planners, and decision takers. This approach goes beyond the boundary of the
single discipline and covers multiple objectives of researchers from different disciplines. Therefore, it would be noteworthy to analyze the complexity of the human
and ecosystem interaction and to consequently propose a tool that would be helpful
to understand the science behind whole landscape management. Such a tool could
also provide feasible solutions via a problem-solving approach and consequently
assist the goal of sustainable landscape management. It is important to recognize the
potential effectiveness of such research but, in the Himalayan context, limited
efforts have so far been made on the integrated real-world modeling (Rees et al.
2006; Nautiyal and Kaechele 2008). While visualizing the complexity it is
important to develop a theoretical model with guidelines for empirical studies and
to recognize that the conceptual model needs to be developed in view of its suitability for the complex Himalayan environment. Therefore, this study endeavors to
determine the most suitable methodology for handling the theoretical approach
(Nautiyal and Kaechele 2008) from a qualitative/descriptive analysis to a quantitative, mathematical modeling approach.
2 Study Area and Climate
The study area is in the central Indian Himalayan region and located between
30° 17′N-30° 41′N latitude and 79° 40′E-80° 5′E longitude. The whole region is
divided into three agro-ecological zones (Lower elevation: >1000 m asl, middle
elevation: between 1000 and 1800 m asl, and higher elevation: >1800 m asl). The
current study was completed in the higher elevational zone of the Central
Himalayas and represents the whole higher elevational zone in which the area is
located. The area has great ecological importance for its rich biodiversity and
ecosystem services (Singh 2002; Singh et al. 2004; Saxena et al. 2005). The world
famous national park “Valley of Flowers” and a Himalayan Biosphere Reserve
“Nanda Devi” are established in the region for the ecosystem conservation and the
development of the local economy and its people. The overview of the area is
shown in Fig. 1. There are 34 villages currently in the boundary of the whole region
and 10 of them were studied in detail. The total population of the villages was 2762
(947 male adults, 781 female adults, and 877 children below 15 years of age). The
villages located in the higher elevational zone were similar (Nautiyal 1998;
Nautiyal et al. 2007) and considered as a functional unit of development in the
mountains of the Central Himalayan region (Nautiyal 1998). Therefore, considering
the cluster of villages or a single village for long-term empirical study is equally
important to design and develop new strategies for sustainable landscape
development.
Socioeconomic and Ecological Modeling for Sustainable …
599
single discipline and covers multiple objectives of researchers from different disciplines. Therefore, it would be noteworthy to analyze the complexity of the human
and ecosystem interaction and to consequently propose a tool that would be helpful
to understand the science behind whole landscape management. Such a tool could
also provide feasible solutions via a problem-solving approach and consequently
assist the goal of sustainable landscape management. It is important to recognize the
potential effectiveness of such research but, in the Himalayan context, limited
efforts have so far been made on the integrated real-world modeling (Rees et al.
2006; Nautiyal and Kaechele 2008). While visualizing the complexity it is
important to develop a theoretical model with guidelines for empirical studies and
to recognize that the conceptual model needs to be developed in view of its suitability for the complex Himalayan environment. Therefore, this study endeavors to
determine the most suitable methodology for handling the theoretical approach
(Nautiyal and Kaechele 2008) from a qualitative/descriptive analysis to a quantitative, mathematical modeling approach.
2 Study Area and Climate
The study area is in the central Indian Himalayan region and located between
30° 17′N-30° 41′N latitude and 79° 40′E-80° 5′E longitude. The whole region is
divided into three agro-ecological zones (Lower elevation: >1000 m asl, middle
elevation: between 1000 and 1800 m asl, and higher elevation: >1800 m asl). The
current study was completed in the higher elevational zone of the Central
Himalayas and represents the whole higher elevational zone in which the area is
located. The area has great ecological importance for its rich biodiversity and
ecosystem services (Singh 2002; Singh et al. 2004; Saxena et al. 2005). The world
famous national park “Valley of Flowers” and a Himalayan Biosphere Reserve
“Nanda Devi” are established in the region for the ecosystem conservation and the
development of the local economy and its people. The overview of the area is
shown in Fig. 1. There are 34 villages currently in the boundary of the whole region
and 10 of them were studied in detail. The total population of the villages was 2762
(947 male adults, 781 female adults, and 877 children below 15 years of age). The
villages located in the higher elevational zone were similar (Nautiyal 1998;
Nautiyal et al. 2007) and considered as a functional unit of development in the
mountains of the Central Himalayan region (Nautiyal 1998). Therefore, considering
the cluster of villages or a single village for long-term empirical study is equally
important to design and develop new strategies for sustainable landscape
development.
Socioeconomic and Ecological Modeling for Sustainable …
599