Nanda Devi Campaign Booklet

The Nanda Devi Campaign

For Cultural Survival &Sustainable Livelihoodsin the High Himalayas

Information Booklet

— nandadevi.org —


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Nanda Devi CampaignInformation Booklet

First Publication: September 2004Prepared by: Rajiv Rawat

With special thanks to:Sunil Kainthola, Biju Negi, Raju Gusain,Dhan Singh Rana & the People of the Niti Valley

Address all correspondence to:

Alliance for Development682 Indira Nagar, P. O. New ForestDehra Dun, Uttaranchal 248006 INDIA

Copyright © 2004 Nanda Devi CampaignCommunity Rights Reserved.


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Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Contours of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve 5

The People of Nanda Devi 7

The History of the Nanda Devi Struggle 9

The Closing of the Frontier, 1962 9

Saving the Forests, 1974 9

Era of Mountaineering, 1974-1982 10

Closure of Nanda Devi, 1982 11

People vs. Park Conflict, 1982-1998 11

Jhapto-Cheeno Movement, 1998 12

Statehood & the IMF Affair: Crisis and Opportunity, 2001 12

Solidarity at Home and Abroad, 2001 13

The Nanda Devi Declaration, 2001 14

The Situation Today 14

Appendix I – Nanda Devi Timeline 16

Appendix II – The Nanda Devi Declaration 18

Appendix III – News Articles 20

Appendix IV – How to Reach Nanda Devi 31


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Introduction

s an UN World Heritage Site, the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve issignificant in many ways. The sacred mountain at the core of the park isthe highest in the Central Himalayas at 25,645 ft and is protected by aspectacular ring of more than a dozen peaks over 21,000 ft. As a

biodiversity hotspot, its incredible scenic beauty has inspired mountaineers andexplorers for nearly a century, while Nanda Devi as the “bliss-giving goddess” toHindus and Buddhists alike, has drawn pilgrims since time immemorial.

In 1982, prompted by growing ecological pressures, conservation authoritiesclosed Nanda Devi’s gates by declaring the whole region a national park. Thelocal people, an Indo-Tibetan ethnic group referred to as the Bhotiya, lost theirprime alpine pastures, source of medicinal herbs, and the tourist trade in one fellswoop. Without adequate understanding of local land use and culture, theconservation authorities of the day failed to recognize that the Bhotiya had beenan inseparable part of the landscape for at least a thousand years, and ratherthan recognizing them as Nanda Devi’s guardians, instituted a draconian ban onaccess to the park’s core zone. More than simply an economic catastrophe, thefoundations of their culture were threatened by these restrictions. Ironically, itwas the very same communities that gave birth to the renowned Chipkomovement, when women of Reni village saved their forests in the muchcelebrated direct action that spread across the Indian Himalayas and inspiredenvironmental movements throughout the world.

Recent moves by the newly created state government of Uttaranchal to open thepark to limited ecotourism has prompted the Bhotiya to initiate a campaign tosafeguard their future. Their struggle has thus moved from protests over accessrights to evolving a sustainable, community-based tourism policy for Nanda Devi,one that takes into account the rights of local people and is free of humanexploitation. In doing so, they aim to rectify a historic injustice whilereestablishing the traditional affinity the people have always held for their land.

As such, this booklet has been prepared to acquaint you with the Bhotiya peopleof the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve and their epic struggle for cultural andecological survival in the lap of the High Himalayas. It will review the land,people, and history of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve from a localperspective as well as share details on some of the most recent activities thathave taken place as part of the campaign.

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Contours of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve

he modern day Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, established as a nationalpark by the Indian government in 1982 and as a UN-registered WorldHeritage Site in 1992, encompasses an area of 2236.74 sq. km in theUttarakhand Himalayas near India’s border with China (Tibet). Bounded by

tributaries of the Alaknanda river in the west (Dhauli Ganga), north (GirthiGanga), and east (Gori Ganga), the area is also a vast glacial basin. Glaciers inthe north, south, and east in turn feed another tributary, the Rishi Ganga, whichruns through the centre of the reserve on its way westward to the Dhauli. Assuch, altitudes range from 1,900m at the deepest point of the spectacular, butforbidding gorge carved out by the Rishi, to 7,817m at the summit of Nanda Devi,the focal point of the reserve and India’s second highest peak. Enigmatically,Nanda Devi stands guarded by some of the highest mountains in the IndianHimalayas, 12 of which exceed 6,400m (21,000ft) in height, further elevating itssacred status as the daughter of the Himalayas in local myth and folklore.

The core zone, constituting slightly over 620 sq. km of the Rishi valley, ispractically inaccessible to non-mountaineers and non-locals. Resting almostentirely above 3,500m, the core has long been regarded as an inner sanctuary inthe spiritual sense, extending to the upper reaches of the Rishi valley and thefoot of Nanda Devi. Although snowbound for half the year, its uniquely moistmicroclimate has presented a veritable oasis for Himalayan flora and fauna. Thehigh altitude alpine meadows and thick pine and deodar (Himalayan cedar)forests characteristic of inner Himalayan valleys have also provided homes tonumerous species of large mammals (i.e., musk deer, snow leopards, Himalayantahrs, and black bears) and song birds (i.e., warblers, finches, and grosbeaks).Hundreds of species of trees, shrubs, and herbs also grow in the core zone,making the whole reserve a hotspot for biodiversity.

Along the Dhauli Ganga lies the famed Niti Valley that draws its name from thelast village before the Indo-Tibetan frontier. Besides Lata and Reni villages thatremain among the best known settlements in this region due to their involvementin the Chipko movement, other villages include Jamgavar, Juma, Garpag, Kaga,Peng, Phagti, Surai, Tolma, and Malari. However, these villages are furtherdivided into summer and winter encampments situated at different elevations tocope with the climatic conditions throughout the year.

During its heyday, Nanda Devi stood as the highest peak in the British Empireand drew the interest of mountaineers from the entire western world. As part oftheir search for trade routes to Tibet, the British began as early as 1830 toexplore the upper reaches of the High Himalayas. In 1934, Eric Shipton and H.W.Tilman with three Sherpa companions, Angtharkay, Pasang, and Kusang, finallysolved the riddle of the upper Rishi Ganga to reach the Nanda Devi basin.Shipton explained the experience of reaching such a wonderous new land:

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"Each step I experienced that subtle thrill which anyone ofimagination must feel when treading in hitherto unexploredcountry… My most blissful dream was to be in some suchvalley, free to wander where I liked, and discover for myselfsome hitherto unrevealed glory of Nature. Now the reality wasno less wonderful than that half-forgotten dream; and of howmany childish fancies can that be said, in this age ofdisillusionment?"

Shipton and Tilman's explorations set the stage for all subsequentmountaineering expeditions. Only two short years later, the summit was attainedfor the first time by Tilman and British geologist N.E. Odell from the South Ridge.

