POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF HILLY AREAS CASE STUDY : DISTRICT UTTARKASHI (U.P.)

Abstract

Mountains have grandeur, beauty, and spintual importance, but they are also a repository of natural resources such as water, energy, minerals, biologicl diversity, ancienthuman cultures, and traditions. As we firmly know in India, mountains play an important role in regulating the climate and meteorological condditions of a country. It is estimated that 10 per cnet off the world's population depends on mountain resources. The hill areas of India, particularly the Himalayan and the Western Ghats' regions, constitute about 21 per cent of the total area and support about nine per cent of the total population of the country. The Hindu Kush-Himalaya ( which extend over a distance of 3,500km from Myanmar in the east to Afghanistan in the west, and range from the Tibetan Plateau of China in the north to the Ganges of India in the south, mountains arises not only from concern for the people living there but also for the survival of the societies in the valleys and plains which depend on mountain resources, especially water resources...