The last 60 years have witnessed advanced technological innovation for disaster risk reduction (DRR) with the invention of high-resolution satellite imagery, digital cartography and modern engineering building techniques to high-yielding agricultural production. However, none have been highly satisfying in lessening the impact of disasters. The significant factor for the limited success of modern scientific society is that it views the world from a temporal perspective where humans are believed to be an active agent in modifying every natural possibility into opportunity. The very composite environmental system is simplified whilst extracting resources, resulting in resource depletion and environmental degradation, consequently opening the door for disaster. Technocratic science must recognise the need for a relational or holistic approach rather than believing in reductionist approaches alone whilst dealing with natural calamities. In this context, the knowledge of traditional societies is important to fill up the existing gaps created by the modern society. Traditional knowledge has different sets of ingredients to foster the development of the relational or holistic approach as it involves, interacts and interconnects humans, non-humans (animals and plants) and nature together, setting a perfect balance for sustainable development and DRR. It has vast undocumented observational data of changing natural phenomena, and in today’s scenario of climate change and uncertainty, it can create a path for reliable adaptation measures from climate-induced disasters. Thus, a holistic approach is needed for comprehensive DRR measures where both scientific and traditional knowledge systems can work together. The main purpose of this article was to explore the effective ingredients of traditional knowledge in DRR and how this age-old wisdom can be offered a hand to its integration into and collaboration with scientific research and management for DRR. To fulfil the objectives, a theoretical desk study approach was followed by identifying relevant studies, highlighting traditional knowledge in DRR from empirical and grey literatures, archive materials, biblical stories and so on. This research highlights some of the good practices of traditional knowledge in DRR and the possible path of collaboration of two knowledge systems in DRR.

This paper assess the controversies and tensions being created by the target of ambitious hydropower development plans in the name of climate mitigating energy in the Upper Tista River Basin of Sikkim (India) which is a part of Eastern Himalayan region. However, in the face of climate change, hydropower projects have become a contested developmental paradigm in the Easter Himalayan region of Sikkim. The paper highlights potential issues and conflicts between climate mitigation approaches through hydropower projects and anti hydropower forces of local people. The paper critically examines pre and post hydropower development conflicts and cooperation along Upper Tista river basin. In fact, the region has witnessed that the Hydro Power Project have been undermining environmental and social security over the past years. The study also analyse the different roles of dam affected people, local politicians, NGOs and dam developers in advocating and protesting of the hydropower dam projects in the region. Using an environmental security framework the study critically analyse the environmental risks and impacts being aggravated by combined forces of climate change and hydropower development in upper Tista catchment of Sikkim Himalaya (India).

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Pre-Independence, the North-Eastern region was largely rural, but in the second half of the 20th century, urbanisation levels here shot up. Indications are that development projects initiated by State and Central governments and the role of missionaries in creating educational infrastructure were key contributory factors. The data also show that urban concentration in the North-East, as in the rest of the country, has been top-heavy. Not only that, the spatial distribution of urban units gets more and more uneven at higher levels of urban concentration. On the other hand, data from the 2001 Census reveals, medium and small towns (towns of class III, IV and V), which together account for over 80% of towns in the region, are more evenly distributed. There is, in this context, a need to nurture the smaller towns, which display an encouraging potential for growth. Within the States also, urbanisation is uneven, which too suggests a high potential for a more balanced pattern of urbanisation in future.

There is a measured rise in the belief that human activity has dramatically affected the environment. Many scientific studies have predicted that increased carbon dioxide emissions, due to increased use of fossil fuels, have triggered an outbreak of global warming. India signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in August 2002. Nonetheless, the issues with regard to larger environmental degradation, environmental refugees, deforestation and other such associated environmental issues have increasingly occupied the core of development debate among the academicians, activists, policy planners and common citizens of the country for the last 60 years since India's independence. Environmental concerns of the Indian State do not match those expressed globally. Environment still remains a marginal issue for India. The six decades after independence have not shown any significant changes in the field of environment. Today, when the Himalayan glaciers are among some of the fastest receding glaciers in the world and when environment is being seen as more intimately connected with livelihood issues, it is important that we evaluate and understand the relationship between environmental concerns and human security. This paper attempts to examine and understand some of the important implications of global climate warming on the human security of the Indian subcontinent with particular emphasis on the prevailing and expected situations in India. The paper is primarily a synthesis of published papers, seminar/conference papers, scientific reports, debates among scholars in e-conferences, reputed magazines and media reports in international/national dailies, among others.