Monty Python in the Himalayas

Well, not exactly, but it looks like Michael Palin is sure getting around in his old age. Palin really does enjoy himself in a gruelling pan-Himalayan journey that spans its entire length -- from Pakistan to the Heng Duan Mountains in Southern China. I really awesome accomplishment in travel rapportage. Should be fun to watch. [link]

"Himalayan Perceptions" in context

I've been reading Jack Ives' latest book, Himalayan Perceptions and have found it both illuminating and disturbing. He seems to have picked up where he and Messerli left off in 1989 with that other seminal work, Himalayan Dilemma. As such, Ives' pummeling of what he has termed the "Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation" has gone on for 15 years. He has expended enormous effort at debunking the pernicious belief that the Himalayas are experiencing an environmental super crisis and that mountain farmers are mainly at fault. Furthermore, he has taken up the cause of indigenous mountain people who have often been negatively impacted by the Western conservation ethic as applied in many parts of the Himalayas.

While I agree with much of his arguments over the simplistic and prejudicial views that have been perpetuated since the 1970s, I can't help but think he may be beating a dead horse, or at least engaging in a debate that has long receded into history. His main point that mountain farmers have had far less impact on mountain forests and that even "deforestation" in the hills has played virtually no role in the periodic flooding of the plains, has been well understood in informed circles, even if it has not been taken to heart by more sensational green journalism. Today, few would dare accuse mountain people for wrecking their own commons. However, by overselling the point, Ives may risk aiding and abetting the worst exploiters of the mountains who are wreaking havoc on both the geology and ecology of the region. Due to the political embeddeness of scholarship in the region, environmental skeptics may read into his own skepticism a reason to dither and delay action. While it's vital not to blame the victims of social and environmental injustice, but by subordinating the dramatic changes that are happening due to increased natural resource extraction, urbanization, and tourism, is potentially dangerous. Ives does go through numerous case studies and outlines important caveats, but the overall tone leaves the impression that these are not as serious as the goal of debunking THED.

Interestingly, several statements in the book seem to valorize forests only for their aesthetic value and their role as a source of forest products for local communities. This limited anthropocentric view actually explains a lot. That the forests could also be important habitat for animals in the region is not mentioned at all. This omission becomes quite glaring when its pops up repeatedly throughout the text.

Also, while recognizing overgeneralizations, Ives does not discuss in great detail how THED might actually apply in certain regions. He only briefly mentions the Uttarakhand Himalayas which contradicts the debunking of the Himalayan degradation theory. What's more, it was the mountain people themselves who took notice and acted to prevent worse destruction through the Chipko movement which is only noted in passing if at all.

I think Zurick and Karan actually do a job of bringing together the diverse views and experiences that inform the debate and taking pains to balance them.

The following BBC article reflects THED's conventions. I wonder what the Mountain Forum would say? [link]

Trans-Himalayan Maps

Over the past few months, I have attempted to compile an extensive library of maps detailing various aspects of the Trans-Himalayas. I have found several excellent historical and physical maps online, ranging from early explorer's maps to present-day trekking maps of Kailash and Mansarovar. However, I have also scanned some important maps from books I have recently reviewed. Here are just a few:

Constable's Hand Atlas of India 1893 (CNRS)	Detailed Physical Map (Jules Verne Voyager)
Missionary Map of Tibet 1897 (WWW Virtual Library)	Gurkha Empire (Ives & Messerli, 1989)
Cross-Section of Nepal Himalayas (Ives & Messerli, 1989)	Himalayan Regions (Ives & Messerli, 1989)
Mansarovar from Space (ISSEarthKAM)	Ladakh at the Centre of Asian Trade (Rizvi, 1999)
India-China Border 1988 (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection)	Trans Himalayan Caravan Routes (Rizvi, 1999)
West Nepal & Kailash Map (Nepal Trekking Resources)	Proposed Golmud to Lhasa Railway (International Campaign for Tibet)
Western Trans-Himalayas	Mt. Meru/Kailash in Vedic Cosmology (Singh & Khan, 2002)

Conceptual Framework for THR

As part of my final paper proposal for GEOG 5010, I came up with the following conceptualization of medieval vs. modern relations between the Indian Himalayas and adjacent powers. Notice how the lines of each circle have changed according to the permeability of the border. The red line of 1962 indicates total closure, a state of affairs we are attempting to move beyond with the normalization of Sino-Indian relations discussed here.

Ives & Messerli's Himalayan Dilemma

1. Ives, J. D., & Messerli, B. (1989). The Himalayan dilemma : reconciling development and conservation. London ; New York: United Nations University : Routledge.

Ives and Messerli’s pan-Himalayan study (online here) is at once a solid introduction to physical and human Himalayan geography and a masterful work addressing the complexities inherent in the “environmental crisis” afflicting the region. Moreover, the authors begin with a novel premise that questions the very basis of that crisis vis-a-vis the prescriptions traditionally offered by international bodies and their conservation ethos. While their ideas are critical of much of the thinking of the 1970s and 1980s (Messerli did pioneering work on this himself) that focused on an imminent environmental disaster in the Himalayas, it actually echoed many of the environmental activists on the ground who saw conservation policies boomerang against the very communities that were struggling to save their commons. To their credit, the authors give space for several voices from the region to express their views on the issues on an equal footing with scientists.

