For billions of people, mountain meltwater is essential for drinking water and sanitation, food and energy security, and the integrity of the environment. But today, as the world warms, glaciers are melting faster than ever, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme. And because of glacial retreat, floods, droughts, …
MOUNTAINS have always enjoyed a special status. Their beauty and mysticism have inspired poets, philosophers and even fairy-tale tellers. We accept their importance as sources of minerals and water, rare plants and wildlife. But what we have never realised is the plight of mountains. Though uplands cover roughly 20 per …
TO MOST people, mountains conjure a vision of a world of plentiful resources, populated by content and happy people. But this idyllic vision of mountain life is far removed from reality, for life in the mountains is a grim tale of a relentless battle against declining land productivity and ever …
CLIMATE change brought about by the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could lead to mass extinction of wildlife in isolated habitats (Conservation Biology, Vol 6 No 3). Global warming is expected to raise temperatures in the northern temperate latitudes by 2o to 6oC by …
Arms outstretched on the edge of the cliffs Stand a few trees Ready to fly away with the clouds. They say these deodars once Kissed the Koku nala And embraced the skies so tight That the stars were startled By the village glow-worms every night. Now when the corn touches …
IMAGINE dunking one's head in a rapid Himalayan stream and coming up with a mouthful of chemicals and weeds, instead of pristine water. This is not a totally unlikely scenario, according to the editors of this volume, a compilation of 26 articles on the freshwater ecology of the Himalayas. If …
IN A RADICAL departure from earlier policy, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will now look beyond the Hindu Kush region and establish links to study other mountain regions of the world. This is in line with its strategic plan for the 1990s, titled "Towards 2000", which also …
