PPT lecture about hill cities of west and south India. With photographs sourced from the internet from various photographers. All credit of photographs rest with the photographers. The lecture was used for non-profit teaching only.

1. Hill cities of South & West India:
Environmental Perspectives
Bharat Bhushan
Professor, Environmental Planning
YASHADA, Pune

20. Ancient and sacred lands
• The Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and
the Himalayas are known and venerated
as ancient and sacred lands from the
Kabul to the Mekong
• More than 25% of the World’s waters arise
from the Himalayas
• Nearly 18% of the World’s waters travel
from Indian mountains to downstream
• India’s rivers are gateways to myths

22. Hill-stations and ethnic peoples:
Kodaikanal and the Palaiyars
• Kodaikanal, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu
• Princess of Hill Stations – Tourist zone
• Established in 1845 as hill station
• Earliest residents were the Palaiyars –
known from early Sangam Literature etc
• 2,133 MSL between Parapar and Gundar
• Now – Eucalyptus alternates with Sholas
• International & National Public Schools

23. Ancient people with new problems
• Local communities in the hills of India are
some of the most ancient
• Land-locked, their problems are their own.
• What is not seen is not known. What is not
known, cannot be faced without help.
• Glaciers, climate change, deforestation,
floods, landslides, women’s empowerment
and community lands are major issues

24. Intensive cultivation in hills:
Cardamom
• Small cardamom farming has been
intensified recently – impact on ecosystem
can be detrimental.
• 4-times growth with increase in fertilisers
and pesticides
• Reduction in rainforest land & canopy
• Result in destruction of fresh water
ecosystem, eutrophication with high rates
of nitrogen and phosphorous release

25. Face in the mirror
The hills of India today
face environmental
damage in the Ghats
of Western and
Eastern India.
It would be a good idea
to learn from success
and failures in these
regions and create
sustainability.

27. Regional cooperation models
The nations of Bhutan,
Nepal, India and
Bangladesh have
agreed to cooperate
on common
environmental issues.
• Climate change,
energy, water, food
and biodiversiy

28. Protecting biodiversity: Bhutan
• Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex
– largest conservation landscape –
connecting biological corridors and
protecting a continuous ecosystem area
• 4 National Parks, 4 WL Sanctuaries, but
with 12 biological corridors, covering more
than 3.6 million acres – nearly 35% of the
country’s total geographical area

31. Conserving the landscape: Bhutan
• Raising technical capacity of local people
• Community-based conservation projects
• Restore critical wildlife habitats
• Reduce incidents of human-animal conflict
• Restoration and community management
• Use of alternate energy projects
• Assistance in sustainable use of land and
forest resources

37. Has the paradise been lost?
• The land is fragile. Hill regions are ecosystems that are
extremely threatened.
• Climate change has a major impact in this region and
have changed the habitat.
• Deforestation, over-harvesting of timber and fuelwood,
intensive grazing on meadows and steep slopes have
destroyed the forest and fodder cover.
• Expanding agriculture, change in cropping practices and
failure to understand local water regimes have threatened
sustainability of the local natural resources for the very
people who harvest the lands.
• Poaching is a major threat to wildlife and endangered
species.

39. Water – is the major product
• Unfortunately, water is seen as the major
product of the hills and mountains for
various reasons – including hydro-power
• Some of India’s largest hydro-power
projects are established in these areas
• The scale of destruction has never been
seen in the hills and mountains, and no
one can even predict the outcome

40. Chungthang

41. Resource and human impact
• Conversion of forests to agriculture
• Charcoal production in low elevation areas
• Intensive grazing at higher elevations
• Impact on women for collecting firewood,
fodder, water and grazing cattle
• Easier to allow common cattle-herds to
graze inside forest areas. Has led to loss
of regeneration values of the forests.

45. Need for a new mission
A new mission for the hill regions has been
proposed – for policy, administration and action
Establish a sustainable relationship between
people and the environment to ensure a
future that includes health, wildlife
populations, plentiful natural resources and
lasting change for local livelihoods.

52. Threats to the forests and people
• These are high-mountain forests, sholas
and grasslands unlike the subcontinent
• Firewood, food and timber harvesting for
local people can be sustainable, but with
impact of industries, tourism and export,
the unsustainable levels are dangerous.
• Social impact will lead to poverty and
migration to cities and to lowlands.

56. With gratitude to all the
photographs and their
photographers sourced from the
internet for non-profit use
These photographs are not mine. They
have not been used for any profit
purpose but only for dissemination of
knowledge of this particular topic.