The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve


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The People of Nanda Devi

he buffer zone that immediately surrounds the core zone of the NDBR, ishome to at least 19 settlements. While five of the communities reside inpermanent year-round settlements, 14 have traditionally moved residencesin the summer and winter months with one even shifting location three

times a year. Lata and Reni situated near the West entrance of the reserve andthe confluence of the Rishi and Dhauli Ganga, are the most prominent villages inthe buffer zone. Other large settlements include Malari, Jelum, Jumma,Dronagiri, Gamshali, and Tolma. Furthest north along the Dhauli lies the villageof Niti at the Indo-Tibetan frontier, from which the entire valley has traditionallydrawn its name.

Ethnically, 17 of the communities are of Bhotiya extraction, an Indo-Tibetanpeople that have made their homes in the High Himalayas for centuries. Theword “Bhotiya” itself comes from “Bo” which is the native Tibetan word for Tibet.The Bhotiyas of Uttarakhand are further subdivided into three main categories:The Jadhs of Uttarkashi, the Marchas (mainly traders) and Tolchas (farmers) ofChamoli, and the Shaukas of Pithoragarh (near Dharchula). While, the Jadhs arefollowers of Buddhism and the Shaukas hold to their own Hindu-Buddhistsyncretic faith, the central Marcha/Tolcha group of the Niti Valley are Hindu,observing the caste system and sharing Rajput septs (family names) with theirGarhwali neighbours. In addition, the festivals of Basant Panchami, Baisakhi(Bikhoti), Nag Panchami (Fela Panchnag), Nanda Astami, Dussehra (DurgaAstami) are celebrated through the Niti Valley. Apart from these culturaldifferences, the three Bhotiya groups resemble one another in their distinctphysical appearance.

In the villages, homespun wool and woolen items have long been produced andknit by women to supplement family income. In addition, staple crops such aswheat, barley, millet, and local pulses and grains, and some cash crops such askidney beans and potatoes have been grown in the terraced hills overlooking themany river valleys. Unfortunately, due to the core zone’s closure, access to manymedicinal plants traditionally used by local healers has been reserved, with aconsequent loss of traditional indigenous knowledge.

Having long straddled the border between India, Nepal, and Tibet, the migratorylifestyles of Marchas in particular involved plying the trade routes through theHimalayas as well as the practice of transhumance. Transhumance describes theseasonal migration of shepherds with their herds from high altitude alpinepastures (locally known as bugyals) in summer to grazing lands in the Terai inwinter. As a livelihood strategy also followed by the Van Gujjars and tribal groupsin other parts of the Himalayas, this form of migratory pastoralism has deeplyimpacted the local culture of most communities in the Niti Valley. Furthermore,the cyclic movement of herds across the Himalayas prevented over-grazing, thussustaining the age-old tradition as part of a dynamic landscape.

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With the closure of Nanda Devi, in addition to increasing conflicts withestablished settlements to the south, the Bhotiya’s traditional transhumance hasbeen threatened with extinction. Flock sizes have dwindled while many herdershave left the business owing to increasing costs and difficulties. This social andeconomic catastrophe has contributed to a further loss of cultural heritagethrough the erosion of animal husbandry skills and intimate knowledge of theland.

Women spinning wool

Shepherd with his flocks


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History of the Nanda Devi Struggle

The Closing of the Frontier, 1962

lthough the Niti Valley was accustom to outside influences thataccompanied the trans-Himalayan migratory economy and mountaineeringexpeditions, major change came with the closing of the border after theIndia-China War of 1962. With the disruption and complete shutdown of

ancient trade routes, the economic condition of the Bhotiya communities beganto decline precipitously. Compounding the abrupt halt to cross-border traffic, theBhotiya lost their prime camping grounds in the Niti Valley and throughoutUttarakhand. Although an increase in road construction and military activity nearthe frontier did provide some avenues for paid work, the day labour afforded toyoung village men could not make up for the loss of such a significant part of thelocal livelihood base.

Saving the Forests, 1974

Moreover, pressures on forest lands by commercial contractors in the 60s andearly 70s had further eroded the precarious subsistence existence. With fodderand fuel for in short supply and destructive floods and soil erosion causing morelandslides, further commercial exploitation of local forests galvanized villagers tostage a series of historic protests that sparked the famous Chipko movement. InMarch 1974, women from Reni and other nearby villages led by the elderlyGaura Devi chased away axe men that had come to clear cut local forests. Newsof this successful stand spread to other communities throughout Uttarakhand,putting Chipko firmly on the map as one of the first modern day environmentally-inspired uprisings of the poor.

The Reni forest action has also been detailed by many scholars. Here is a shortaccount drawn from C. Küchli's The Forests of Hope - Stories of Regenerationand P. Routledge's Terrains of Resistance: Nonviolent Social Movements andContestation of Place in India:

“It was in 1974 that women began to play an active role in the Chipko Movement.In that year, at a site above the village of Reni overlooking the Alaknanda Rivernear the Tibetan border, the Forest Department granted a concession to fell2,500 trees. But on the day that a crew arrived to begin cutting trees, the mainChipko organizers found themselves busy in Gopeshwar with a visit from high-level forestry officials, while the men from Reni were occupied in the districtcapital of Chamoli, where it seemed that the army had finally got round to payingcompensation for land which it had held since the conflict with China.

Were the authorities trying to manipulate events? If so, they had failed to reckonwith the women of Reni. On their way to the approach road leading to the forest,the crew was seen by a small girl, who rushed to tell Gaura Devi, the head of the

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village Mahila Mangal Dal. Gaura Devi quickly mobilized 27 women and girls inthe village, and together they went to the forest and confronted the lumbermen.Standing in front of the trees that had been marked for felling, Gaura Deviaddressed the men: "Brothers! This forest is the source of our livelihood. If youdestroy it, the mountain will come tumbling down onto our village." She thenplaced herself in front of a gun brandished by one of the men. "This forestnurtures us like a mother; you will only be able to use your axes on it if you shootme first." Initially met with abuse and threats, the women refused to move out ofthe way of the lumbermen. Composed of mountain farmers from HimachalPradesh who understood only too well what Gaura Devi was talking about, thelumbermen quickly lost heart. After a three-day stand off, they finally withdrewwithout having accomplished their task.

The Reni action was important for the Chipko movement in two ways. First, itwas the first occasion where women participated in a major way and in theabsence of men and DGSM workers. As Gaura Devi recounted: "It was not aquestion of planned organization of the women for the movement, rather ithappened spontaneously. Our men were out of the village so we had to comeforward and protect the trees. We have no quarrel with anybody, but only wantedto make the people understand that our existence is tied with the forests".

Second, from this action, Chipko was to emerge as a peasant movement indefense of traditional forest rights, continuing a century-long tradition ofresistance to state encroachment.”

Era of Mountaineering, 1974-1982

While the Bhotiya villagers were challenging and adapting to these massivechanges in their socioeconomic condition, moves were afoot to open up theNanda Devi game sanctuary (i.e., the core zone of the NDBR) to expandedmountaineering and trekking. Established by the British in 1939 shortly after thefirst successful ascent of the Nanda Devi summit, the sanctuary continued toattract international expeditions. However, activity remained light and accessrarely granted due to Nanda Devi’s proximity to the sensitive border area andcold war intrigue that led to an ill-fated attempt in the 1960s to install a nuclear-powered listening device on the summit.

By 1974, the sanctuary had become a major tourist attraction, with Nanda Devi’spopularity among mountaineers second only to Everest. Nanda Devi’s West Facein particular gained a reputation as one of the most challenging climbs in theworld. For the local Bhotiya communities, this influx of tourists had a salutaryaffect on their shattered economy with many youth serving as porters and guidesand herds entering the inner sanctuary for the first time. Nanda Devi’s popularityand mystique increased in spite of a rash of fatalities suffered by expeditionsscaling its heights, including the tragic loss of legendary American mountaineerWillie Unsoeld’s 22-year-old daughter who bore the mountain’s hallowed name.

By 1977, severe ecological damage was already being noticed by scientists.Poachers made forays into the sanctuary and herbs were being extracted in adestructive and unsustainable manner. Dumped successively by mountaineering


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expeditions, rubbish was accumulating at alarming levels, while scientistsbecame increasingly concerned by the high level of traffic passing through newlyopened trekking routes. In 1982, the final year the sanctuary was open, anestimated 4,000 travelers and their porters were treading annually in Nanda Devi.

Closure of Nanda Devi, 1982

Towards the end of 1982, the sanctuary was converted into a national park,effectively putting an end to the tourist trade and any new mountaineeringexpeditions. Citing environmental concerns, the central government issued theblanket ban in order to save the national monument from further destruction andto allow time for the ecosystem to heal. However, the new statutes went evenfurther, restricting locals from grazing their herds, harvesting medicinal plants,and collecting fallen wood from the forest floor.

Needless to say, the closure of the sanctuary came as a crippling blow to theBhotiya villagers who had only begun orienting their livelihoods towards thetourist trade. In villages closest to the main gateway into the sanctuary, over 80%of families suffered severe economic hardship due to the ban on tourism.Populations in other Bhotiya settlements continued their gradual decline thatbegan in 1962 with the collapse of their traditional trading systems.

People vs. Park Conflict, 1982-1998

In 1988, the Nanda Devi national park was converted into a full-fledgedbiosphere reserve. The NDBR was to be one of 14 established throughout Indiato represent the country’s vast biological and geographic diversity. Originallyformalized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and CulturalOrganisation (UNESCO) in 1970, the biosphere reserve concept represented away to conserve areas of high ecological interest. Integral to reserves was theMan and Biosphere (MAB) programme that sought to harmonize thedevelopment aims of local communities with the protection of the reserve. TheIndian National MAB Committee was constituted in 1979 to carry this mandateforward, establishing the NDBR as their second official biosphere reserve.

The creation of the NDBR extended the boundaries of the park, retaining theoriginal sanctuary as its core zone and creating a new buffer zone that nowencompassed the village lands themselves. Although under MAB guidelines,buffer zones were supposed to remain open to subsistence use by residentcommunities, in practice, further restrictions on livestock grazing in certainadditional regions emerged to compound the loss of the core zone. Withdiminished pastures, overgrazing developed into a serious problem, leadingmany shepherds to reduce their flocks, and consequently wool production in thevillages. Likewise, the reduced availability of fuel, fodder, and other non-timberforest products rendered the traditional subsistence-based agriculture in an evenmore precarious state.


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Most upsetting was that the reserve was imposed unilaterally, without communityconsultation or any regard to the consequences for local livelihoods. Localparticipation in managing the reserve remained virtually non-existent, despitebeing common practice in similar protected areas around the world. Alternativeincome generation and development programmes were either too slow toaddress the crisis or were incompatible with the culture of the communities.Moreover, villagers took pride in their way of life, and wanted to maintain theirindependence as opposed to entering into a dependency relationship withgovernmental agencies. That poaching of large mammals continued unabated inboth the buffer and core zones, leaving many to question the viability of such arestrictive conservation regime when its primary function had been so effectivelyundermined. The government also resumed logging under state monopoly afterthe lull of the Chipko era, exerting further pressure on surrounding forests. Assuch, despite the best intentions of NDBR management, its top-down style offunctioning, belatedness in response, inappropriateness of proposed remedies,and the inability of authorities to enforce their own regulations, all combined toturn people decisively against the reserve.

Jhapto-Cheeno Movement, 1998

By 1998, after years of pleading and protesting their case, inhabitants of the NitiValley again prepared for direct action. Under the inspired leadership of the LataVillage Chief, Dhan Singh Rana, people from ten buffer zone villages entered thecore zone en masse, presenting a series of demands to the government forrestoration of their traditional rights and roles as guardians of the Nanda Devisanctuary. Compensation for their losses and a full accounting of funds spent ontheir behalf were also requested. Many of the same women who had earlierparticipated in the Chipko movement were again at the forefront of this newagitation, and although Gaura Devi had died a few years earlier, both herparental and adopted village of Lata and Reni were well represented. Thevillagers vowed to continue this Jhapto Cheeno (swoop and grab) movement andpresent their case in various platforms until the government recognized theirclaims.

Statehood & the IMF Affair: Crisis and Opportunity, 2001

The people of the Niti Valley looked forward to statehood for the UttarakhandHimalayas that was carved out of the Uttar Pradesh hills and given the name“Uttaranchal” in November 2000. As a struggle for cultural identity, appropriatedevelopment, and local control of resources, the separate state movement thathad raged throughout the 90s found echoes in the Nanda Devi situation. In fact,the first tourism minister of the small mountain state was a Bhotiya from theregion himself, and it seemed for a while that things were about to change for thebetter.

In May 2001, the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), under the auspices ofthe Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), gained the Uttaranchal state


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government’s permission to enter the core zone and determine the feasibility ofreopening the park to tourism. At first pleased by the stated intent of the IMF,Lata’s residents grew apprehensive. Fearful that the government would betraythem again and allow national and multinational level tour operators and travelagencies to monopolize tourism in Nanda Devi, the local communities launchedinto a flurry of activity aimed at safeguarding their rights.

Into their third year of the Jhapto Cheeno movement, village leaders felt that theIMF affair would prove pivotal in their own struggle to regain their commonproperty resources and prevent further erosion of their rights and livelihoods.With the government leaning seriously towards reopening the reserve butpossibly falling under the influence of large business interests, the movementsought to deploy the network of social activists and environmental justiceorganizations it had built up in the preceding years to push their own agenda forestablishing community-based ecotourism.

Solidarity at Home and Abroad, 2001

Fortunately, the Bhotiya communities received critical assistance from outsidegroups, both in Uttarakhand and abroad. Jaanadhar, a forest rights organizationworking throughout Uttarakhand, assisted in launching the Vanaadhikar (“ourforests”) initiative to unite similar communities affected by protected areas anddraconian forest policies. As early as January 2001, the group held consultationswith the well known Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) that hadbeen working on the similar case of Van Gujjars in Rajaji National Park. Othercommunities facing displacement from large-scale development projects such asthe many dams planned throughout Uttarakhand were also seen as natural allies.

