STATE of the HIMALAYAN FARMERS and FARMING a Study About Social, Economic and Ecological Factors Changing the Mountain Agriculture Scenario

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

STATE of the HIMALAYAN FARMERS and FARMING a Study About Social, Economic and Ecological Factors Changing the Mountain Agriculture Scenario STATE OF MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE REPORT STATE OF THE HIMALAYAN FARMERS AND FARMING A study about social, economic and ecological factors changing the mountain agriculture scenario INTEGRATED MOUNTAIN INITIATIVE This study is a part of the project “Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Sustainable Mountain Development in the Indian Himalayan Region” awarded by FAO under the TCP/IND/3601/C1 to IMI 1 STATE OF MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE REPORT Foreword Any agricultural transformation across the states of India Himalayan region must address local changes in the cropping pattern, appropriate understanding and adoption of new technologies, role of agriculture and allied activities in the aspiration of the young generation and issues of sustainability and scale. This project report attempts to cover some of these. It tries to inform on the status of food security and economic wellbeing of farmers as agri- entrepreneurs in the Indian Himalayan Region while holistically covering land resources of Himalayan farmers, change in farming practices, livelihoods, migration, agro-biodiversity, climate change, new age practices, future potential in Himalayan states and experiments with organic farming. Sushil Ramola Climate change and other uncertainties have an escalating adverse President impact on farming based livelihoods due to global warming and Integrated Mountain Initiative consequent shift in agro-climatic conditions, water security issues and associated disasters, among others. Farming communities cope with these changes based on their perceptions and empirical evidences of changing climatic patterns. This report seeks to understand the challenges, coping mechanisms and necessary steps to transform agriculture practices by bringing in a large number of factors and uncertainties into account which go beyond climate change. While the Himalayan ecosystem has evolved and adapted to natural changes, the human civilization seeks revolutionary developments and has forced changes which will impact its future generations adversely unless the issues are addressed immediately in an integrated and multi-dimensional way, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the Himalayan ecosystem. A case study of apple precision farming as a mix of traditional and new technology intensive farming has been documented as an effort by New Age agri-entrepreneurs in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand to build a new future. There is a potential to expand the learning from these efforts to many other mountain states and also adapt for other agri-sectors. I thank Dr. Shyam Khadka, India Representative, Food and Agriculture Organisation for entrusting this study to Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI), a civil society institution with the capability of bringing diverse stakeholders from across the mountain states together, to address complex issues of climate change, agriculture, in general, mountain livelihoods, and seeking long term solutions. I also thank Dr. Tej Partap, Vice Chancellor of Govind Ballabh Pant University, Pant Nagar and a founding Council member of IMI for leading this study. We believe that this work and the results of this report will serve as an important reference document for our stakeholders across mountain states. It will be an important tool as a challenge to transform the lives and livelihoods of our people through better research, policies and practice. 2 STATE OF MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE REPORT Acknowledgments The person who thought IMI should engage itself in undertaking such a study was the late Dr RS Tolia. It was his dedication and persistence that convinced FAO the value of funding this IMI project. I am sure IMI and FAO would join me in paying tribute to him, who conceived and wrote this project and asked me to lead it when it was approved by FAO for funding. Unfortunately, due to his untimely demise during the course of this project, he couldn’t be here to witness the completion of the project. I am extremely grateful to FAO who saw value in this work and agreed to fund it. I would also extend my gratitude to the FAO and IMI both for showing patience with me for accepting new timelines for completion of the series of project reports and this final Dr. Tej Partap document, since June 2018. Vice Chancellor The study demanded a comprehensive field exercise across all the GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand Himalayan states. For accomplishing this gigantic task over one and a half year period, I received support and services of experts, local support teams and the key stakeholders – the farmers in the villages under study. My sincere gratitude to all of them and especially to the state chapters of IMI. The villagers have been eager and impatient to share their experiences and perceptions even beyond the points I had in my field notes to ask them. It greatly enriched the findings. Two workshops on New Age Farmers and on Upscaling Himalayan Apple Economy were organized in partnership with two different agencies. The National Academy of Agriculture Sciences (NAAS) Delhi hosted New Age Farmers Workshop in November 2017 and Progressive Growers Association of Himachal Pradesh in Shimla hills provided logistical support to organize the apple workshop in Shimla Hills in May 2018. Their gracious support is highly acknowledged. Among many others whose contribution I am grateful to are two names I need to mention here: Dr C.S. Vaidya and John Paulraj. Dr Vaidya helped in gathering and compiling secondary information, scanning of literature, government reports etc. He was kind to permit liberal use of his own research work at the Agro Economic Research Centre. John Paulraj provided administrative support from IMI office in Delhi. I am also immensely grateful to the staff at FAO in New Delhi, especially Uma Balaji for their unceasing support and patience during the entire period of this project. I also benefitted a lot from another field study on agriculture and nutrition in the Himalayan region which I did for ICIMOD earlier. The field experiences, raw information and data gathered during that study has also been put to use, wherever I felt it would supplement the findings. For that I am also thankful to ICIMOD. 