As a distinct biome, cold deserts need specially focussed research and a concerted effort in terms of natural resource management, especially in the light of their vulnerable ecosystems and highly deficient natural resource status. However, lying in the rainshadow of mighty mountain ranges, difficult and remote, they have been neglected by the policy-maker, the development worker and the researcher alike. Development policies and schemes applied to them have been the same as those applied for hot, arid regions, disregarding their uniqueness and its implications on policy. At the same time, development trends are leading to increasing degradation of the cold desert environments and escalating pressure on their already inadequate natural resources.

The Pragya project on Design of an Appropriate Development Model for Cold Deserts involves research into the environmental conditions and development mediators in the cold desert region, as well as the development interventions and traditional practices, towards evolving a model for appropriate development and environment monitoring for the region. The primary focus of this project is the cold desert region in the western Indian Himalayas comprising the districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti, Leh and Kargil.

The project has four stages:

Environmental & Developmental Status Assessment ~ A detailed study of the cold desert environment was done and its unique features mapped. The natural resources of the four focus districts were inventoried and valued through physical survey and community valuation. The longitudinal trend of agricultural practices, natural resource usage and developmental activities and their environmental and socio-economic impacts are also being studied. The current status of the environment and the community was mapped and their vulnerabilities and criticalities established in the context of these trends and impacts. Evaluation of Development Interventions ~ There have been various interventions attempted in different parts of the world to fight desertification and develop arid regions. A study was made of these interventions in terms of their design and impacts, and evaluating their applicability to cold desert regions evaluated. A detailed assessment is being made of the desert development activities being carried out by governmental as well as non-governmental agencies in the four focus cold desert districts in the western Indian Himalayas. This involves extensive field surveys of these districts, including interactions with community members, development agencies, local administration, etc., as well as environmental data collection through scientific techniques. Alternate Techniques Study ~ In keeping with its philosophy of blending traditional and modern techniques for development solutions for pristine areas, Pragya is also delving into the traditional, indigenous methods of managing natural resources in cold deserts. Community elders are being tapped to elicit data on these techniques and their level of adequacy for today's problems. Research bodies, environmental sciences experts, and development professionals are being consulted for developing potential alternate techniques for development of cold deserts. Dissemination Workshop ~ Towards the assessment and recasting of the Desert Development Programme (DDP) being implemented by the Government of India in the cold desert regions, a workshop was conducted in Delhi (May 2002). The workshop brought together several cold desert development stakeholders, viz, policy makers, local administration, NGOs, cold desert inhabitants, expert organisations, local area experts and best practice presenters, to work on designing an appropriate development model for cold deserts. For the first time, in the programme’s implementation history, a vertical integration of all the agencies in the DDP channel was brought about at the workshop. It served as a platform for discussions and debates on cold desert specific interventions, an opportunity for a meeting of minds of experts from diverse disciplines, community members, people with hands-on development experience in the region and the Government. Development Model & Community Role Design ~ Based on the above research and its findings, a development model will be designed for cold desert regions. This is aimed to include- a) the most appropriate development techniques, their potential impacts and their conditions for implementation, at the regional level and at the village level; b) the most suitable method of implementation and the roles of different agencies in the development process; c) a comprehensive index for measuring environmental vulnerability and degradation for monitoring the impacts of development interventions.