Recognizing the power of such coalition building, Jaanadhar helped convene theAlliance for Development, a coalition of grassroots organisations that aimed tointroduce a strong pro-people and pro-environment voice to the developmentdebates taking place in the new Uttaranchal state. The Alliance felt that makingthese links was crucial to proposing culturally appropriate and ecologically soundalternatives to prevailing development practices. Moreover, the wedge drivenbetween people and their local environment in such places as Nanda Devi wasseen as both a social and environmental catastrophe, requiring a sharp revisionof existing conservation policies and a democratization of natural resourcemanagement regimes. Furthermore, the Alliance, which included many leadingfigures in the Uttarakhand activist community, provided a platform to networkactivists around the country, pool office and staff resources, and present astronger united front.

With such intervention, the MEF, state government, and local park authorities allrealized the problematic nature of the IMF proposal. In the fall, two IMF-sponsored international expeditions were denied access to the core zone as theForest Department pledged to prevent any further unauthorized entry. ByOctober, the Nanda Devi communities would issue their own declaration and


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hold a workshop elaborating their community-based proposals for opening up theNDBR to ecotourism.

The Nanda Devi Declaration, 2001

On October 14, 2001, the Niti Valley issued a biodiversity conservation andecotourism declaration. Drawing inspiration from both local history andinternational conventions, elected representatives, social activists, and citizenscame together to proclaim their intention to develop a tourism industry free ofhuman and natural exploitation. Two weeks later, Lata Village Council andAlliance for Development convened their long awaited community-basedconservation and ecotourism workshop to provide substance to the historicdeclaration. Many organizations were represented at the workshop including theEnvironment and Human Rights Law Network, Indian People’s Tribunal,Kalpavriksha, Friends of Uttarakhand, and Equations, a Bangalore-based equityand ecotourism group. In three days of sessions, attempts were made to redresshistoric grievances by convening an Impact Assessment Team, plans for aNanda Devi Ecotourism Development Authority were presented, a partnershipconcluded with Equations to further develop the ecotourism plan, and acoordinating body constituted to ensure follow-up from the workshop.

Dhan Singh Rana led the assembled guests on a field trip into the park, as hehad done before during the Jhapto Cheeno protests. Moreover, the localcommunities saw the workshop as a chance to share their culture throughtraditional dance and celebrate their victories with the release of Sangarshnama,a book chronicling their struggles from Chipko and Jhapto Cheeno to the IMFaffair.

The Situation Today

In the spring of 2003, the new director of the NDBR opened up the Nanda DeviBiosphere Reserve (NDBR) to limited tourism for the first time in 20 years. Thegovernment’s official 2003 plan envisioned balancing biological conservation,economic development, and sustainable eco-tourism practices. The new planallowed for 500 visitors to visit the reserve per annum, while maintainingexclusive management rights for the local villagers. A new 4-km trekking routewas to be extended into the core and the effects on the delicate alpineecosystem were to be closely monitored and future plans establishedaccordingly.

With the opening of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, the people of NandaDevi now face the daunting prospect of managing a community-based touristtrade with few of the resources, experience, and expertise enjoyed by the bigtourist agencies. Indeed, the big tour operators enjoy many advantages,including their established networks, infrastructure, and funds. In their place, thelocal villagers will need to tap markets and create packages themselves, buildand especially sustain momentum and interest in the region, and maintain


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linkages between funders and ecotourism efforts. Vigilance over thegovernment’s guarantees and enforcement of their policies will be key inensuring that employment is generated for the local community.

One of the key long-term projects envisioned by the community ecotourism planhas been the construction of the Gaura Devi Museum of Biocultural Diversity.The pride in Gaura Devi who saved village forests by leading women thirty yearsago in one of the most celebrated Chipko actions is evident in the central roleascribed to the museum in the plan.

To build momentum towards these plans, Gram Sabha Lata held its first everWomen’s Festival in 2004 to recognize the achievements of the region’s women.In what hoped to be an annual event, the festival paid particular homage to thosewomen still practicing traditional medicine in addition to holding severalcompetitions to promote local indigenous knowledge and skills. The festivalkicked off two months of festivities leading up to the 30th anniversary of Chipkolater in the spring that also saw the original all-women squad from Reni honouredfor their ongoing efforts towards community development and forestconservation.

Throughout these efforts, the cultural survival of the Bhotiya people has figuredprominently. Twenty years have weighed heavily on the local communities andthey now face a race against time to preserve their ancient way of life. Traditionalgrazing practices remain at risk as the flocks shrink and the shepherds adopt amore sedentary life. No longer interested in traditional subsistence, many youthshave also been enticed away by better economic prospects in the lowlands. Assuch, opening the reserve was vital in restoring traditional practices and endingthe alienation between the people and their land that was tearing at the socialfabric of the Bhotiya communities. Moreover, the Bhotiya believe that preservingthe local people’s folk songs, dances, cuisine, crafts, and stories includes sharingthis heritage with the world. In their minds, opening the NDBR will allow everyoneto pay homage to Nanda Devi, daughter of the Himalayas, and Uttarakhand’smost revered goddess. Their hope remains that in turn, she will once again granther blessings.


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APPENDIX I:

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Timeline

ince time immemorial, Nanda Devi has presided over the UttarakhandHimalayas as its patron goddess and highest peak. The Nanda Devi RajJat pilgrimage has been conducted in her honour every 12 years, while theNanda Devi peak itself remained off limits to travelers and climbers. The

local Bhotiya inhabitants grazed their goats and sheep throughout the region,while carrying on centuries-old trade relations with Tibet.

1883 First attempts to enter the Rishi Ganga valley at the base of the NandaDevi peaks is turned back by the precipitous gorge at the basin’sentrance.

1934 British Montaineers Eric Shipton and H.W. Tilman discover a passageinto the "inner sanctuary" of the Rishi basin.

1936 Tilman returns with colleague N.E. Odell to scale Nanda Devi for thefirst time.

1939 The entire Rishi basin is declared a game sanctuary.

1962 India-China War closes the border indefinitely, affecting trade andmigration routes of the Bhotiya peoples. With increased road accessand lands near the border appropriated by the military, locals turn totrekking and tourism for their livelihood.

1965 Secret Indo-American mountaineering expeditions launched to plant anuclear-powered listening device on Nanda Devi summit. First devicelost.

1974 Protests against commercial clear felling in nearby Reni villagelaunches the local Chipko actions. Fifty-year old Gaura Devi emergesas a feminist heroine for leading village women to defend their forest.Subsequently, women participate in overwhelming numbers acrossUttarakhand.

In the same year, Nanda Devi is opened to Western mountaineering,Nanda Devi becomes second most popular destination in the Himalayasnext to Everest. Lata village at the western entrance becomes a majordeparture point for expeditions.

1976 Indo-American expedition led by Willi Unsoeld meets with tragedy as22-year-old daughter, Nanda Devi, succumbs to gastrointestinal illness.

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1977 First reports of ecological damage due to tourist trade prompt concern inenvironmental circles.

1982 Upon recommendations of scientists and wildlife experts, Nanda DeviSanctuary is upgraded to the level of a National Park. All treks,expeditions, and grazing are banned in the core.

1988 Nanda Devi National Park forms the core zone of the newly designatedNanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.

