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The Hindu Kush-Himalayas: Searching for Viable Socioeconomic and Environmental Options

2 . 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n The Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region has experienced both continental as well as cultural collisions between mainland Asia and the Indian sub-continent. It is one of the most diverse physical and cultural landscapes in the world. Within very short distances, components of almost all the principal ecosystems and a wide range of cultural systems of the world are found. In response to different environmental factors, each has also developed its own unique features. Yet, for all its biological and cultural diversity, it is among the least known of the world’s mountain systems. For centuries the only information coming out of these mountains was the experiences or impressions of a few travellers who were migrants, invaders, traders, or missionaries (Fürer-Haimendorf 1975; Hammerton 1984; Biddulph 1986). Mountain people themselves knew very little about each other. Barricaded by high mountains, swift rivers, and an array of dialects and customs, with the added impact of fierce competition for limited resources, they were also strangers to each other. The long history of isolation and conflicts in the region has made its inhabitants highly suspicious of outsiders and their motives. This is also experienced at times by central governments when they try to implement their development activities (Clarke 1987; Shrestha 1993; Bahuguna 1994).