Search results

The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate the concept of ecosystem conservation in the areas where human and ecosystem interactions are really complex as – in one of the biodiversity hotspots – the Himalayas in India.

The research results reported in this paper are the outcome of empirical studies performed for last 12 years in the Himalayas, combined with a review of available literature, discussions with stakeholders and experimental‐design in the field conditions.

The paper identifies that conservation and management of the ecosystems/landscapes and the development of the local economy are interwoven. It evaluates the landscape management and development in economic and ecological perspectives and concurrently develops the theoretical model to understand the change in human behavior under shifting political, socio‐economic and environmental conditions.

Through the development of a theoretical agent model this study would help the design and development of sound methodological approaches in providing feasible solutions for complex human‐ecosystems interactions for sustainable landscape development in the fragile Himalayan environment.

This paper is original and shows that the development of a model framework and of appropriate models for natural resource management in the Himalayan region are still very limited and the paper is an initiative in this endeavor.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of biogas in India for energy conservation and its potential in emission reduction through proper manure management and utilizing the tappable droppings while replacing the conventional and non-conventional fuel.

The authors have looked at the production, use and tappability of animal excreta for possible biogas generation and reduction in fuelwood consumption on one hand and emission reduction across the Indian states on the other. The average percentage of Biogas potential is created in the GIS database for analyzing the data set in the spatial domain using ArcGIS 9.2 software.

The paper examines that unused manure contributes to the greenhouse gas (GHG) and has huge potential of reducing the emission through proper utilization across the Indian states. Keeping current climate change dilemma in view this could be one of the feasible options to cope with the climate change and mitigating the threats.

A comprehensive data regarding methane emission from various sources is not readily available so far. With the help of this research work the authentic data has been collected from different government departments’ data banks and past research work. However, the authors have limited to few conversion aspects in quantifying the emission factor due to complexity of the various data sets.

Looking at the availability of usable animal excreta in different climatic regions, the attempt has been made in demarcating economically viable and technically feasible areas for biogas generation in India. An environmental and economic cost benefit analysis for adopting this renewable energy source has also been incorporated within this research.

The paper examined the GHG contribution of unused manure and the possibility of reducing it through proper utilization. The adverse environmental consequences of the use of conventional and non-conventional cooking fuels have also been analyzed in terms of GHG emissions. The same was assessed for the whole lifecycle of liquefied petroleum gas, which is commonly assumed as a clean fuel.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the conservation and management of crop diversity in traditional agro‐ecosystems as a crucial component for sustainable landscape development in the mountains of the Indian Himalayan region. The results indicate that mountain farming has the potential to produce good output from a low input system where farmers still use local resources and locally developed technology.

The discussion of major issues in this paper is based on our empirical study involving a survey of the area and field‐based experiments to evaluate the productivity in traditional mountain farming systems. Additionally, landscape change was monitored with the use of satellite data.

The paper finds that the rate of genetic erosion within the study area during the last three decades is documented and the factors responsible for such erosion identified. The efficiency of traditional agro‐ecosystems of Himalayan Mountains in terms of energy and monetary value is presented. Traditional crop cultivation in the region appears efficient from the viewpoint of ecology of the area and economy of the local people.

This paper recommends practical options to encourage cultivation of traditional crops for their conservation and management in the Himalayan agro‐ecosystems that will lead to sustainable landscape development in these mountains. Traditional agro‐ecosystems are characterized by their dependence on local resources, close links to the surrounding forests, and locally developed technologies in the Himalayas of India. Research and policy support for their conservation in traditional agro‐ecosystems in this region is required as many traditional crops and their landraces are in jeopardy due to their rapid genetic erosion in the region. The land use land cover map developed within this study enables observation of the process of the landscape change trends in the region. Local communities need proper awareness and encouragement through appropriate research, institutional and policy support to continue growing traditional crops for both their economic incentives and management of the ecosystem services.

The paper shows that traditional crop diversity can enhance the economic conditions for people without having negative implications on the surrounding landscape.

A large number of roads have been constructed in the rural areas of India to connect habitations with the nearest major roads. With time, the pavements of these roads have deteriorated and they need some kind of maintenance, although they all do not need maintenance at the same time, as they have all not deteriorated to the same level. Hence, they have to be prioritized for maintenance.

In order to present a scientific methodology for prioritizing pavement maintenance, the factors affecting prioritization and the relative importance of each were identified through an expert survey. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to scientifically establish weight (importance) of each factor based on its relative importance over other factors. The proposed methodology was validated through a case study of 203 low volume rural roads in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. Ranking of these roads in order of their priority for maintenance was presented as the final result.

The results show that pavement distresses, traffic volume, type of connectivity and the socioeconomic facilities located along a road are the four major factors to be considered in determining the priority of a road for maintenance.

The methodology provides a comprehensive, scientific and socially responsible pavement maintenance prioritization method which will automatically select roads for maintenance without any bias.

Timely maintenance of roads will also save budgetary expenditure of restoration/reconstruction, leading to enhancement of road service life. The government will not only save money but also provide timely benefit to the needy population.

Road transportation is the primary mode of inland transportation in rural areas. Timely maintenance of the pavements will be of great help to the socioeconomic development of rural areas.

The proposed methodology lays special emphasis on rural roads which are small in length, but large in number. Instead of random, a scientific method for selection of roads for maintenance will be of great help to the public works department for better management of rural road network.