3 STATE OF MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE REPORT Sushil Ramola and Fantry Mein Jaswal, two colleagues in IMI, were kind enough to spare time to assist in accomplishing the study. Ramola was instrumental in shaping the design of the two workshops i.e. New Age farmers and upscaling apple economy of the Himalayas, besides his continued involvement at every stage of the study. Fantry Mein Jaswal helped me in undertaking the field study in Arunachal Pradesh. Mr PD Rai offered his valuable suggestions at different stages of the study. I thank them for their valuable inputs. Last but not the least, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Shyam Khadka, former FAO Resident Representative, India. He was like one of my team members in thinking through this study. On several occasions, we spent hours discussing about the state of affairs in the Indian Himalayan Region and the necessity to capture their issues in this study. I acknowledge that it is because of his insightful inputs that this report is entirely different than what I had initially thought. His support and encouragement in taking a very different line in structuring this work and adding new activities down the line were originally not planned and were important knowledge inputs to this work. He himself participated in these, giving important intellectual inputs in the workshops i.e. New Age farmers and apple economy. Personally, leading implementation of this project has been very useful in refreshing my knowledge of Himalayan agriculture systems, which has been my area of study since the 1980s. I thoroughly enjoyed the knowledge gained through the project and also its provision of a far-sighted knowledge and information will serve a great purpose in the future. Acronyms MGNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act PDS Public Distribution System ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IMI Integrated Mountain Initiative IHR Indian Himalayan Region FAO Food and Agriculture Organization 4 STATE OF MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE REPORT Table Of Contents An Overview.........................................................................6 Land Resources of Himalayan Farmers..............................................8-9 Himalayan Farmers, Changing Farming: A Macro view .............................11-13 Himalayan Farmers Livelihoods and Economy: A Ground Report ..................15-17 Farmers Migration from Uttarakhand Hills .........................................19 PDS and MGNREGA as change agents of Himalayan Farmers livelihoods and farming..........................................................................21 Agro-biodiversity under transforming Himalayan agro-ecosystems................23-26 Himalayan Farmers responses to Climate Change ..................................28-29 Glimpses of future-New age Himalayan Farmers ...................................31 Glimpses of future in Himalayan Niche Potentials: A case study about upscaling Himalayan apple economy ................................................33-34 Gimpses of future: Experiments with organic farming by the Himalayan States ....................................................................36-37 Farming by Himalayan Farmers faces the threat of changes and missing mountain thinking in research and development strategies................39-40 Synthesis of the state of affairs......................................................41
Recommended publications
  • Himalayan Borders and Borderlands: Mobility, State Building, and Identity
    Himalayan Borders and Borderlands: Mobility, State Building, and Identity This review article engages with recent ethnographic research on ‘borders’ and ‘borderlands’ in the Himalayan region. We examine how recent scholarship published primarily between 2012-2018 engages with borderland theory as it intersects with issues of state building, ethnicity, language, religion, and tourism. As the scholarly canon moves away from disparate areas studies approaches, this paper investigates how Himalayan scholarship views borders as comprising a multivariate geographical, cultural, and political network of history and relationships undergoing continual transformation. As emerging scholars from both within and outside the Himalaya, we separate the article into four sub- sections that each connect to our respective interests. Our intention is not to propose an alternative conceptual framework or set of terminologies to borderland studies, but to bring together various inter-disciplinary approaches that view borders as sites of continuity and discontinuity, with the power to transform livelihoods for the better and at times perpetuate forms of violence and inequality. Keywords: borders, borderlands, Himalaya, mobility, state building, identity 1 Introduction How do Himalayan borders become contested spaces of continuity and discontinuity in relation to the borderland communities that occupy them, and the non-inhabitants that relate to them? How does this tension link to ongoing projects of mobility, state formation, and identity politics? This article reviews recent ethnographic research on Himalayan borders and borderlands surrounding state building, development, tourism, ethnicity, language, and religion, with a focus on material published between 2012-2018. We critically engage with notions of ‘borders’ and ‘borderlands’, to explore how recent scholarship has engaged with changing borderland theory as it reflects on Himalayan place and personhood.
