Environment and hill development.

The present book is a collection of a set of papers presented in a symposium on "Environmental Considerations in U.P. Hill Development" jointly organized by the Hill Development Department, Government of U.P., Directorate of Environment, Government of U.P. and the Administrtive Training Insitute, Nainital, held on April 8 & 9, 1988 at Nainital. The symposium reviewed a wide range of development activities in the U.P.Hills with reference to environmental conservation and made an assessment of the status of environment with regard to some selected sectors of basic importance. It also made an attempt to identify the basic unresolved issues and the means of resolving them, with a view to integrating the planning and execlution of the development projects for U.P. Hills with the concept of sustainability.

The book is divided into four volumes. The first volume contains a paper on 'Conservation and development possible mutuality in Central Himalayas'. This gives an account of the important issues relating to environmental considerations in U.P. Hills with special reference to the concept of sustainable development; basic needs of the population viz water, fodder, fuel; energy and timber besides food, conservation of the environment and development and management process for sustainable development with a focus on main functionaries, knowhow/acceptance and legislation. This paper has stressed the need developing a new balance which will be consistent with the socio-economic needs of the people living in these areas and the reasonable and sustained carrying capacity of the land and its resources. for achieving such a balance a comprehensive approach encompassing the many complex factors involved in the functioning of the man-environment systems in the Himalayan Mountain regions has been advocated.