Review paper - Infrastructure development in the Himalayas

The second review paper of a series being brought out by the High Himalaya Forum advocacy initiative, was published on Himalayan Voices portal. Over the past two centuries, the Himalayan natural landscape has seen man trying to conquer it with roads, electricity, communication, as technology takes quantum leaps to triumph over the vagaries of nature. But the pertinent question that arises is that are we doing justice to the ecology of this invaluable geological and bio-diverse region? The high altitude Himalayan regions, with which we are concerned here, present a number of difficulties to the development of infrastructure. The paper "Infrastructure development in the Himalayas" seeks to highlight the most pressing issues concerning infrastructure development in the high altitude Himalayas, with a special focus on the communities and the ecology of the region. These issues have been culled from the years of experience of the scholars, scientists, researchers, community workers, and the like working in/belonging to these regions. While the debate on these issues will continue for some time to come, this paper simply intends to throw some light on basic realities and take a holistic perspective to offer solutions. (Read the full paper)