Research conducted in Himachal’s tribal Kinnaur district challenges conventional narratives; advocates indigenous knowledge
The Pin Valley in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Photo: iStock_ The Himalayas are not ‘fragile’ and disasters such as those in Kedarnath, Rishiganga, Joshimath and South Lhonak Lake are not ‘natural’. They must not just be ‘managed’, a new study conducted by Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective has suggested.
The report, titled Disaster-making in the Himalaya, called for a holistic inter-disciplinary rethinking towards systemic change as far as such disasters are concerned, with local communities at the centre.
Researchers from Himdhara interviewed and held dialogues in 22 villages spread over three sub-climate zones within Kinnaur, a Schedule V area and predominantly tribal district that borders Tibet.
Kinnaur is a multi-hazard zone where over 1,500 landslide-prone sites have been identified by the government. The basin of the Sutlej river (of which Kinnaur is a part) has experienced a 97 per cent surge in glacial lakes due to warming.
“Climatic shifts marked by reduced snowfall and increased rainfall, along with land use changes, lead to frequent disasters like landslides and floods in Kinnaur. Mega hydropower projects, backed by global institutions and local interests, impose unequal risks, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities,” said Jiya Lal Negi, from the Himlok Jagrati Manch, Kinnaur.
The Moorang and Pooh regions of the district exhibit heightened susceptibility to erosion and landslides. While the Nichar region constitutes only 14 per cent of the total landslide-prone area of the district, this is where the impact of sudden rainfall, leading to flash floods triggering landslides and subsidence as cascading and creeping disasters is ubiquitous, especially around hydropower project sites.
The hazards being faced by Kinnaur are impacting its economy. Close to 26,257 hectares of horticultural area was affected by disasters in Kinnaur between 2007 and 2015, according to another analysis.
The largest losses were incurred in the 2013 floods. That same year, more than 12,000 livestock died and over 63,000 trees were uprooted.
The study noted that most disasters occurring in Kinnaur did not happen overnight and were certainly not ‘natural’ in that sense. Rather, they developed slowly and incrementally over a longer period of time.
“Post-independence State welfare policies and development in Kinnaur initiated with motorable roads along with events like the 1962 trade halt, Schedule V area declaration, land reforms, and horticulture promotion opened up new opportunities but also triggered significant socio-economic and cultural shifts,” said Prakash Bhandari from Himdhara.
“The 1990s witnessed a complete shift to cash-based horticulture and commercial cultivation and rapid land use changes driven by 30 small and large hydropower projects with an installed capacity of 4000 megawatt, that have come up here. Ninety per cent of all the forest diversion in Kinnaur forest division, has been for hydropower projects and transmission lines have officially devoured more than 11,500 trees,” he added.
The report underscored the importance of considering historical factors like colonialism, neo-liberal extractive development in contributing to disasters and climate risks in Himalayan regions.
It emphasised the intrinsic links between landscapes, societies, economies and politics, highlighting their role in building resilience or driving vulnerability in a diverse ecosystem.
“(During our research) we understood the criticality of localised place-based insights and invaluable indigenous perspectives based on historical lived experiences in a landscape prone to landslides, something that is given no importance in disaster and climate policies,” said Himshi Singh from the research team.
“In the past there had been a strong local consciousness of mountain hazards (like landslides and floods), evident in oral narratives, language, cultural and societal practices and occupational diversity. Mobility, ownership of resources and collective action contributed significantly to govern life and livelihood and thus local resilience and adaptability,” said Manshi Asher.
Roshan Lal Negi, a linguist, emphasised the presence of local geographical knowledge and wisdom in indigenous language songs and names of villages.
Over the past few decades, a rapid breakdown, combined with state and market dependence, has led to loss of traditional knowledge and heightened the sense of risk. The palpable uncertainty is also compounded by the climate crisis, the study found.
The study suggested various measures for disaster preparedness in Kinnaur as well as the Himalayas, guided by the dictum: ‘decentralise; democratise and decolonise knowledge and resources’.
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