1991 Gaura Devi dies penniless after a lifetime of service to her community.Despite misfortune towards the end of her life, she becomes enshrinedin the modern mythology of Uttarakhand.

1992 NDBR is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

1993 An army-led team removes 1,000 tonnes of rubbish from the reserve leftbehind by previous mountaineering expeditions.

1998 Growing resentment over forest restrictions leads to a massive entryinto core area in protest against the government’s indifference. ThisJhapto Cheeno (swoop and grab) movement emerges from samevillages that gave birth to the Chipko movement

2000 NDBR is included in the new state of Uttaranchal that places hope inecotourism’s potential as its principle economic engine.

2001 May. State government allows the Indian Mountaineering Foundation tosurvey NDBR's potential for high-end tourism. Local villages force thegovernment to backtrack on its original plan and consider communityrights first.

October. The Lata Village Council in concert with its citizens and alliedgrassroots organizations convene a workshop and issue a declarationfor community-based ecotourism and biocultural diversity conservation.

2003 New NDBR director, in consultation with community groups andactivists, sets a new policy allowing regulated tourism with guaranteedcommunity participation.

2004 NDBR communities continue efforts to highlight their cause with the firstever Nanda Devi Women’s Festival and Chipko commemorations.


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APPENDIX II:

The Nanda Devi Biodiversity Conservation &Eco Tourism Declaration

October 14, 2001 Gram Sabha Lata, Chamoli, Uttaranchal

oday on the 14th of October, 2001 in the courtyard of the temple of ourrevered Nanda Devi, we the people’s representatives, social workers andcitizens of the Niti valley, after profound deliberations on biodiversityconservation and tourism, while confirming our commitment to community

based management processes dedicate ourselves to the following –

1. That we, in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the WorldTourism Organisation’s Manila Declaration 1997 on the Social Impact ofTourism will lay the foundation for community based tourismdevelopment in our region

2. That in our region we will develop a tourism industry free frommonopolies and will ensure equity in the tourism business

3. With the cessation of all forms of exploitation like the exploitation ofporters and child labour in the tourism industry, we will ensure a positiveimpact of tourism on the biodiversity of our region and the enhancementof the quality of life of the local community

4. That in any tourism related enterprise we will give preference to ourunemployed youth and under privileged families, we will also ensureequal opportunities for disabled persons with special provisions to availsuch opportunities

5. That we will ensure the involvement and consent of the women of ourregion at all levels of decision making while developing andimplementing conservation and tourism plans

6. While developing appropriate institutions for the management ofcommunity based conservation and eco tourism in our area we willensure that tourism will have no negative impact on the bio diversity andculture of our region, and that any anti social or anti national activitieswill have no scope to operate in our region

7. We will regulate and ensure quality services and safety for tourists andby developing our own marketing network will eliminate the middlemenand endeavour to reduce the travel costs of the tourist

8. While developing the tourism infrastructure in our region we will takecare of the special needs of senior citizens and disabled persons

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9. As proud citizens of the land of the Chipko movement, we in the nameof Gaura Devi will establish a centre for socio-culture and biodiversity,for the conservation and propagation of our unique culture

10. We will ensure the exchange and sharing of experiences withcommunities of other regions to develop eco tourism in accordance withthe Manila Declaration of 1997 in those regions

11. Acknowledging the spirit of Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit, Rio 1992,the Manila Declaration on the Social Impact of Tourism 1997 and theInternational Year of the Mountains and Eco tourism, 2002, we willstrive for bio diversity conservation and an equitable economicdevelopment within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic ofIndia

12. Today on October 14, 2001, in front of our revered Nanda Devi, anddrawing inspiration from Chipko’s radiant history we dedicate ourselvesto the transformation of our region into a global centre for peace,prosperity and biodiversity conservation.


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APPENDIX III: NEWS ARTICLES

Unsung heroes honoured atFirst Nanda Devi Women's Festival

By Raju GusainGarhwal Post, February 1-7, 2004

ehradun: On the eve of the Republic Day, Gram Sabha Lata in ChamoliDistrict hosted the first Nanda Devi Women's Festival. The striking featureof the festival was the recognition granted to achievements of the region'swomen.

It was a memorable sight to watch Bhotia women in their traditional dressattending the fair with unprecedented enthusiasm.

With the women's festival, celebrations have begun in the Niti Valley tocommemorate thirty years of the famous Gaura Devi incident of the Chipkomovement. It will be recalled that on 26 March 1974, Gaura Devi from Renivillage forced contractors to leave the forest.

The festival aims to build a momentum towards these commemorations, whilecontinuing the struggle through implementation of the Nanda Devi Declaration.

At the one-day feast, many unsung heroes and heroines were felicitated. Besidesthis, several competitions were organised to promote indigenous knowledge andskills.

Among those honoured were Sureshi Devi and Gwanchi Devi, who are traditionalmedicine practitioners.

Sureshi Devi, a 62 year old scheduled caste woman from Lata, holds the uniquedistinction of having the largest client base in the Niti Valley. She does notcharge any fee and uses locally available herbs to treat a number of aliments.

Similar is the tale of 82-year-old Gwanchi Devi. She is considered to be onlycompetent person to treat 'Ghamjwar', a fever due to excessive exposure to theSun during early summer.

The Govind Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament is presently underway. GovindSingh was the regional organiser for the Chipko Movement. Eleven teams aretaking part and the winners will be awarded on coming 26 March. Also honouredwere many porters, including Natha Singh, who has been mentioned in manybooks on Nanda Devi, including 'The Nanda Devi Affair' by Bill Atkin.

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It was a proud moment for Himmatu Lal, who knows the incantations of the local'Makhauta Nritya' (mask dance), and Gabbar Singh (a Jagari), as they alsoreceived awards.

Eleven villages made it to the first Nanda Devi Women's Festival. The gatheringalso provided the villagers an opportunity to exchange their views on the move ofthe state government to reopen the Nanda Devi Biosphere for limited tourismafter a gap of 20 years.

On this, Dr Sunil Kainthola of Janaadhar (a NGO), says, "The locals areconfused as it is not a participatory type of thing. This is so because the villagerswere ousted by the creation of the park in 1982 and denied their commonproperty rights for twenty years. The Bhotia of the Niti Valley had in recent yearslaunched their own agitation to regain access to the core zone."

The people of the Niti valley formulated the Nanda Devi Declaration on 14October 2001 at Lata.

This declaration advocates community based tourism development that's freefrom monopolies and which ensures equity of locals in the tourism business. Tostop exploitation of porters and giving preference to local unemployed youth andunder privileged families are other features of the Nanda Devi Declaration.

It is ironic that the government wishes to teach forest conservation to people ofthe valley, who have themselves set the best example, through the Gaura Deviepisode to galvanise the Chipko Movement, gaining worldwide fame. The shapeof tourism in the Nanda Devi is a hot issue and it is likely to catch more flameswith each passing day.


