Nepal inventory

Having compiled an inventory for just one sub-basin in the Solukhumbu we know the challenges involved, but the ICIMOD inventory is misleading. It gives the impression that topographic maps, based on 1957–59 aerial photography, were supplemented using remote sensing from the 1990s and, from this inventory, dangerous lakes were identified for more detailed examination. For example, the flow chart on page 3 shows all data collection leading to the production of an inventory, from which dangerous lakes are identified. In reality, only map data from the 1950s were used, with only those glacial lakes categorised as being ‘dangerous’ from other studies being examined later using remote sensing. This has resulted in the peculiar situation where one of the cited potentially dangerous lakes, Lower Barun, which has been well-studied and has 5 pages devoted to it in Chapter 10, did not appear on the 1957–59 aerial photographs and so is not in the inventory! Similarly, Tsho Rolpa has an area of 0.23 km² in the inventory (representing 1957–59), but had 6 times the area (1.37 km²) in 1993 (Figure 10.24); in January 2002 it had an area of 1.54 km². A similar problem arises in relation to other lakes; the inventory data do not reflect the current or even recent dimensions of the lakes.

Bhutan inventory

The reader is led to believe that, for the compilation of the inventory, recent satellite images have supplemented topographic maps. The topographic maps, based on aerial photography from 1956–58, do not cover the whole region with glaciers, necessitating the use of more recent satellite data in some areas. It would have been of benefit to the user if a clear indication of the age of the source data for each region had been given. This has resulted in a temporal smearing, where the statistics of glacier areas, for example, are an amalgam of information from the 1950s to the late 1990s. This has rendered any comparison over time impossible. Brief examination of the entries for the comparatively well-studied lakes of the Lunana area shows that where map data are available they have been used in preference to satellite information. For example, Figure 8.5 shows the development of Raphstreng Tsho in 6 stages from 1956–58 to 1994. In the latter, the lake has an area of just over 1 km², but the inventory entry is only 0.15 km². Likewise, the development of Luggye Tsho, famous for having burst in 1994, is shown in 6 stages from 1956–58 to 1994 in Figure 8.7. The post-GLOF 1994 image has the lake as being over 2 km long, but in the inventory 2 lakes are identified as having an association with Luggye Glacier and these have lengths of only 260 m and 185 m. Thorthormi Glacier has a series of supra-glacial lakes, several of which are large enough to have been included in the inventory. These are rapidly developing into a lake the full width of the glacier, which lies at an elevation of over 65 m above Raphstreng Tsho and is separated by a narrow lateral moraine. Thorthormi Glacier and its glacial lakes had been identified previously (Richardson and Reynolds 2000) as being potentially the most dangerous glacial lake system in Bhutan. Indeed the situation is recognised by Mool et al as being potentially hazardous on page 74, yet these lakes have not been included in the list of potentially dangerous lakes in Chapter 11.

The books are well written and easy to follow. However, both inventories are extremely difficult to use as the glaciers and lakes are not referenced on any of the maps and no coordinate system is used. To identify individual glaciers, the user must find a map of the area (not easy for many parts of Nepal or Bhutan) and use the longitude and latitude to find the glacier: a time-consuming exercise. In the case of Bhutan, an earlier inventory of glaciers compiled by the Geological Survey of Bhutan (1999) is far easier to use than the one being reviewed and is in many cases more accurate as it is based upon SPOT imagery from 1989/90. Unfortunately it is incomplete, with glaciers in some sub-catchments being omitted.

In addition to difficulty in identifying glaciers from the inventory, comparisons with existing inventories (and our own) were problematical, as Mool et al use a different glacier identification system and do not treat coalescing non-contributing glaciers as separate bodies as recommended by the WGI guidelines.

The Geographical Information System (GIS) on the CDs is not a GIS but a series of digital maps. Again misleading, page 2 shows a collection of GIS layers, including a DEM, geology, soils, hydrology, etc, but the “GIS” provided does not even have a layer for rivers. Furthermore, there is no linkage between the maps on the CD and the inventory database, making it impossible to relate the database to the maps. Ideally, each glacier on the GIS map should offer a direct link to the entry in the underlying database and vice versa.