    [Show full text]
  • GLIMPSES of FORESTRY RESEARCH in the INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION Special Issue in the International Year of Forests-2011
    Special Issue in the International Year of Forests-2011 i GLIMPSES OF FORESTRY RESEARCH IN THE INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION Special Issue in the International Year of Forests-2011 Editors G.C.S. Negi P.P. Dhyani ENVIS CENTRE ON HIMALAYAN ECOLOGY G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development Kosi-Katarmal, Almora - 263 643, India BISHEN SINGH MAHENDRA PAL SINGH 23-A, New Connaught Place Dehra Dun - 248 001, India 2012 Glimpses of Forestry Research in the Indian Himalayan Region Special Issue in the International Year of Forests-2011 © 2012, ENVIS Centre on Himalayan Ecology G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (An Autonomous Institute of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India) Kosi-Katarmal, Almora All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. ISBN: 978-81-211-0860-7 Published for the G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development by Gajendra Singh Gahlot for Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 23-A, New Connaught Place, Dehra Dun, India and Printed at Shiva Offset Press and composed by Doon Phototype Printers, 14, Old Connaught Place, Dehra Dun India. Cover Design: Vipin Chandra Sharma, Information Associate, ENVIS Centre on Himalayan Ecology, GBPIHED Cover Photo: Forest, agriculture and people co-existing in a mountain landscape of Purola valley, Distt. Uttarkashi (Photo: G.C.S. Negi) Foreword Amongst the global mountain systems, Himalayan ranges stand out as the youngest and one of the most fragile regions of the world; Himalaya separates northern part of the Asian continent from south Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • Ground Water Scenario of Himalaya Region, India
    Hkkjr ds fgeky;h {ks=k dk Hkwty ifjn`'; Ground Water Scenario of Himalayan Region, India laiknu@Edited By: lq'khy xqIrk v/;{k Sushil Gupta Chairman Central Ground Water Board dsanzh; Hkwfe tycksMZ Ministry of Water Resources ty lalk/ku ea=kky; Government of India Hkkjr ljdkj 2014 Hkkjr ds fgeky;h {ks=k dk Hkwty ifjn`'; vuqØef.kdk dk;Zdkjh lkjka'k i`"B 1- ifjp; 1 2- ty ekSle foKku 23 3- Hkw&vkd`fr foKku 34 4- ty foKku vkSj lrgh ty mi;kst~;rk 50 5- HkwfoKku vkSj foorZfudh 58 6- Hkwty foKku 73 7- ty jlk;u foKku 116 8- Hkwty lalk/ku laHkko~;rk 152 9- Hkkjr ds fgeky;h {ks=k esa Hkwty fodkl ds laca/k esa vfHktkr fo"k; vkSj leL;k,a 161 10- Hkkjr ds fgeky;h {ks=k ds Hkwty fodkl gsrq dk;Zuhfr 164 lanHkZ lwph 179 Ground Water Scenario of Himalayan Region of India CONTENTS Executive Summary i Pages 1. Introduction 1 2. Hydrometeorology 23 3. Geomorphology 34 4. Hydrology and Surface Water Utilisation 50 5. Geology and Tectonics 58 6. Hydrogeology 73 7. Hydrochemistry 116 8. Ground Water Resource Potential 152 9. Issues and problems identified in respect of Ground Water Development 161 in Himalayan Region of India 10. Strategies and plan for Ground Water Development in Himalayan Region of India 164 Bibliography 179 ifêdkvks dh lwph I. iz'kklfud ekufp=k II. Hkw vkd`fr ekufp=k III. HkwoSKkfud ekufp=k d- fgeky; ds mRrjh vkSj if'peh [kaM [k- fgeky; ds iwohZ vkSj mRrj iwohZ [kaM rFkk iwoksZRrj jkT; IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Progression in Developmental Planning for the Indian Himalayan Region
    Prepared by - Subrat Sharma Rajesh Joshi Ranjan Joshi Ranbeer S Rawal Pitamber P Dhyani Contents Prologue 3 Background 4 NATIONAL PLANING PERSPECTIVE FOR INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION (IHR) DURING 1 8 VARIOUS PLAN PERIODS SUMMARY OF VARIOUS TASK FORCES AND WORKING GROPUS ON INDIAN HIMALAYN 2 18 REGION SUMMARY OF DOCUMENTS ON INDIAN HIMALAYN REGION BY OTHER IMPORTANT 3 28 NATIONAL BODIES Epilogue 32 Prologue The Himalayan Mountains development, which helps restoring intricate have remained life support balance between economic interests and ecological system for millions of imperatives. However, while thinking of a shift in people in uplands and approach, there exists a need to understand pace much more in lowland areas and direction of progression in developmental of Indian subcontinent. thinking for the region. While acting as climate With the above realization, this document attempts regulator for much of Asia, to synthesize the progression of developmental the ecosystem services thinking over the years. Evolving nature of specific emanating from this massive mountain chain considerations for the Himalaya, as reflected in contribute significantly for sustenance of most of the the government planning through various Five Indian sub-continent. All this, accompanied by the Year Plans has been captured. This document richness and uniqueness of bio-physical and socio- also extracts key features of various taskforces/ cultural diversity, has earned global recognition to workgroups constituted by Planning Commission of the region. India at different time frames. Notwithstanding these facts, the specificities which I hope this document will act as an easy reference this region carries and the immense sensitivity for various stakeholders interested in progression it has shown for perturbations (i.e., natural or of developmental planning for the Indian anthropogenic) have not been adequately covered Himalayan Region.
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainable Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region
    NITI Aayog Report of Working Group II Sustainable Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region Contributing to Sustainable Development in Indian Himalayan Region Sustainable Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region Lead authors Dr. Vikram Singh Gaur, NITI Aayog, and Dr. Rajan Kotru, ICIMOD Other participants of Stakeholder discussion and contributors to the report Mr Ashok K Jain Advisor, NITI Aayog Ms Sejal Worah WWF India Ms Mridula Tangirala Tata Trust Ms Moe Chiba UNESCO Ms Tsh Uden Bhutia KCC Sikkim Mr Brij Mohan Singh Rathore ICIMOD Ms Anu Lama ICIMOD Mr Vishwas Chitale ICIMOD Mr Nawraj Pradhan ICIMOD Mr Prakash Rout ICIMOD Ms Deepika Lohia Aran NITI Aayog Ms Ananya Bal NITI Aayog NITI Aayog, August 2018 Cover photo: Ladakh Region, Jammu & Kashmir, India 2 Chapter 2: Magnitude of the Problem: Major Issues and Challenges Contents Preface ii Acknowledgments iv Acronyms and Abbreviations v Executive Summary vi Chapter 1: Background 1 Chapter 2: Methodological Approach 5 Chapter 3: Framework for Analysis and Actions 6 Chapter 4: Tourism Sector Trends and Development Paradigms 8 Chapter 5: Analysis of Supporting Policies and Plans 21 Chapter 6: Transboundary Tourism Aspects 29 Chapter 7: Building on Cultural Paradigm 32 Chapter 8: Best Practices 34 Chapter 9: Recommended Sustainability Needs in IHR 38 Chapter 10: Actions for Impacts 45 Chapter 11: Summing-up 52 References 54 Annexure 1: Policy Format Analysis 55 Annexure 2: Area Wise Policy Assessment of IHR States 58 Annexure 3: Best Practices 62 Annexure 4: Sustainable Tourism Actions in the Indian Himalayan Region 70 Annexure 5: Sustainable Tourism and Associated Actions 73 Annexure 6: Action Agenda 81 i Sustainable Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region Preface Mountains cover around 27% of the Earth’s land surface and contribute to the sustenance and wellbeing of 720 million people living in the mountains and billions more living downstream.
