ORIGINAL ARTICLE
AN ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY OF RURAL AREAS OF UPPER BEAS VALLEY, HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA
| 1 | BEST, Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability, India |
| 2 | Department of Environmental Studies, Shivaji College (University of Delhi), India |
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Virat Jolli
BEST, Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability, 1ST Floor 143, F-17, Sector-8, Rohini, 110085, New Delhi, India
BEST, Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability, 1ST Floor 143, F-17, Sector-8, Rohini, 110085, New Delhi, India
Submission date: 2020-06-16
Final revision date: 2020-08-19
Publication date: 2020-09-29
Economic and Regional Studies 2020;13(3):295–306
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Subject and purpose of work: The study aims to assess the sustainability of rural areas of Western
Himalayas during the year 2019. Materials and methods: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in upper Beas Valley of Himachal
Pradesh. A total of 101 individuals were interviewed and the questionnaire was filled by the surveyor. Results: Survey showed that high level of unemployment prevailed in the region with minimal monthly
income. However, they engaged in agriculture and allied activities along with collection of non-timber
forest products (NTFPs) to supplement their incomes. The proximity to protected areas led to frequent
encounter with wildlife and such encounters increased after the commencement of Hydro Power
Projects. Respondents believed that construction HPPs and expansion road network in the region has
increased the occurrence of landslides; and many of them had lost their cultivated land due to landslides. Conclusions: The study showed rural areas of upper Beas Valley were moderately unsustainable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am thankful to Biodiversity and Environmental
Sustainability (BEST), New Delhi, for providing funds
for this survey. I thank Dabe Ram Rana and Govind
Dhami for their help during the survey. They travelled
extensively and covered the whole upper Beas Valley.
PEER REVIEW INFORMATION
Article has been screened for originality
iThenticate
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