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The present study was conducted in the upper river Satluj basin of district Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India. The vulnerability assessment was done on the basis of selected parameters like slope, slope profile, slope aspects, relative relief, curvature, soil texture, lithology, river morphometric, precipitation, land use and land cover, mass movement, flood, geological elements, earthquake occurrences, and anthropogenic activity (hydroelectric projects). Here, a quantitative and qualitative approach was used to generate physical vulnerability assessment index and vulnerability-based maps. Vulnerability assessment of the landscape was done to highlight the risks and sensitivity of the region due to prevailing hazards and anthropogenic activities.

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Hydropower’s development in the Himalayas region is major concern because area is prone to the geo hazards. The high vulnerability of physical landscape pays attention on the planning of hydropower’s projects. This qualitative empirical research in western Himalayas, present the vulnerability of region and impacts of hydroelectric projects on physical landscape. The IPCC frame work of vulnerability assessment was used to assess the vulnerability in upper Sutlej valley. The indicator based methodology and Geographic information System (GIS) & Remote Sensing (RS) applications were adopted to highlight the impacts and vulnerability. The strategic buffering equal distance analysis was done and this indicates the ignorance of hydropower planning processes. The GIS mapping indicated the excessive development of hydroelectric projects in single river valley and strategic planning emphasizes to follow aerial equidistance between two projects while introducing hydropower projects in the Sutlej valley or any other valleys of the Himalayas region. The suggested strategy shall control the physical, social and economic losses in study region. In addition, this strategy will work as guidelines to develop hydropower projects in other valleys of the Himalaya.

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