    [Show full text]
  • Vulnerability Assessment
    CLIMATE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR THE INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION USING A COMMON FRAMEWORK 2 Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian Himalayan Region Using a Common Framework Submitted by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati & Indian Institute of Technology Mandi In collaboration with Indian Institute of Science Bangalore Under the project Capacity Building on Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in the States of Indian Himalayan Region 2018-19 4 Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian Himalayan Region Using a Common Framework Table of Contents Message from the Hon’ ble Minister Message from Secretary, DST Foreword Preface Project Team Acknowledgement PART I: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY 17 1. Introduction 19 2. Need for vulnerability assessment in the IHR 19 3. Approach to capacity building for vulnerability assessment in the IHR 20 3.1 Inception Meeting 21 3.2 Need Assessment Workshop 21 3.3 Methodology Workshop 21 4. Methodology: An indicator-based approach 22 PART II: VULNERABILITY PROFILES OF THE STATES IN THE IHR 27 5. State-level vulnerability assessment in the IHR 28 5.1 Selection of indicators and rationale 28 5.2 Normalization and Weights assigned 28 6. State-level vulnerability index 29 6.1 Sources of vulnerability 29 PART III: DISTRICT-LEVEL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR IHR STATES 35 7. District-level vulnerability assessment for IHR states 36 References 50 Annexures 51 5 6 Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian Himalayan Region Using a Common Framework Message The Himalayas are the largest and tallest mountain range in the world, bordering 8 countries and covering an area of about 43 lakh sq km. Nearly 1.5 billion people depend on Himalaya for Water, Food and Energy.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change in Uttarakhand: Current State of Knowledge and Way Forward
    Climate Change in Uttarakhand: Current State of Knowledge and Way Forward 2015 Publisher Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1 Contents Chapter 1. Forests of Uttarakhand and the Changing Climate 1.1 Climate change and forests of Uttarakhand 1.2 Phenology 1.3 Tree water potential 1.4 Impact on regeneration of major forest forming species 1.5 Upward March of Species 1.6 Biodiversity responses to the climate change 1.7 Litter decomposition and Nutrient dynamics 1.8 Invasive alien species (IAS) induced by climate change 1.9 Forest carbon stocks and sequestration rates 1.10 Forest Degradation: 1.11 Forest Fires: 1.12. Adaptation to climate change 1.13 Way forward 1.14 References Chapter 2. Possible Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture 2.1 Uttarakhand: Agriculture at a Glance 2.2 Climate change related issues to Agriculture in Uttarakhand 2.3 Adaptation and Mitigation mechanisms 2.4 References Chapter 3. Status of Himalayan Glaciers 3.1 Glaciers in Uttarakhand 3.2 Recession of Glaciers in Uttarakhand 3.3 Glaciers and River Flow Regimes 3.4 Glaciers and Climate Change 3.5 Regional Variations of Himalayan Climate 3.6 Characteristics of Himalayan Glaciers 2 3.7 General Changes in Himalayan Glaciers 3.8 Impacts of Glacier Changes in the Indian Himalaya 3.8.1 River Flow 3.8.2 Glacial Lakes 3.8.3 Glacier Advance 3.9 Conclusions 3.10 References List of Tables Table 1.1 Area and biomass of major forest species of Uttarakhand Table 2.1 Distribution of landholdings in Uttarakhand Table 2.2 Positive and negative effects of climate change/ warming in Uttarakhand
    [Show full text]
  • Status of Ecosystem Health in the Indian Himalayan Region
    Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Health and Family Welfare MESSAGE The Indian Himalaya Region (IHR) stretches 2500 km across 12 States. It is home to 52 million people and source of food, water and energy for close to 1.5 billion people. The Himalayan ecosystem consists of natural and geological wealth like glaciers, snow, abundant forest cover and bio-diversity, micro flora and fauna and wild life. However the fragile and diverse Himalayan ecosystem is highly susceptible to natural hazards that arises concern about current and potential climate change impacts which include abnormal floods, droughts and landslides, loss of biodiversity and threats to food security. In recent times the receding glacier on account of climate change has aroused global concern as they are source of major rivers. A slight change in the Himalayan ecosystem can drastically alter millions of lives. In order to understand the complexity of the IHR and unravel the efforts needed to sustain the IHR, a National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) was launched as one of the 8 national missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). NMSHE is the only site specific mission that aims to take appropriate measures for sustaining and safeguarding the IHR. The Climate Change Programme (CCP) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is coordinating and implementing NMSHE in collaboration with several central government institutions and the 12 Himalayan States. NMSHE has achieved considerable progress by launching Task Forces, establishing State Climate Change Cells, undertaking capacity building initiatives and building bi-lateral mechanism.
    [Show full text]
  • Rhododendrons in Indian Himalayan Region: Diversity and Conservation
    American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2010, 1, 131-137 131 doi:10.4236/ajps.2010.12017 Published Online December 2010 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ajps) Rhododendrons in Indian Himalayan Region: Diversity and Conservation K. Chandra Sekar1, Sunil Kumar Srivastava2 1G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development, Kosi, Almora, Uttarakhand, India; 2Botanical Survey of India, Northern Circle, Dehradun, India. Email: *[email protected] Received July 23rd, 2010; revised October 27th, 2010; accepted November 2nd, 2010. ABSTRACT The genus Rhododendron of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has been enumerated in the present paper. A total of 87 species, 12 subspecies and 8 varieties of Rhododendrons recorded in IHR, among these 6 species and one subspecies are reported from Western Himalaya. The maximum concentration of 86% observed in Arunachal Pradesh (75 species). The species of Rhododendrons exhibit significant diversity in habit and broad range of distribution from the altitude of 800-6000 m. and the best range is observed in 3001-3500 m altitudes. In analysis revealed 20 taxa are endemic, 30 are rare, 24 are threatened / endangered, 3 are vulnerable and 47 taxa have to be assessed. The major threats to rhodo- dendrons are deforestation and unsustainable extraction for firewood and incense by local people has been discussed. Keywords: Rhododendrons, Indian Himalayan Region, Ericaceae, India 1. Introduction diversity which is increasingly under pressure from hu- man activities. The region comprises a rich variety of The genus Rhododendron, family Ericaceae, was founded flora, fauna, human communities and culture. Of the es- by Linnaeus [1]. The word Rhododendron is derived timated 8,000 species of vascular plants in the Himalayan from two Greek words rhodon (rose) and dendron (tree) region, around 3,160 are endemic and 450 species are meaning rose tree.
