Agrarian Specificity Of High Mountain Valleys Of Altay And Himalayas

Abstract

Altai and the Himalayas are two mountain systems of Eurasia, similar in their natural and climatic conditions and biosphere potential, which determines the commonality of social and environmental problems, the similarity of economic strategies. To assess the general problems and trends in the development of agriculture in the Altai and Himalayan regions, in the Russian-Indian research project, