The papers in this series can be quoted with due acknowledgements.
Comments are welcome.
Most development activities impinge upon the environment and adversely affect the ecological balance of the mountains. It would be unreasonable and unfair to the mountain people if, for that reason, no development activities were to be undertaken in mountain areas. The intimate and interactive links between environment and development necessitate complete incorporation of environmental of the generally practiced post-formulation assessment of environmental impact of a project or a programme. The concept of carrying capacity has also been used to assess the extent to which development activities could proceed without endangering the environment. These approaches have succeeded in highlighting the importance of environmental protection, but they have fallen short of evolving approaches that can strike a balance between environmental and developmental needs.