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Chipko Remembered Amidst Nostalgia and Conflict

By Biju NegiMarch 31, 2004

Jagigyan hum, beejigyan hum; Ab ni chalali choron kiGhor apuna, baun apuna; Ab ni chalali auron ki(We have risen, we are awake; No longer will thieves rule our destinyIt is our home, our forests; No longer will others decide for us)

Maatu hamru, paani hamru, hamra hi chhan yi baun bhiPitron na lagai baun, hamunahi ta bachon bhi(Soil ours, water ours, ours are these forests tooOur forefathers raised these, it is we who must protect these too)

Maatu bikigi, paani bikigi, bikigya hamara baun bhiHaath khaali, pet khaali, thikanu ni kakhi raun ki(Soil has been sold, water sold, our forests too have been sold offHands bare, stomachs empty, we have no shelter to stay)

— Dhan Singh Rana “Adivasi”, village Lata (Chamoli Garhwal)

was almost by accident late last year, in distant Canada, that Rajiv Rawatwho manages the people’s website on Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserveregion, realized that the most dramatic and defining event in the regionwideChipko Andolan of the early seventies, which had captured the nation’s and

the world’s imagination was completing 30 years on 26 March 2004. But the ideaset a large ball rolling.

Thirty years is not a short time, even if it is not a long one either. In Lata andReni, the two villages in the Niti valley of Chamoli Garhwal, which had been boththe vanguard and the rearguard of the movement then, an entire generation wasin the process of moving over. Bold young women and men of that time werenow bent with age. Little girls who were then, were now married and gone toother villages, while the energetic little boys of nineteen-seventies were todaylanguid and middle aged. Much had, indeed, changed – for the good or worse. Ifone thing had not changed, it was the memory of that fateful night in March 1974when Gaura Devi, the head of the Mahila Mangal Dal at Reni then, led 26 otherwomen into the forest in the dead of the night to confront the forest contractor’slabourers and dared them to use their axes. In the face of their quietdetermination, the axemen relented and left the forest.

The children of Lata and Reni have since been fed on folklore emanating fromthis derring-do which then turned out to be a signal victory for the entiremovement. For instance, young men (and women) like Raju Guide (as he iscalled) of Lata, then only a toddler, remembers listening to any number of storiesof the Chipko from his parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other elders.

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Stories which cheered and inspired, but had, of late, started to leave a twinge ofmelancholy and a whiff of despair in the air.

The social, environmental and political reverberations of Chipko were loud andfar reaching. In India, the government redefined its policy and laws on forests,reworded the agenda of its forest department. The Movement – local, yetuniversal at the same time; taking place throughout the region, but remainingintensely local in each area - was hailed for providing new direction and freshimpetus to people’s movements and concerns. The women’s role and importancein the conservation of their environment was underlined and recognizedworldwide, initiating gender concerns in conservation and development. TheMovement and Gaura Devi were lionized in films, books and retells, and groupsand individuals were felicitated and awarded. And just about everything seemedhunky-dory.

But the aftermath of the Movement also spawned a generation of false babies -and opportunists pretending to be nursemaids who then ran off with the babies. Awhole range of careers have been founded on the Chipko movement, outside theregion (and some within as well), while women and men who had struggledshoulder to shoulder slowly went into oblivion. If their voices were not heard itwas because initially they were probably just happy and satisfied to have donetheir deed, and later they were left with no space to let their voices be heard. IfGaura Devi continued to be spoken about and eulogized by the new fraternity, itwas because it could not do without this powerful symbol, even as it wasconvenient for these spokespersons to negate the cohesion of a unified,sustained struggle and reduce the entire movement to one dramatic action.Through the latter part of her life, Gaura Devi herself remained dignified and didnot tire of receiving visitors and other attention, but her single wish that her onlyson Chandra Singh be given a government job remains unfulfilled to this day. Asfor Chandra Singh himself, though he basked in his mother’s glory, he also oftenworried about the increased expenditure on tea and food that more visitorsmeant!

For the local community, Chipko’s victory became self-devouring, and thegarland of gratitude around the people’s necks turned into a noose. The creationof Nanda Devi National Park in 1982 (and subsequently, the Nanda DeviBiosphere Reserve), out of the erstwhile forests of the community was apparentlya conservation initiative, but had far-reaching, devastating effect on thecommunity. With trekking and mountaineering banned, and the forests nowbecoming out of bound for the people, it seemed as if the people’s lives hadcome a full circle. Majority of the families in the region were hitherto engaged inproviding guide and porter services to trekking and mountaineering expeditions –the annual earnings from this is loosely estimated to be around Rs 8000 perfamily. The ban caused this major loss. Oddly, having destroyed the local tourisminfrastructure, the government has now opened limited tourism in the Reserve tobe run exclusively by the government, with hollow talk of people’s participation.On the other hand, as a result of loss in grazing area, sheep rearing declined at asharp rate, which in turn severely impacted on traditional wool and handloomsenterprise, once practiced by virtually every household in the region. No wonder,


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the people were half amused, when last year the government donated a woolcarding machine to the women of Lata!

Elsewhere too, wherever Chipko had taken place, life for the people over the last30 years had turned more grim and people continued to battle for preserving theirnatural resources. In the Tehri district, a few years ago, the people of Advaniregion vowed to Chipko once again if their forests were clear-felled for high-tension electricity line from the proposed Tehri dam site to Meerut, near Delhi.And, lately, the district court at New Tehri has ordered 15 days imprisonment forVijay Jarhdhari and Kunwar Prasoon, two of the celebrated Chipko activists, forprotesting against illegal mining at Kataldi village in Henwalghati region of thesame district. In the Niti valley itself, in 1998, in a symbolic gesture, people madea forcible entry into the core zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve tohighlight the denial of their traditional rights.

So when Rajiv Rawat’s observation of Chipko completing a milestone waspassed on to Dhan Singh Rana, the ex-pradhan of Lata and a major voice ofdiscontent in the Niti valley, the latter thought it should be celebrated. In the pastthree decades, Chipko had been much written and talked about the world over,but not once was its anniversary celebrated anywhere. Dhan Singh felt if thisanniversary is to be celebrated it is first the Niti valley’s right and duty to do so.He discussed the idea among his own people and those in Reni, andsubsequently with people in other nearby villages, who all welcomed the ideainstantaneously and wholeheartedly. The people felt it would be a good occasionto pay respect to their elders and rightful heroes who had set a path-breakingexample in environmental conservation. At the same time, the occasion wouldalso be a good time to re-analyse and redefine the Chipko movement in thepresent context, to reflect on its gains and losses for themselves, and tounderline some historic wrongs and perhaps seek to correct them.

To give the occasion and message a wider base and reach, it was decided at thegram sabha (Village Council) to not just celebrate that single day in history, butas homage to the women of the time, to celebrate it as Nanda Devi Women’sFestival, spread over two months beginning on 26 January, the country’sRepublic Day. Moreover, it was also decided to enter the core zone once againon 26 March in a symbolic gesture. It was planned that people would gather atLata a day before for a meeting and, on 26 March, go in a procession to Reniand onwards.

