Thupstan Chhewang, Chief Executive Councillor and chairperson of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council LAHDC speaks to Down To Earth.

Ladakh survives on its farms. But can agriculture survive government policies?

Ladakh is the one region in India where sustainable development is the only way ahead. Dry toilets, water efficient crops, cooperative farming, a democratic society and living in harmony with nature are not ideals here; they are a prerequisite

Huge tourist inflows often spell doom for a region's ecology. But things may turn out quite the opposite for Ladakh, as the Leh Autonomous Hill Council (lahc) plans to make visitors share

Of India's 18 major rivers, 17 are inter state. In all cases, the water is intensely fought over. In all cases, there seems no resolution. In such a situation, can modern India take a page or two out of the traditional water manager's unwritten manual on

The double humped Yarkandi camels in Ladakh are on the route to extinction after the closure of the 'silk route'

Retired civil engineer Chewang Norphel makes zings (small tanks fed by glacial meltwater) and artificial