Land-use changes in Himalaya and their impact on the plains ecosystem: need for sustainable land use

Abstract The Himalayas are ecologically fragile and economically underdeveloped, with geo-environmental constraints imposing severe limitations on the level of resource productivity. Consequently, subsistence agriculture constitutes the main source of livelihood in the region. The rapid growth of population has brought about extensive land-use changes in the region, mainly through the extension of cultivation and large-scale deforestation. This irrational land transformation process has not only disrupted the ecological balance of the Himalayan watersheds through reduced groundwater recharge, increased run-off and soil erosion, but has also adversely affected the ecology and economy of the adjoining Indo-Gangetic plains by recurrent floods and decreased irrigation potential.