When the news of people’s collective decisions spread outside the villages,things began to go a bit awry, and a few people from Reni village started backingout under the pretext of not agreeing to entering the core zone. This wasobviously at the behest of the Forest Department, which felt threatened by anysuch action. Trust the government machinery to appropriate and dilute a seriousoccasion and, worse, disrupt people’s collective spirit through wily machination,for this is exactly what happened subsequently. It is widely believed, theDepartment financially supported one of its associate NGOs (Society forCommunity Involvement in Development - SFCID) and some Joshimath basedcontractors to instead organize Chipko’s 30th anniversary celebration at Reni. By


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thus creating a fissure, the government rightly believed the people would berestricted to village precincts and would not be able to enter the prohibited forestareas.

For the people of Lata, this posed a dilemma. They did not wish to be part ofgovernment sponsored celebrations, and yet did not wish to aggravate thesituation and add to a sense of division among the people. So, deciding to bendand retreat a bit, the plan of entering the core zone was discarded. With peopledivided, it wouldn’t have really worked, in any case.

Meanwhile, as news of the people’s Chipko celebration spread through theinternet – the website and some supporters’ individual mailing lists, messages ofgoodwill and solidarity started coming in from all over the world, which weretranslated and pasted up for the people to read at the Lata meeting. Friends,supporters and others from nearby villages and distant areas startedcongregating in Lata on 25 March. Over the next two days, more than 200 peoplemarked their presence at Lata. Locally, about 16 villages were represented at thegathering.

The meeting started with remembering all the pitr and elders, like Gaura Deviand Govind Singh Rawat, the unsung hero of the Chipko movement. On behalf ofthe gram sabha, Diwan Singh the oldest living person in Lata, a nonagenarian,presented the late Govind Singh’s widow and Dhoom Singh Negi (who had comeall the way from Henwalghati, Tehri) with woolen pankhi, as a mark of respectand recognition of their role in the Chipko movement.

Setting the tone for the meeting, Dhan Singh Rana stated, “At the time of Chipko,as far as the government was concerned, it had sold off these forests for felling.But for the effort of our elders, there might have been no forests left here today.But today, the government claims itself to be the saviour of these forests, and weare being branded as culprits.”

He added, “As long as the forests were ours, we never or rarely heard of forestfires. But now there are forest fires almost every year. Our biree and cigarettesare blamed for these, as if we did not smoke earlier. We demand an impartialenquiry into forest fires ever since the forests came under government control.”

Dhoom Singh Negi said that, for him, the visit to this area was like “coming ontirth (pilgrimage)” to the land of Chipko. In fact, his visit itself was historic for itwas the first time that a Chipko activist from Tehri was visiting this area, thusseeking to bridge the artificial divide that had been created among the people ofthe two regions. He related some of the experiences of Chipko in the Tehri regionand how the issues of deforestation and mining in the name of development werestill like wounds continuing to fester.

Veenapani Joshi from Dehra Dun said that she had always wanted to visit thisland to see the women who through Chipko had inspired an entire generation ofenvironmentalists. Addressing the women at the meeting, she said “I see theimage of Gaura in all of you.”


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Jagat Singh of Lata and brother of Gaura Devi, was a keen guide and porter butis now partially paralysed. When asked about it, he lisped, “What paralysis! Wewere paralysed long ago when they closed these areas for us.”

Raju Guide said, “Many of us are not much educated, but we were fruitfullyemployed earlier. Now we are all in the ranks of the unemployed.”

Sunil Kainthola stressed, “The way the Forest Department is going abouttourism, by organizing a mere one-day training for guides, is belittling the conceptof community based tourism. Community based tourism is a serious business. Itis not only a question of opportunities but also of responsibilities and ofempowerment of the people.”

At the end of the meeting a charter of demands was prepared, which stated:

• The community be given the ownership of the forests and forest land,and the people will take the responsibility of ensuring their safety,security and preservation.

• The government should announce Support Price for the agriculturalproduce by the people, and also ensure its purchase.

• Any loss of life and property by wild animals must be compensated forfully.

• The entire organization of tourism in the region must be handed over tothe community which will ensure that no damage is done to thebiodiversity of the region.

• All kind of losses accruing to the community as a result of the creationof the Nanda Devi National Park must be compensated for.

• A proper evaluation should be conducted of the loss of property andother economic activities as a result of creation of large hydro-electricprojects in the region; and the expenditure on these projects be madepublic.

• The work and expenditures made by government and non-governmentorganizations in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Region be made public.

• As has been successfully done in Lata, no project or research beconducted in the region without the permission or knowledge of thecommunity or gram sabha of the respective area.

Decision was also taken that next day, at Reni, the people will not disrupt thegovernment sponsored meeting. Also, they will stay this side of the Rishi Gangaand go to the Reni function only if honourably invited and allowed to address it.

Next morning, amidst the sounds of dhol and damau, songs and sloganeering,the procession marched towards Reni. The procession stopped this side of thebridge over Rishi Ganga, whereafter Smt Nandi Rana, the pradhan of Reni gramsabha and other women (who were present at Lata the previous day), came toformally invite the Lata people to the celebrations.


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As was apparent, the celebrations at Reni were organized in the government’stypical style – under shamiana, lots of banners announcing affiliations, a sizeablelocal and Joshimath crowd, and lots of official presence – SDM and DFO alongwith their retinue and wherewithalls. So it was very, very formal. Theproceedings, unfortunately, were being conducted not by the community but byits Joshimath based representatives, basically contractors who also worked forthe forest department. So it was a government programme all the way, what withthe MC even warning the prospective speakers to “not be too smart”, in otherwords, don’t raise the real issues!

Eminent veteran journalist Harish Chandola remarked that Chipko celebrationwas the community’s prerogative and should have remained so, and this shouldnot have been a government celebration. He hinted that those very peopleagainst whom the entire Chipko Movement was targeted, were today sitting onthe dais.

Oddly, the main organizing NGO, SFCID, was not on the scene, which wasactually not surprising considering the community is upset over his role in thedeath of one of their people sometimes earlier. Dhan Singh, the only person fromLata invited to speak, brought up this point while speaking, that the ForestDepartment is encouraging groups and organizations who are opposed to thelocal people.

Having made their say, and not too willing to listen to routine speeches, the Latagroup left the meeting. For the forest Department, Dhan Singh was theprotagonist or the major thorn in its side. With he and his people gone, the DFOis also learnt to have left the meeting soon thereafter. The women who had beenbrought from distant places were left stranded and fuming. But the DFO couldn’thave cared less. For him, the women were not important. Nor even Gaura Devi.His agenda was to create a division in the people and not have them march intothe forest. And in this, for the time being, he had succeeded.

But, in so doing, fresh ground has been laid for conflict escalating in the future.


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Nanda Devi Recognized by Condé Nast:A Major Boost for Local Community Efforts

By Rajiv RawatCampaign Press Release, June 30, 2004

he mountain paradise of Nanda Devi has been named runner-up in thedestination category for the prestigious 2004 Condé Nast Traveler’sEcotourism Awards.