From an initial preview of his latest book Himalayan perceptions : environmental change and the well-being of mountain peoples. (London: Routledge, 2004), Ives has continued this critique of what he terms the “Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation.” As a celebrated expert and geography professor at Carleton University, I hope to approach Ives in the near future as his views will definitely aid in setting environmental policies congruent with the needs of mountain people. As the central concern of my doctoral work, balancing development and the health of ecosystems in conjunction with safeguarding the interests of mountain communities in the emerging trans-Himalayan economy can benefit from Ives’ expertise.

Himalaya glaciers melt

While much attention is being paid to the melting snows of the Arctic, glaciers in the Himalayas have been melting at an accelerated rate and are in need of focused research and surveillance as witnessed recently in the crisis over Parechu Lake in western Tibet. This article from the BBC claims that the last major studies were conducted in the 1990s.

Of course, the disappearance or heavy retreat of the glacier, although in the short run will contribute to flooding, will over decades lead to the drying up of more water courses. Since most on the southern slope feed in to the Ganges, we are looking at hundreds of millions of lives at stake! [link]

An interesting POV on the India-China border dispute

In this article, Sultan Shahin attempts to convince the reader that the facts of the India-China war as most Indians have grown up with are highly biased. He argues that the resulting perception of Indian naivete, and perfidiousness on the part of China should be revised if India is to ever overcome its trauma and deal maturely with the border issue.

While acknowledging my own bias in the matter, I cannot help think that after China swallowed Tibet, that India would be the least bit worried about Chinese intentions along the McMahon line. The fact that India did go out of its way to promote the PRC as the sole governing authority of China as well as of Tibet, should have gone along way to moving the sides towards cordial relations. Of course, Nehru bears most of the responsibility for the debacle as his own machinations and withholding of information from the Indian public culiminated in the shock invasion of China. However, the die was cast when Tibet itself succumbed, without India or any other country offering any aid. So there are other issues here beyond the ones Shahin has laid out. [link]

Solving the Border Dispute?

"Fifty years ago, during the Panchsheel negotiations, India shied away from bringing the questions of the borders to the negotiating table with Beijing. Today, India is still unable to sort out her frontier tangle with China."

"The question remains: is there a creative but�feasible solution to solve the border issue?"

Claude Arpi asks this questions and proposes the idea of a condominium arrangement for Aksai Chin as the region is desolate and uninhabitable. Since no one permanently resides there and no resources have been discovered, the actual ownership of the area could be fudged with this formula. However, I have a feeling it won't fly as the politicians would prefer the indeterminate status quo to a tricky solution that means giving up some control or claim. [link]

Historical account of the western Tibet kingdom

This web site endeavours to detail the lost kingdom of Gu-ge which once was the heartland of the Tibetan people. However, from the 1680s onwards, it was largely abandoned, becoming increasingly desolate and barren as the once thriving trans-Himalayan trade from Lhasa to Tibet came to an end. [link]


Toling (photo by Li Gotami)

Two articles on Cross-Border Trade

The following two articles from August 21 support the opening of the trans-Himalayan frontier for trade, to the mutual benefit of all parties involved. The first describes in detail how a brisk trade is already occurring (unregulated) and that Ladakh could also benefit from a linkage of Leh to Demchok to Mansarovar which cuts the time of travel to Kailash from a month through Lipu Lekh to 2 days by highway:

China trade beckons Ladakh
By C. Raja Mohan, The Hindu, Saturday, Aug 21, 2004

LEH: As the economic juggernaut in China reaches the nation's far western corners in Tibet and Xinjiang and the relations between New Delhi and Beijing improve, the long frozen Sino-Indian frontier here is coming alive.

For centuries, Leh was at the crossroads of trans-Himalayan commerce. Its intrepid traders moved goods between the Indo-Gangetic plain, Tibet and Central Asia. In recent decades, amid competing territorial claims between India and China, the flow of trade caravans through this entrepot town had become a distant memory. [link]

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Baruah has argued in the past for an opening of the Sikkim-Tibet border crossing to revitalize the Northeast States. Here, he presents his views in full, calling for both governments to overcome the impasse over Tibet for a brighter future for all in the trans-Himalayas. Going beyond acknowledging China's sovereignty over Tibet, he also describes their massive investment into the autonomous region that should diffuse separatist feelings in Tibet. Although, I am not ready to forgo the right to self-determination, Baruah does present a case for realpolitik, particularly to overcome diplomatic hurdles for people-to-people contact.

A reality check on Tibet
By Amit Baruah, The Hindu, Saturday, Aug 21, 2004

IT IS time to open up. The Tibet Autonomous Region of China is on the move. A cooperative relationship between India and China can bring enormous benefits to people on both sides of the border. The border trade agreement signed in June 2003 between India and China, through Sikkim and the TAR, needs to be implemented at the earliest. People-to-people contact in the form of a Gangtok-Lhasa bus service or a New Delhi-Lhasa flight must be promoted.

The Chinese today are keen on showcasing their achievements in Tibet -- from growth in income to the preservation and restoration of religious and cultural monuments. This is a sign of their rising confidence when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world on Tibet. [link]