Ladakh, kingdom of sustainable development?

Abstract

With some 15,000 km² of protected areas, Ladakh has become synonymous with biodiversity protection in India. Specific regulations have been drawn up for the region to ensure preservation of the natural environment. Local officials who contested the principles of India’s hard law have benefited from the initiatives of numerous NGOs and have developed an alternative model for protecting the environment. Certain large emblematic mammals like the snow leopard have enabled the legitimisation of a policy that is based on the participation of local inhabitants rather than on their eviction to areas outside the sanctuaries. The protected areas have thus become an element of a Ladakhi identity project that distinguishes the region with respect to Kashmiri regional power.<br>Avec 15 000 km² d’aires protégées, le Ladakh est devenu un haut lieu de la protection de la biodiversité en Inde. Localement ont été élaborées des procédures spécifiques de préservation. Les élites locales qui contestaient les principes de la hard law indienne ont bénéficié des initiatives de nombreuses ONG et proposent désormais un modèle de protection alternatif. Certains grands mammifères emblématiques comme le léopard des neiges ont permis de légitimer cette politique qui s’appuie sur la participation des populations locales et non sur leur éviction à la périphérie d’espaces sanctuaires. Les aires protégées intègrent alors un projet identitaire ladakhi de distinction vis-à-vis du pouvoir régional cachemiri

Perception of climate change from the Himalayan ‘cold desert’ Ladakh, India

“…The tourist coming to Ladakh in 2003 was 28,393 andreached to 3, 27,366 in 2018. It is also reported that ~100% of the tourists both international and domestic came by air or road. This exponential growth of the tourism industry is unprecedented and the region is suggested to facing plethora of environmental issues (Kumar, 2019), and the toll of which falls on the natives/locals (Goeury, 2010;Clouse et al, 2017). The results of the survey had mixed views regarding the increasing number of tourists; some people are of the view that tourism has generated a lot of revenue and job opportunities while a significant number (26%) of respondents feel that these climatic changes are somehow related to the increased tourism industry.…”

Dynamics of Mountain Urbanisation: Evidence from the Trans-Himalayan Town of Kargil, Ladakh, India

“…The rapidly urbanising town of Leh, the capital of the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh (since October 2019), has experienced a major shift from agricultural livelihoods towards monetary incomes, mainly based on the tourism sector. This development path becomes evident in an unprecedented increase in cars and hotels, mostly built on formerly cultivated agricultural areas [4,18,30,31].…”