The chapters in each volume describing the criteria used to determine whether or not a given glacial lake is potentially dangerous reveal a lack of understanding of the glaciological and geological processes involved in the formation of the various glacial hazards. For example, in Nepal, Dig Tsho and Tam Pokhari (Sabai Tsho) are named as potentially dangerous, but both have full-depth breaches in their moraines and much reduced volumes so that neither lake is likely to pose any hazard at all.

In Chapter 12, the authors describe a number of remediation methods. However, having mentioned the case of the successful interim remediation of Tsho Rolpa (Rana et al 2000) in the volume for Nepal, they make no mention of the successful use of siphons at this lake when describing general methods available for remediation in the Bhutan volume. The limitations of Chapter 12 in each volume perhaps reflect lack of experience of the authors in matters relating to glacial hazard assessment and physical remediation. There is published literature available on this subject of direct relevance to the Himalayan situation but this has not been addressed.

Basing the inventories on data from the 1950s with only limited use of remote sensing images from more recent years has resulted in a very distorted impression of the number of glacial lakes and their state. Many glacial lakes have been missed, and perhaps as importantly, glaciers most likely to form significant glacial lakes have not been identified although criteria for doing so have been published (eg Reynolds 2000), based on analysis of glacial lakes in Bhutan. It is not surprising, therefore, that significant glaciers thought to be on the threshold of forming glacial lakes, such as Ngozumpa Glacier in Nepal (Benn et al 2001), and Thorthormi Glacier in Bhutan, have not been identified as being liable to form potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the future. This has huge implications for the potential management of the problem, as prompt remediation is less expensive and more technically achievable compared with waiting until a large lake forms—such as Tsho Rolpa in Nepal.

The use of approximately 50-year-old data to compile the inventories, coupled with variable usage of more recent air photography and satellite data, means that the results cannot and should not be used in relation to climate change studies or hydrological assessments for hydropower. The inventories do not represent the current situation as to the number and extent of glaciers nor of glacial lakes. The lists of potentially dangerous lakes are misleading and in several cases wrong.

However, the compilation of the inventories is no mean achievement and provides an important first step. The publication of the books and accompanying CDs has served an extremely useful function in highlighting the issues associated with glaciers and glacial lakes in Nepal and Bhutan, although their scientific value is limited. We have been informed that the principal author intends to update the inventories in the light of recent information and we welcome this news.

John M. Reynolds and Peter J. Taylor

Reynolds Geo-Sciences Ltd, 2 Long Barn, Pistyll Farm, Nercwys, Mold, Flintshire, CH7 4EW, UK. john.reynolds@geologyuk.com

Lines in the Water: Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca

By Ben Orlove. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002. xxvii + 287 pp. US$19.95. ISBN 0-520-22959-2.

Lake Titicaca is at the center of a classic mountain habitat: close to the upper limit of agriculture, yet the seat of ancient civilizations and contemporary cities; impoverished yet on the tourist trail and the scene of a long series of scholarly projects.

The book under review is a relaxed, chatty, loving reminiscence of years of field work in the region, full of specific details, which accurately evokes the challenges and rewards of participant observation. Orlove has repeatedly visited the region since 1972, and has taken full advantage of his repeat visits to deepen and broaden his insights. The focus of his research has been on the lakeside villages and those who have exploited the rich fisheries and reed beds of this gigantic lake.

Orlove begins the book with a look at the place of lakes in literature. In most novels, lakes are scenes of vacation and danger, while Titicaca is “a place of sustenance and memory.” Works by Thoreau and Garrison Keillor, and the Gospels, do express the sense of a lake as a “presence.” Orlove suggests that relationship to landscape is one of the realms (along with sex and illness) in which the affinity of different people is strongest, and provides the basis for mutual understanding.

The remaining chapters are organized under the simple themes of “not forgetting,” “mountains,” “names,” “work,” “fish,” “reeds,” and “paths.” In the first of these chapters, Orlove's analysis of song lyrics and interviews suggests that memories of the lake and local relationships are strong, and are reinforced by a condemnation of forgetfulness. Through memories and commitment, the peoples of the lake have struggled to maintain local ties while adapting to the changes of recent decades.

