While microfinance companies have been studied and there is a growing consensus that they exclude the poorest, the impact of government microfinance programmes is relatively less understood. The National Rural Livelihoods Mission, which aims to reduce rural poverty by organising women into self-help groups, building capacity and providing access to microcredit is evaluated through a survey of 2,615 households in five districts of Madhya Pradesh. The focus is on four key questions. Who benefits and who gets left out? What is the pattern of household investment priorities?

Climate change is emerging as a new challenge that governments have to address effectively. Mountain regions are facing accelerating climate change, thereby adversely impacting ecosystems services, biodiversity elements and livelihood security.

Increasing frequency and intensity of earthquakes has renewed the urgency in improving the preparedness and in making the infrastructure earthquake-resistant. Sikkim, a northeastern Indian Himalayan state, was hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake of intensity VII on 18 September 2011, which triggered hundreds of boulder falls and landslides, causing extensive damage to public and private infrastructure. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the various structures present in rural areas was carried out. Assessment of the quantum of damage indicated that though

Mountain springs emanating naturally from unconfined aquifers are the primary source of water for rural households in the
Himalayan region. Due to the impacts of climate change on precipitation patterns such as rise in rainfall intensity, reduction in its temporal spread, and a marked decline in winter rain, coupled with other anthropogenic causes, the problem of dying springs is being increasingly felt across this region. This study was taken up in the Sikkim Himalaya, which has received limited attention

Sikkim is a small, mountainous, Indian state (7,096 km2) located in the eastern Himalayan region. Though a global biodiversity hotspot, it has been relatively less studied. A detailed forest type, density and change dynamics study was undertaken, using SATELLITE remote sensing data and intensive field verification.

Sikkim is a small, mountainous, Indian state (7,096 km2) located in the eastern Himalayan region. Though a global biodiversity hotspot, it has been relatively less studied. A detailed forest type, density and change dynamics study was undertaken, using satellite remote sensing data and intensive field verification. The landscape was found to be dominated by alpine and nival ecosystems, with a large portion above the tree line, considerable snow cover, and a sizeable area under forest cover (72%,
5,094 km2).

The book comprises large number of articles based on years of in-depth research in the state by scholars who are affiliated to premier research institutes.

The alpine vegetation of the Sikkim Himalaya has received limited attention despite being a part of the Eastern Himalaya global
biodiversity hotspot. The current study undertaken in the third highest landscape in the world—the Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP)—provides information on the different alpine vegetation communities and aspects of their ecology. The transverse spurs from the unique north–south Khangchendzonga range result in a landscape level differentiation of the Outer, Inner, and Tibetan Himalaya in just 50 km.

The Khangchendzonga National Park is a part of the eastern Himalaya global biodiversity hotspot and is located in the Sikkim state of India. Increasing livestock populations coupled with the government policy to ban grazing and its selective implementation resulted in conflict. Hence we undertook this multidisciplinary study involving consultations with traditional resource users, field surveys, and remote sensing.

The Khangchendzonga National Park, located in Sikkim is a part of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Traditional sheep herding practices in the park based on village consultations and field surveys to understand the population trend, migration pattern, fodder preferences, incomes and benefit sharing, ecological impacts and risk mitigation techniques were analysed.