Mountain Environment

Mountain resources are getting enormous stress due to snow melting and glacial retreat  Charlatanry et al., 2006; Dobhal et al., 2004). The scope of latitudinal gradient studies i.e. large change in altitude over short distance associated with significant change in climatic gradient varies from local studies at micro ecosystem to temperate and alpine region. Notable contribution from geographers in this context have come in studies related to assessment and modeling of the interactive influence of topography and land surface heterogeneity on the spatial pattern of soil moisture evaporate-transpiration, runoff generation and erosion. Disasters, be they natural or man-made, are the real constraints to development and are a threat to our environment. The enormous economic losses from natural disasters and the massive relief expenditure make disaster reduction a condition for sustainable development. Development programmed can be so designed as to decrease susceptibility to disasters. Disaster mitigation will have to become a part of national development.Environmental protection is also an essential input in the prevention and mitigation of disasters. The complex cause and effect relationship of disasters and the environment and its impact on development are being carefully understood in recent years as evident in afew studies related to these (Singh, 1998, Singh, 2005, Singh, 2006). Mountain regions make up one-fifth of the Earth’s land surface, and they have considerable role and global importance as environmental resources. Mountains are home to a substantial portion of the planet’s diversity of species and ecosystems. Ironically, allover the world expanding economic pressures are degrading mountain Eco-systems while confronting mountain peoples with increasing poverty, cultural assimilation, and empowerment  

 

Wasteland Resources
The National Wasteland Development Board (NWDB), New Delhi, 1986, describes wastelands as ‘degraded land’ which can be brought under vegetative cover, with reasonable efforts and which is currently under utilized and land which is deteriorating for lack of appropriate water and soil management or on account of naturalcauses. According to a report on soil conservation in the country, every year 12,000 million tones of fertile land cover is directly and indirectly destroyed due to the natural calamities. Because of such causes every year about 3 thousand ha land converts into thewastelands in the country (Singh and Singh, 2007). Development of wastelands and their sustainable management has become one ofthe important and major ecological issues of concern for the national policy makers. Land resources being limited in arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan these very resourcesare depleting at an alarming rate rendering vast areas to the status of degraded landconverting into wastelands (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2006). Because of thecontinuous exploitation of these resources the existing environment has become unbalanced, resulting expansions in wastelands (Kothari, 2006).
Resource Conservation and Environment Management
In recent years, India is becoming one of the important countries encouragingnon-governmental initiatives for resource management, environmental and developmental capacity building with a view to achieving sustainable development.
These attracted greater attention after 73rd and 74th Amendment in the Indian Constitution
encouraging participatory decision-making and empowerment of the people. Theeffectiveness of such participatory approach has been particularly profitable in areas ofdisaster management (Singh, 2007). The NGOs have also been quite successful in
conducting training, education programme and the management of health delivery systemduring emergency (Trivedi, 2004).
As biophysical and the social processes are integrated in an ecosystem, there is aninteractive linkage and connection between human impacts on the environment and
environmental impact on human. Geographers are better placed to understand such
location specific and time specific interaction. In India, environmental impact assessment
is emerging as a major tool for ensuring environmental quality as an essential componentof decision-making processes of any developmental programme. In this context, it issuggested that environmental and social approaches should be linked and established forbetter understanding of Indian environment (Joshi and Joshi, 2004).