The search for sustainable development in the Himalayas: An interview with environmentalist Raghubir Singh Pirta

摘要

As I reflect upon it now, two factors seemed to propel me towards it. One was my emotional attachinent to the Himalayas. I was born iii a tiny Himalayan village near Shimla anal still live there in a joint family arrangement. The second was the 4 years I spent in the Dehra Dun forest in the Himalayan foothills, researching the socioecology of monkeys. During this period, I saw the lives of both monkeys and humans closely affected by the forest habitat. Interestingly, it was during this time (1973-1977) that the Chipko Movement (tree "hugging" to save trees from the contractor's ax) was spreading among the hill peasants.