    [Show full text]
  • Nepal-China-India Relation: a Geostrategic Perspectives
    Journal of APF Command and Staff College (2021) 4:1, 28-40 Journal of APF Command and Staff College Nepal-China-India Relation: A Geostrategic Perspectives Kabi Prasad Pokhrel Professor, Central Department of Geography Education, CDGE, TU, Nepal [email protected] Abstract Article History This paper is an attempt to trace out the Nepal ‘s Received August 16, 2020 China-India relation in the context of dynamic Accepted November 10, 2020 changes of powerful nations of the world as well as emerging regional countries. Existing international relation of Nepal is needed tactic diplomacy to take maximum economic and technological benefits Keywords from global major powerful countries and emerging Geostrategic locations, regional countries. The existing foreign relation of powerful nations, Nepal and future adaptive strategies have been trans-Himalayan route, discussed using qualitative approach. By reviewing and political economy, and tactic diplomacy. synthesizing ongoing initiations of present government at the global, regional and national level, paper drew the conclusion to maintain balance relation between and among the north -south two neighbors including super power of the world. Paper further emphasized Corresponding Editor to adopt among equals foreign relation strategy to take Ramesh Raj Kunwar benefits from the emerging powerful countries in the [email protected] Asian region. Copyright@2021 Author Published by: APF Command and Staff College, Kathmandu, Nepal ISSN 2616-0242 Pokhrel: Nepal China-India Relation: A Geostrategic Perspectives 29 Introduction Geostrategy considers in a tactical military sense, political sense and culturally defined territorial sense in terms of spatial distribution of resources, peoples and geo-physical systems. Cohen (2010) viewed that the geopolitical structure, its role and capacities as the geopolitical forces it shapes the international relation system and diplomatic tactics of any nations.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian
    Department of Science and Technology Ministry of Science & Technology Government of India NATIONAL MISSION FOR SUSTAINING THE HIMALAYAN NMSHE ECOSYSTEM CLIMATE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR THE INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION USING A COMMON FRAMEWORK 2 Department of Science and Technology Ministry of Science & Technology Government of India NATIONAL MISSION FOR SUSTAINING THE HIMALAYAN NMSHE ECOSYSTEM Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian Himalayan Region Using a Common Framework Submitted by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati & Indian Institute of Technology Mandi In collaboration with Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru Under the project Capacity Building on Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in the States of Indian Himalayan Region 2018-19 4 Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian Himalayan Region Using a Common Framework Table of Contents Message from the Hon’ ble Minister 7 Message from Secretary, DST 9 Foreword 11 Preface 13 Project Team 14 Acknowledgements 17 List of Acronyms 18 Abstract 19 PART I: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY 21 1. Introduction 23 2. Need for vulnerability assessment in the IHR 24 3. Approach to capacity building for vulnerability assessment in the IHR 25 3.1 Understanding vulnerability 25 3.2 Need for a common framework 26 4. Methodology: An indicator-based approach 26 4.1 Steps to vulnerability assessment 26 5. The process of developing vulnerability profiles of IHR states using the common framework 29 5.1 Inception Meeting 29 5.2 Need Assessment Workshops 30 5.3 Methodology Workshop 30 PART II: VULNERABILITY PROFILES OF THE STATES IN THE IHR 31 6. State-level vulnerability assessment in the IHR 33 6.1 Selection of indicators and rationale 33 6.2 Normalization and weights assigned 33 7.
    [Show full text]
  • India's Foreign Policy: Prior Sikkim's Merger
    IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 22, Issue 6, Ver.11 (June. 2017) PP 93-98 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY: PRIOR SIKKIM’S MERGER Samten Doma BhutiaPhD Scholar, Department of History Sikkim University Gangtok Sikkim Abstract: Sikkim on account of its proximity to Tibet became a sensitive area between India and China since Chinese government’s callous activity over Tibet to drop Lamaism. In the limelight New Delhi became alive to the paramount importance of Sikkim due to its strategic location. Given the worsening situation in Tibet, 0n 14th December 1950, by signing treaty with India, Sikkim became protectorate of India enjoying autonomy in its internal affairs, while India would look after defense and territorial integrity of Sikkim. Since Sikkim is only feasible overland trading route between Chinese-occupied Tibet and India, its geopolitical importance is highly significant for Indian foreign policy dynamics and in the ‘Great Game’ interest in Himalayan politics. Keywords: China, Lamaism, New Delhi, Sikkim, Tibet I. INTRODUCTION: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Sikkim was a tiny Himalayan Kingdom tucked between China and India till its merger with the latter in 1975, is at present one of the smallest states of North East India. Bounded by four lands, namely, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and India, Sikkim had to come in contact with all of them in the course of its history. To understand the nature and dimensions of the situation that arose, it is necessary to refer to some of basic features of Sikkimese society, its politics, and the history of its relationship with India.
    [Show full text]