In the tenth anniversary of the competition, 91 candidates vied for awards inthree categories including destination, tour operator, and lodge/resort. A panel ofjudges representing ecotourism and general tourism markets evaluated eachentry in a rigorous process lauded by ecotourism experts for its transparency andenvironmental standards. Based on the elements of nature preservation, localcontribution, and guest education, the application put forward by the Nanda DeviCampaign achieved a score of 68 out of 100, placing it third amongst all entries.

The awards are covered in the July issue of the world’s preeminent travelmagazine that recently hit newsstands in North America.

This outstanding recognition comes at a time when big tour operators inassociation with the state and central government are revving up to promoteNanda Devi, a peak in the Indian Himalayas as an up and coming touristdestination. However, it is the shoestring grassroots effort embodied by theNanda Devi Campaign that is drawing international attention for its commitmentto linking local economic empowerment and community-based conservation.

In fact, this summer Lata, the gateway community to Nanda Devi, is hosting avariety of visitors including artists, craftspeople, researchers, and students fromIndia and abroad. The artists in particular have been inspired by their week-longworkshop organized by the Coleman Company and Alliance for Development inJune to produce over 30 paintings to benefit the local villages. In an uniquepartnership of art for social change, the artwork will be exhibited online at theNanda Devi Campaign’s web site (http://nandadevi.org) as well as in New Delhiunder the auspices of Uttarakhand Kalakar Samiti and Alliance for Development.Organizers including the painter and sculptor, Madan Singh Rawat, are hoping toraise funds from sale of the artwork so that 40 local unemployed youth canundergo training in mountaineering skills at the Nehru Institute ofMountaineering.

Having come to create, share, and learn in the communities that overlook NandaDevi, many of the guests have also taken up residence in the winter camps of theIndo-Tibetan Bhotiya people whose tradition of moving from summer to winterabodes has been followed for a thousand years. By reusing traditional structuresrather than constructing new concrete monstrosities, this unique housing solutionfulfills a key aspect of the historic 2001 Nanda Devi Ecotourism and Biodiversity

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Conservation Declaration, which has laid out a progressive vision for sustainabletourism in the region. In addition, residing in the village also benefits the localeconomy, preserves indigenous architectural heritage, and respects the land’scarrying capacity by adjusting tourism flows to the seasonal cycling of people andanimals in high altitude regions.

Nanda Devi as one of the tallest and most sacred peaks of the Himalayas isremarkable as much for its sheer physical majesty as its intense human drama.Situated in the state of Uttaranchal, India, Nanda Devi is surrounded by a barrierring of 12 other peaks over 21,000 feet in altitude. This unique and magnificentformation has been recognized by ancient Hindu mythology (Nanda Devi meansthe bliss-giving goddess), and modern mountaineers alike, who came to scale itsheights in dozens of expeditions following first ascent in 1936. Over thedecades, these expeditions would come to embrace a whole range ofexperiences from cold war nuclear intrigues to heartbreaking tragedies and featsof unmatched mountaineering skill.

In 1982, trekking and tourism that saw Nanda Devi become the second mostpopular Himalayan destination next to Everest, came to abrupt end with thecreation of the Nanda Devi National Park and later in 1988, a UN-designatedbiosphere reserve. The closure put off limits the entire region to both tourists andlocal inhabitants. This had a devastating impact on the local economy and stirredresentment on the part of the Bhotiya. In a bitter irony, the communities hadthemselves saved their forests during the famous Chipko movement of the 1970sonly the see their rights usurped by park authorities.

In the late 1990s, as pressures grew to reopen the park, the local communitieslaunched their own campaign to reclaim their rights over traditional lands. After aseries of actions, this movement culminated in the ecotourism and conservationdeclaration, where in concert with environmental justice activists from throughoutIndia, the Bhotiya stated their intention of pursuing a tourism strategy that wouldsafeguard their human rights, cultural heritage, and environment, whilerecognizing the needs of disadvantaged members of their community.

In the following years, this declaration guided them in the preparation of multiplestrategies to implement their ideas including in early 2004, the holding of awomen’s festival and celebrations of the thirtieth anniversary of Chipko wherewomen took a leading role. As such, recognition from Condé Nast Traveler willprovide a major boost to community-based tourism built around cultural survival,sustainable livelihoods, and minimizing the human footprint in such extraordinaryplaces of the world.

Many thanks to Keith Bosak of the University of Georgia for filling out the originalapplication on behalf of Nanda Devi communities.


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Nanda Devi’s “Painting Hopes” exhibition goes online:Aims to raise funds for local youth of the Niti Valley

By Rajiv RawatCampaign Press Release, July 6, 2004

his summer, art for social change and community empowerment were thethemes that propelled a unique collaboration to benefit the localcommunities in the majestic environs of Nanda Devi and highlight the folkarts of the Uttarakhand Himalayas.

From June 19-24, over twenty artists from the Uttarakhand Kalakar Samiti(Uttarakhand Folk Artists’ Organization) made their way to Lata village in the NitiValley to attend a week-long camp, drawing inspiration from the region’s scenicbeauty and people to paint 32 separate pieces reflecting their inner and outerartistic visions.

Organized by the Tri-Star Colman Company and the Alliance for Developmentthat has long assisted the Nanda Devi communities in struggles, the camp’s goalwas to generate artwork to raise funds for 40 local unemployed youth from theNiti Valley to attend the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi district,Uttaranchal. This skills training constitutes a major part of the Nanda DeviCampaign’s mission to build community-based ecotourism through localemployment and capacity building.

This collaboration is not without its precedents. Cultural activists have beenengaged in the Campaign for several years. Presently, other items offered on thecampaign web site include Garhwali-language poetry books published by the LokShahitya Evam Sanskriti Vikas Trust and movie soundtracks for the hit Teri Saunand the teledrama Maletha Ki Kool, provided under the auspices of AngwalMusic, a local music producer. While supporting the people of the Niti Valley,these partnerships also help raise the profile of indigenous Uttarakhandi culturethat is witnessing a renaissance since the Himalayan region was grantedstatehood in 2000.

In association with the Uttarakhand Kalakar Samiti and Alliance for Development,the camp coordinator, painter and sculptor MS Rawat, will showcase thepaintings in Delhi, however, you can also see them online at the campaign’s website @ http://nandadevi.org/

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APPENDIX IV: HOW TO REACH NANDA DEVI

espite its remote location along the Indo-Tibetan frontier, the NDBR canbe reached relatively easily from Delhi. Proceed from Delhi to Hardwar bybus or train. Hire a taxi or take a bus from Hardwar to proceed toJoshimath along Highway 58. This partially double lane highway follows

the Alaknanda river past Rishikesh and the five holy confluences (panch prayag),reaching Joshimath in approximate eight hours. Lata village, the gatewaycommunity to the NDBR, is a 25-km drive due northeast from Joshimath alongthe river Dhauli Ganga.

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Nanda Devi

India’s second highest peak,revered mountaineering destination,

biosphere reserve & UN World Heritage Site

The bliss-giving goddess,daughter of the Himalayas & aspect of Parvati,

patron deity of the Uttarakhand Himalaya

Home to the trans-Himalayan Bhotiya,cradle of the Chipko movement,

birthplace of Gaura Devi

— nandadevi.org —

Documents

Nanda Devi Campaign Booklet