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Seismicity in Himalayas is much in evidence. Historical records reveal that devastating earthquakes have been a regular feature of the entire Himalayan system. Besides providing knowledge of what happened in the past these historical records hold clues that might be of great significance for assessing risk potential associated with seismicity. Earthquakes cause tremendous loss to life and property all around the world every year. The amount of loss in terms of life, property and the disruption of key infrastructure and facilities has been rising continuously. Although there are no strong evidences that suggest a rise in seismic activities, the increasing population concentration in seismically sensitive zones has raised the degree of human vulnerability to such events underscoring the need for their study. Historical records on seismicity show that a large number of earthquakes have occurred in the western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh since times immemorial. An evaluation of the location and distribution of earthquakes in the study area and the potential human population which may be vulnerable has been carried out. Historic seismicity in Himachal Pradesh from has been studied from the ancient period to the beginning of 21st century. Defining where the vulnerable population resides is one of the key questions for disaster mitigation and prevention policies. The vulnerable population with respect to seismicity in the state has been mapped based on information from ancient Indian literature, historical archives, books, memoirs and catalogues prepared by various scholars and organizations and the patterns of population concentration. The results underline that very high seismic zones coincide with the areas of high population concentration and these are the areas in need of effective intervention and specific action for reducing the impact of this disaster.

Floodplains are the most fragile ecosystems of the world which attracted the humans since the dawn of civilizations. Due to their resource enrichment, these remained center of attraction to fulfill the socio-economic needs of people. As a result, the natural land cover of these floodplains are under the influence of human induced activities. River Beas Floodplain of Punjab has also witnessed such changes. Human intervention in these landscapes has depleted natural wealth and has altered its land use. Construction of upstream dam and artificial embankments and diversion of water through canals further paved the ways for intensification of land use changes. The outcome of these human actions is that wetlands, barren land, and river channels has reduced. On the other hand, agriculture and settlements recorded a sharp increase in recent decades. The growth of agricultural area and human settlements are putting pressure on the natural resources and depleting the human environment relationship in the floodplain. This study utilized multi-temporal satellite data from Landsat for the classification of land use and land cover.

Wetlands play a vital role in maintaining groundwater levels in an area. This is true for Punjab that was bestowed with several natural wetlands in the flood plains of its rivers. These natural wetlands have never been mapped and their existence has not been acknowledged. The large scale agricultural development in the state has made it India's leading food producing state. This development was done at the cost of certain ecologically sensitive parts, mainly the flood plains thus leading to the demise of wetlands. This paper is an attempt to retrace the lost wetlands that were existed in the flood plains of the three major rivers: Satluj, Beas and Ravi in the present day Punjab at the beginning of 20th century. A majority of these wetlands have not been documented so far and do not even have names. The purpose is to emphasize their elimination in addition to establishing a baseline dataset that can be a tool for wetland planning and management.

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