Sustaining Himalayan agriculture under changing climate scenario

Abstract

The biodiversity rich Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) harbours diverse culture in the lifestyle of
people residing therein who have adapted to the geographic toughness and climate uncertainties
over a period of time. Sustaining these humans with food and nutrition calls for focussed
understanding of food production systems in the ecologically fragile environment. Further, the
growing impact of climate change is marginalizing life of people despite abundance of natural
resources. The paper focuses on the ecological characteristics, socio and cultural aspects and
challenges of agriculture in three physiographic divisions of IHR viz., north-western Himalaya,
central Himalayan and the north-eastern Himalayan region. Initiatives to promote climate resilient
agriculture for sustaining the Himalayan agriculture have also been discussed in this paper.