Author(s):
Marcus Nuesser - University of Bonn, Germany
Abstract:
Different aspects of contemporary land use change in the Gori Valley in Eastern Kumaon (state of Uttaranchal, India) are presented based on the result of recent field surveys. The Gori River basin is bounded by the international border with the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China in the North. Before the Indo-China War of 1962, the valley had the function of a mountainous trade and transit route between the lowlands of India and the Tibetan Plateau. The subsequent closure of the border trade has led to far reaching changes in settlement structures, regional transhumance, and land use patterns. Desertion of settlements and abandonment of terraced fields clearly indicate the recent decrease in land use intensity and the development of a new periphery. Despite the reduced intensity of crop cultivation and livestock keeping, large scale extraction of medicinal plants opens new dimensions of income opportunities and land degradation. The creation of the adjoining Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve indirectly affects natural resource management and recent land use dynamics. In order to understand the complexity of resource management and land use change in the Gori Valley, it is necessary to address the impact of local Village Forest Councils (Van Panchayats), elected bodies, which manage the forest in the village commons.
