Are there no integrated ecological and hydrological studies of the Himalayas?
In this country, rigid attitudes have prevented us from getting together and making a sense of how the natural ecosystem behaves. Sciences have been compartmentalised and there is little crossing-over of ideas between ecologists and hydrologists. We tried in a small way to bring these disparate issues together in the carrying capacity study of Teesta Basin and were able to conclude that integrated and inter-disciplinary studies were crucial for arriving at informed planning and administrative decisions.