After describing a mountain climb that serves as the occasion for discussing the geography of the region, Orlove discusses the pitfalls of terminology. There is no Quechua term for “fisherman,” for example. Orlove opts to use the place-based term “villager” instead of terms referring to class or ethnicity, following the example of the villagers' own usage. He then discusses at length the difficulties of determining the labor efficiency of fishing. A detailed survey suggested that fishing was a more labor-efficient way of earning income than other options available to villagers; the continued sustainability of the fishing economy has thus been dependent on the ability of villagers to establish territorial use rights in fishing and turn an open resource into regulated common property. Orlove finishes his discussion with the provocative hypothesis that villagers are not just concerned with efficiency but also feel a need to make all available time and space productive.

A long and detailed chapter on fishing documents the relative sustainability of this livelihood over time; despite the abortive introduction of canneries, and the introduction of new varieties of fish, only one fish species has gone extinct and villagers remain in control. The reed beds of the lake have also been relatively stable over time and managed by village institutions. Waterfowl are abundant and there are no endangered species. Orlove discusses the experience of the Titicaca National Reserve set up in 1978 to “protect” the reed beds and local fauna. Since 1986, this has been merely a paper park, thanks to successful local resistance and the lack of sustained national enforcement. His sympathies clearly lie with the locals.

The final chapter discusses a perspective on conquest as being an ongoing process or path, rather than a completed project, in view of the continued ability of indigenous peoples to resist and retake control of resources. Indeed he suggests that the Americas are experiencing a “third conquest” after the first conquest of the sixteenth century and the “second conquest” of the nineteenth century (Topik and Wells 1998). Around Titicaca, the third conquest may involve petroleum exploration, and efforts to divert water to coastal mining districts.

Although villagers have worked to improve roads and bring schools to their region, Orlove argues that they lack an overarching indigenous concept of development. Instead, they view change in a more nonlinear way. The paths they follow are not metaphorical paths of conquest or development, but real paths of opportunity and threat, including the threat of departure and forgetting. The book rises to eloquence in its final two pages, with an evocation of the contemporary presence of villagers around the world.

The book is illustrated with simple maps and black-and-white photographs. The maps communicate effectively, but not all the photographs have reproduced well (at least in my copy of the book). The shape, size, typeface, and binding are pleasing, and the editing is impeccable. The entire project communicates the highest standards of contemporary humanistic scholarship.

The book is richly informative as a critical discussion of methodology, conveying the excitement and creativity needed in seeking out, creating, and analyzing novel data sources such as surveys, diaries, and interviews. It is an excellent choice to put in the hands of graduate students, especially those tempted by over-theorization. Orlove's humanism, and reverence for the real and contextual, allows his Andean informants and case examples to speak. At the same time, his methods involve real rigor; no point is grounded in a small database, and no conventional wisdom (from whatever academic source) is left unchallenged.

Although Orlove was a pioneer of post-ecosystemicist approaches in cultural ecology, including adaptive approaches, overt theorizing is absent from the text. The theory is there, but is implicit rather than explicit. The scholarly apparatus and references are discreetly ensconced in 35 pages of fascinating notes. Another resource: Orlove publishes the addresses of websites containing lots of raw data used in his research.

Orlove has crafted a masterpiece that transcends labels. Those of us interested in labels will place it among the classics of Andean studies, mountain studies, and cultural and political ecology of the last three decades. Others will simply look at it as a model of how to be a scholarly pilgrim in a distant place, connect, and keep faith.

