The paper seeks to highlight the major environmental and developmental issues in the Darjeeling Himalayan region. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive regional strategy for sustainable regional development, capable of addressing social, economic, political, demographic and environmental issues in this fragile, strategic region. The paper provides a detailed account of the socio-economic background of the region and identifies critical factors to be considered for planning.

The paper makes an attempt to draw out the implications of various propositions in relation to development planning for mountain areas, particularly in the context of the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region. It attempts to help develop fundamental components of a training programme and a programme for studies and research on integrated development planning in mountain areas.

It is often argued that a high degree of concentration of land in a few hands tends to marginalize the interests of a large section of the farmers. Hence, better distribution of land is essential for increasing agricultural productivity and improving the overall sector. This paper analyzes the pattern of land concentration in the 75 districts of Nepal and the factors associated with the variation in land concentration. It also analyzes the relationship between land concentration and agricultural production and draws policy implications from the findings.

The research paper seeks to outline a concrete timber rights management framework in the backdrop of the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh in the western Himalayas. The paper uses political ecology to combine ecological concerns with the study of the political economy. It recommends holistic management, inter-sectoral co-operation and a forest policy based on very localized facts but with broad perspective for sustainable forest management.

This report focuses on the key objectives of chapter 13 of Agenda 21, including those considered to be the most relevant in the post-UNCED context and have already been identified as "priority concerns". The document charts the progress made in improving the efforts to protect fragile mountain ecosystems and promote sustainable mountain development, highlights the promising changes and identifies the areas of concern.