In Search of Undisturbed Grazing Lands: The Beleaguered Himalayan Pastoralists

Nehal A  Farooquee; P.V.K. Sasidhar

doi:10.56093/aaz.v65i2.176709

Authors

Nehal A Farooquee School of Extension and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi 110 068, India
P.V.K. Sasidhar School of Extension and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi 110 068, India

https://doi.org/10.56093/aaz.v65i2.176709

Keywords:

Pastoralism, Himalayas, developmental challenges, sustainability

Abstract

Pastoralism, as a human survival strategy, evolved thousands of years before the advent of agriculture and other forms of sustenance. Its continued practice in various geographical areas, particularly in the high-altitude Himalayas, underscores the sustainability embedded in this way of life. Pastoralism has been vital to the cultural and economic survival of numerous communities across regions such as the Western Himalayas of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, Central Himalaya in Uttarakhand, and the Eastern Himalayan regions of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. This paper aims to examine various issues related to the number of pastoral communities engaged in pastoral grazing, the developmental challenges that directly and indirectly affect resource availability in rangelands, and the recent problems arising in these rangelands and their migratory routes due to various developmental initiatives in the high-altitude Himalayan areas.

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Author Biographies

Nehal A Farooquee, School of Extension and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi 110 068, India

Nehal A Farooquee is Professor and Programme Coordinator for M.A. in Development Studies, PG Diploma in Urban Planning and Development, and PG Diploma in Development Studies in the School of Extension and Development Studies, IGNOU, New Delhi. He has also developed and coordinated the Leadership Programme in Himalayan Ecology in IGNOU. He has over 36 years of experience to his credit in national-level organizations, i.e., the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, and the G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBPIHED; an autonomous institute of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India), Almora, including at IGNOU. He has authored 1 book, co-authored 2 books, edited 2 books, and published more than 80 Research Papers on various aspects of the Himalayan environment and development issues in various peer-reviewed international and National Journals. He can be contacted at: nafarooquee@ignou.ac.in
P.V.K. Sasidhar, School of Extension and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi 110 068, India

P.V.K. Sasidhar is Professor in the School of Extension and Development Studies, IGNOU, New Delhi. He received his PhD in Veterinary Extension from the Agricultural University, Hyderabad. He was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at NAARM, Hyderabad, Norman Borlaug Fellow of USDA at Tuskegee University, USA, and USAID Fellow at Michigan State University, USA. Evaluation of extension advisory services, extension curriculum in relation to core competencies, veterinary service delivery, and improving veterinary education are his primary research areas. Before joining IGNOU, he served in the Agricultural Research Service of ICAR. He worked as a consultant for the FAO, received R&D grants from various National and International organizations, and participated in OIE PVS Follow-up Evaluation of the Veterinary Services. His research work covers India, USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa with over 200 publications. He prepared 104 units of SLM, supervised 9 PhD students, and developed ODL programmes in Development Studies, CSR, Urban Development, and Animal Welfare. He can be contacted at: pvksasidhar@ignou.ac.in

References

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