Gregory Knapp

Department of Geography, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1098, USA. gwk@mail.utexas.edu

Doi Moi in the Mountains: Land Use Changes and Farmers' Livelihood Strategies in Bac Kan Province, Viet Nam

Edited by Jean-Christophe Castella and Dang Dinh Quang. Hanoi, Vietnam: The Agricultural Publishing Press, 2002. viii + 283 pp. Highly developed countries: US$42; less developed countries: US$14. Postage and handling: US$12. Available from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines; Fax: (+63-2) 845-0606; irri@cgiar.org

This collection of articles, also available in Vietnamese, presents the results of extensive field studies of farming communities in the province of Bac Kan, in the northern mountains of Vietnam. Bac Kan, mostly inhabited by ethnic minorities, is one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam. The focus is on changes since Doi Moi, the Vietnamese Communist Party's term for reform and renovation in the economy. Doi Moi literally means “change and newness”; the term was coined in 1986 for a transition from the centrally-planned Stalinist command economy to a “market economy with socialist direction,” often referred to as market socialism. The studies were conducted by the SAM (Mountain Agrarian Systems) program, a partnership of the Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute, the International Rice Research Institute, and the French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. The researchers employed a wide variety of methods, including analysis of air photographs, participatory observations, household surveys and in-depth interviews with key informants. They selected a number of villages to represent the region's diversity in ethnic backgrounds, resource endowment and socioeconomic conditions.

The 10 articles are presented in 2 parts: monographic studies and thematic studies. The monographic studies cover 5 different districts of Bac Kan Province. They analyze agrarian change at village level as the result of historical factors and internal household characteristics. The central hypothesis is that household differentiation is the product of 2 main factors: 1) labor force availability within households, and 2) access to land, especially paddyland. The thematic studies provide an analysis of change at the regional scale. They provide an explanation of the complex relationships regarding the behavior of individual farmers, the institutional framework regulating access to resources, and the natural and socioeconomic environment that characterizes the period of transition ushered in by Doi Moi in Vietnam.

In Part I, Chapter 1 describes land use changes in Xuat Hoa Commune since Doi Moi. Pro-market reforms have led to the replacement of shifting agriculture by intensive farming, including paddy fields and orchards. This has raised incomes and helped preserve wooded areas. At the same time, however, household differentiation has increased substantially. The poorest families have been unable to participate in the reformed economy. Chapter 2 investigates the transformation of farming systems by two ethnic groups in Ngoc Phai Commune. The Tay are sedentary paddy-rice farmers; the Dao are nomadic swidden agriculturists. Commercial agriculture has led to a convergence of farming systems in these two groups. The Tay and Dao who have access to lowland fields have become paddy-rice farmers. On the other hand, destitute members of both ethnic groups practice swidden farming. Ethnicity has become less important than socioeconomic status in determining livelihood practices. Chapter 3 analyzes the impact of Doi Moi on agricultural diversification in a commune of Choi Moi District. The study emphasizes the strong reactivity of farmers to policy and institutional changes. Forest allocation to households has led to considerable diversification of farming, including fish raising, pig rearing, and fruit- and timber-tree production. For most farmers, profitability depends on access to market information. Chapter 4 investigates the role of the state in agrarian dynamics in Duc Van Commune. This study confirms the importance of government intervention in rural development. Agricultural support services, especially market research and agricultural extension, are keys to rural development. Chapter 5 studies the impact of accessibility on farmer's livelihood options in Ba Be District. For market reforms to succeed in boosting agricultural incomes, it is necessary for governments to invest in roads and communication networks. A strong focus on rural development policies is needed to prevent large-scale rural-to-urban migration.

In Part II, Chapter 6 combines broad-range statistical analysis with localized monographic studies to identify the main components of land use change under pro-market reforms in Bac Kan Province. It shows that land use is mostly shaped by interactions among the natural resource endowment and local rules for natural resource management. It emphasizes the growing contribution of internal village factors (population pressure, production strategies, resource management institutions) to land use dynamics. Chapter 7 shows that paddy-rice farming remains the top economic activity in the province. While market reforms have led to the diversification of the rural economy, farmers reinvest most of the profits from cash crops and non-farm activities into paddy-rice farming. This is accompanied by 2 main trends: the decline of upland rice and swidden agriculture, and the sedentarization of farmers. Chapter 8 focuses on the impact of forest allocation policy on shifting cultivators. The main result is that forest allocation has put an end to shifting cultivation and forced people to experiment with new farming methods, including silviculture, aquaculture and animal husbandry. This has ushered in an era of uncertainty. As the land base per capita continues to decrease, some households have migrated to New Economic Zones in the south of Vietnam. Chapter 9 investigates the challenges associated with raising livestock and growing crops on a scarce land base. Animal husbandry is an important component of farming systems in these uplands. However, the paucity of agricultural land makes it imperative for farmers to phase out free-grazing and to integrate feed crops in their production systems. Chapter 10 examines the tensions generated by biodiversity conservation policies in upland farming communities. Policies to protect biodiversity in Ba Be National Park have largely failed as poor farmers continue to expand their farming activities into forests. The lesson is that biodiversity protection cannot be dissociated from rural development. And to succeed, local people must be included in the planning process.

