importantly, the proximity to settlements and structures. Dealing with the diversity of causes, the author scientifically enumerates aspects of geology, such as lithological distribution, bedding, joints, foliation, and schistosity, that lead to landslides. Causative factors relating to surface and groundwater and the effect of saturation on strength, temperature variations, earthquakes and vibrations, and effects of vegetation and deforestation have been dealt with in the context of Pakistan. The text is further substanciated with figures, tables, and photographs.
2. Landslide Hazard Management and Control in India
- V.C. Thakur
ISBN 92-9115-497-0
Landslide Management and Control in India examines the problem of landslides in a mountain environment in which rising populations and an increase in infrastructural construction have led to augmentation in the probability of landslide occurrence. The various landslide triggers (rainfall, erosion, deforestation, earthquakes, overburden of and construction of inappropriate infrastructure, geological causes, etc) and parameters of occurrence are discussed; a number of case histories are given in illustration. Methodologies for Landslide Hazard Zonation and map preparation are discussed, along with landslide hazard rating. Methods of landslide hazard mitigation are covered and an outline for a training programme is proposed as part of the paper's principal recommendations.
3. Landslide Hazard Maping and Management in China
- Li Tianchi
ISBN 92-9115-466-0
Landslides are one of the main natural disasters in China, responsible for huge social and economic losses for mountain populations. This paper reviews the available information on effective measures for reducing economic and social losses caused by landslides. These measures include landslide mapping (identification, types of landslide maps, techniques of mapping); physical prevention and control measures (problem avoidance, surface-water drainage works, subsurface drainage, support structures, excavation, river structure works); landslide hazard anticipation (long-, medium-, and short-term prediction; prediction of the extent of landslides); and assessment and mitigation measures for landslide-dam failure disasters. Institutions concerned with landslide hazard mapping and control, forecasting, mitigation, research, and training (government agencies, research institutions, central and provincial governments, NGOs, and scientific societies) have also been listed.
4. Landlside Studies and Management in Nepal
- B.N. Upreti, and M.R. Dhital
ISBN 92-9115-502-0
The document covers the geographical make-up and geological framework of Nepal as an introduction to the topic. Specific topics such as erosion and sediment yield in the Himalayas are covered within these topic areas. Landslides are classified and factors causing them described, including the geological background to landslides. Climate and vegetation are among the factors covered, along with hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods and earthquakes. The main part of the document focusses on landslides and their mitigation; the landslide sections are introduced by a short review of landslide studies in Nepal. The text is supplemented by an extensive bibliography and the curriculum for studies in engineering geology of Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu.
5. GIS Database of Key Indicators of Sustainable Mountain Development in Nepal
ISBN 92-9115-516-0
This is the first of a series of eight documents envisaged for mountain areas of the eight countries of the HKH Region. In publishing this volume, ICIMOD is fulfilling a part of its mandate to facilitate the dissemination of relevant information for sustainable development of the HKH. The information is presented in tabular form with respective government institutions, but this is the first time that many important data sets have been brought together in one volume and on a common geo-referenced platform. The spatial dimension provided by the graphics provides decision-makers and planners with easy access to information.
6. Occasional Paper No. 25: Assessing the Potentials of Market Towns in the Mountains - Case Studies from the Hindu Kush-Himalayas
- P. Sharma and N. Khanal
ISBN 92-9115-533-0
Small towns and market centres can play an important and effective role in the development of mountain areas. However, strategies for the identification and assessment of the potentials of market towns and the formulation of a specific programme to develop the market town potential in mountain areas of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas are lacking. The present report builds upon existing literature and elucidates the application of the methodology for the assessment as well as the development of prioritised action plans of the market towns with most potential in Dechang County in Sichuan Province, China, Tehri Garhwal district in the UP hills, India, Dang district in Nepal, and Ghizar district in the Northern Areas in Pakistan. These areas represent the diverse physiographic, spatial, and economic context of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) mountains. Spatio-economic profiles for each of the districts were prepared on the basis of secondary data complemented by field-level information. Several criteria were used in each context to identify and assess the market towns with the most development potential. On the basis of the field visits and participatory rapid appraisal methodology, several prioritised areas of action are identified for the promotion of a selected number of market towns with the most development potential in each context. In the context of the HKH countries, where planning manpower is often top heavy, the studies also demonstrate the partnership that can be established between academic institutions, rural development agencies, and governmental agencies in supporting demand-driven approaches to the promotion of market towns.