Overall, this book contains a useful collection of studies on upland development in Vietnam. Together, they provide considerable insights into the many challenges faced by rural communities in a region that is undergoing a profound transformation under market forces. The research methodologies adopted in individual studies are diverse and convincing. They provide a powerful framework for theoretical generalization to a broad regional scale in Vietnam. This research shows that farmers have the capacity to innovate and implement farming methods that are ecologically and economically sustainable. The key to success in improving livelihoods may be the local institutional framework. The fate of entire farming communities is linked to the local interpretation of land laws and forest allocation policies. Successful farming and forestry programs depend on the capacity of the policy framework to represent local views. The call is for a “bottom-up,” community-oriented process in rural development and a participatory approach in research.

Bernard Henin

Department of Geography, University of Victoria, PO BOX 3050 STN CSC, Victoria, B.C., V8W 3P5, Canada. bhenin@uvic.ca

Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests

Edited by Peter Friederici. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2003. xvii + 561 pp. US$30. ISBN 1-55963-653-X.

Human disruption of natural processes often has quite profound effects on ecosystem viability. A well-known example is from ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and closely related forests in western North America. Prior to European-American settlement in the latter half of the 19^th century, recurrent, often quite frequent, low-intensity surface fires killed a majority of regeneration and promoted typically open, low-density, uneven-aged forests. Land use that accompanied settlement—especially intensive livestock grazing that reduced grass and herbaceous fuels and, later in the 20th century, active fire suppression—resulted in cessation of surface fires from almost all ponderosa pine forests. Fire suppression is the great paradox of land management during the 20th century. Loss of low-severity surface fires resulted in drastically altered forest structures and fuel conditions that have led to more intense, catastrophic burns when fires eventually—and inevitably—occur. Widespread and often wasteful logging also took its toll by reducing historical size and age classes across much of the range of ponderosa pine. And, perhaps less visible but certainly no less critical to ecosystem function, the loss of fire as a “keystone” ecosystem process has had cascading effects on interrelated ecosystem components. Reduced nutrient cycling, lessened stream flows, and loss of species diversity are a few of the impacts resulting from fire exclusion and forest closure over the past century.

Widespread recognition of these changes has led to a quite remarkable consensus among ecologists, foresters, land managers, and all others interested in ponderosa pine forests about the need for a return to more sustainable conditions. This consensus finds its strongest voice yet in Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests, skillfully edited by Peter Friederici and published in association with the Society for Ecological Restoration International and the Ecological Restoration Institute (ERI) of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. This compilation is the definitive statement on the context, science, politics, esthetics, economics, consequences, and implementation of ecological restoration in ponderosa pine forests in the southwestern USA. The volume includes over 20 papers from over 40 contributors, all of whom are among the premier researchers and practitioners in the region.

The volume is divided into 4 main sections, each of which opens with a case study designed to set the stage for further discussion in accompanying chapters. The first set of papers summarizes the historical, social, and philosophical background for why restoration is needed and how it is being and can be implemented. Friederici opens with a review of the “Flagstaff Model,” which is based on years of observational and experimental research mainly in northern Arizona. Much of the book is based on restoration done in the Flagstaff area and this opening paper adequately sets the stage for the rest of the volume. Wally Covington—the founder and current director of the ERI, and one of the earliest and still strongest advocates for landscape-scale restoration efforts—provides an excellent summary of current evolutionary and historical understanding of ponderosa pine ecosystems and community/disturbance interactions. Max Oelschlaeger's essay bringing “sweet reason” to bear on the contextual and ecological bases for restoration is also a must-read.

The second section outlines ongoing restoration and specific consequences for soils, hydrology, fauna, and fire behavior. Restoration usually involves some combination of silvicultural treatments to reduce current tree density and restore historical variety in tree size and age classes, followed by reintroduction of surface fires. While a principal objective in natural areas is to restore natural forest structure and to reintroduce fire as an ecosystem process, in many areas restoration has the more prosaic goal of mitigating fire hazard by reducing fuel loads and removing “ladder” fuels created by over a century of fire exclusion. The first paper in this section is a concise summary by Bill Romme and coauthors of the Pines Project in southwestern Colorado, where objectives are both fuel reduction and restoring ecological integrity. Since most of the book focuses on work in northern Arizona, this paper is a good contrast from another region of the Southwest.

The third section includes several papers that discuss what is known about specific effects of restoration on forest composition and biodiversity. Chapters on over-story and understory vegetation, invasive plants, vertebrates, arthropods, and threatened, endangered, and sensitive species provide comprehensive reviews of the state-of-knowledge in each of these subjects. The volume also contains several appendices listing threatened, endangered, and sensitive species that may be affected by restoration in ponderosa pine forests.

I found the last section perhaps the most interesting, with 6 papers on practical concerns that must be addressed when planning or implementing restoration projects. Ann Moote opens with a review of several community-based restoration efforts, which should prove useful to anyone with a specific project in mind but needing some basics on where to start. Other practical details discussed in following papers include smoke management and the protection of cultural resources; the book closes with 2 insightful papers, the first by Pete Fulé and the second by Carol Murray and David Marmorek, on the absolute need for monitoring to make sure that goals are being met and that unexpected results are taken into account in adaptive management frameworks. These last 2 chapters in particular should be considered as must-reads for anyone involved in ecological restoration, not only of ponderosa pine forests but of any ecosystem.

Peter Friederici has quite successfully compiled a well-written synthesis on restoration of Southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems. I could find little fault with any chapter: each stands alone but complements the rest quite well. This book will be of strong interest to 2 groups of people: first, those who care about the future of ponderosa pine forests in the Southwest (and, in fact, anywhere in the West; much is applicable to all ponderosa pine forests); and second, anyone involved in ecological restoration in any ecosystem. Although the emphasis is on Southwestern ponderosa pine, much of the book will be of practical interest any place where human disruption of natural processes is of concern and ecological restoration is contemplated or in progress.

Peter M. Brown

Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. pmb@rmtrr.org

Methodological Issues in Mountain Research: A Socio-ecological Systems Approach

Edited by P.S. Ramakrishnan, K.G. Saxena, Suprava Patnaik, and Surendra Singh. New Delhi, India: Oxford & IBH Publishing, 2003. xiii + 283 pp. US$47.00 including airmail postage. ISBN 81-204-1603-1.

This book is a brave attempt to tackle a fundamental topic in mountain research. It is based upon presentations at a workshop in Shillong, India, sponsored by UNESCO, the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which addressed capacity building for young scientists in the region. The book reflects more than 30 years of collaborative work in northeast India and, more recently, in the Himalayan region in general. A series of individual contributions examine both the conceptual and practical issues associated with linking the biophysical dimensions of ecology with the human dimensions of development, seen as a “critical requirement in many areas of mountain research” (page v).

The overall direction of the book is established by Ramakrishnan in Chapter 2. He focuses on “an integrative approach” which uses a somewhat unreconstructed view of ecological dynamics to explore natural resource processes and energy flow through agricultural systems. He characterizes the societies and landscapes of mountain areas in terms of their use of traditional ecological knowledge (ethnobiology), and analyzes the processes through which these societies have incorporated new crops, technologies and the wider impact of globalization. The chapter puts particular stress on an examination of these processes at different scales—species, functional group, ecosystem, and landscape—which reflect both increasing complication and spatial extent. Moreover, many communities originally managed natural resources within traditional cultural frameworks. For example, the notion of “Sacred Groves”—an important concept in many mountain regions—provides (or at least did at one time) a strong institutional framework for maintaining biodiversity. He concludes that the techniques of Adaptive Sociological System Management suggest the most useful way forward for thinking about mountain environments and societies.

A further extensive contribution by Ramakrishnan explores in detail research on shifting agriculture (jhum) in northeast India. This chapter is almost completely dominated by ecological issues that provide the basis for an analysis of cropping and fallow management. This analysis is constructed using the concept of food energy equivalents, and results in an interesting model of energy flow through the system. The chapter quickly concludes with policy implications based almost entirely on these findings from ecological analysis. At no point is there any attempt to translate the energy measures into economically useful indicators of value in policy analysis.

A number of other chapters seem designed solely to explore certain aspects of the natural environment. Swift et al concentrate on discussing biodiversity as a key factor in soil fertility, but do not show how to compare the social and economic benefits of high diversity with those of a more limited ecology but perhaps greater economic productivity. Likewise, Froehlich et al and Sharma et al, whilst highlighting quite clearly the issues and processes associated with hydrology and watershed management, at no point provide a linkage with institutional or other socioeconomic dimensions that are of considerable significance for mountain communities. It is noticeable that none of these chapters really discuss poverty or livelihoods, surely critical elements in the study areas!

As a contrast, Sengupta places the core of analysis firmly within ecological economics. He emphasizes that all communities, including those in mountain areas, are faced with a series of choices, of which perhaps the most important is that of land use practices. It is through the focus on land use that his contribution effectively tries to link the social with the ecological, using a simple categorization of land use types. He advocates the use of environmental accounting procedures that allow a linear programming model of maximum net value to provide a “rational choice” between alternative land uses. His methodology places the need for environmental valuation at the center of research, but fails to discuss the difficulties and drawbacks of such work especially in mountain regions and where non-market conditions often prevail.

A rapprochement between these two somewhat contrasting approaches is provided by Maikhuri et al and Patnaik et al. In a discussion of “integrated natural resource management,” Maikhuri et al focus on a parallelism between ecological and social concepts drawing upon the work of Price and Thompson (1997). This emphasizes the individual and social choices facing communities in the way natural resources are valued. In turn, the authors suggest ways in which, through linking biomass development and land rehabilitation to their economic costs, more systematic socioeconomic evaluation can be developed. From the perspective of the development of non-timber forest products, Patnaik et al provide a general account of the role of conservation policies and emphasize the significance of institutional arrangements—which no other chapter really highlights.

Perhaps the most interesting contributions are those of Lele and Miri. Lele proceeds from a general discussion on sustainable development to examining the role of “disciplines” in socially relevant research. In particular, he explores the issues of performing value-sensitive rather than value-neutral research, the latter being the traditional hallmark of much physical and biological research. He notes the recognition of the problem expressed by C.P. Snow as the “big divide,” and goes on to argue that real interdisciplinary work will need wholesale changes in the educational and policy making structures of countries. In this sense, rather like in Patnaik et al, it is the institutional framework that is the barrier to effective research. It is a pity that the only contribution of a philosopher, Miri, is so short. His brief account provides some background to the dilemmas faced by Lele, in particular the dualities around which much of western thinking has been based. There is a whole field here to explore, as many eastern philosophies embrace a more holistic framework, but these in turn are not well linked to current “conventional wisdom” on scientific, especially physical science or biological, research. In social sciences, however, the last few decades have seen a plethora of alternative people-centered models take center stage in some accounts which provide a much better framework for the issues discussed in the book.

The original purpose of these contributions was to provide guidelines to new workers in the arena of mountain research. Although it contains some interesting information and ideas, the book suffers from a deficient conceptual framework. The resultant disparate range of approaches does not move us any further forward in this difficult problem. It also fails to assess the considerable literature that now exists on interdisciplinary research and the problems of valuation which are inherent when trying to link biophysical and social research. The “game” is somewhat revealed when the lead editor, when discussing interdisciplinary teams, effectively concludes that they will work if an ecologist is in charge! On the evidence presented in this book such an approach would produce interesting scientific results but be inadequate for clear decision-making.

Don Funnell

Centre for Culture, Development and Environment, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9SJ, UK. D.C.Funnell@sussex.ac.uk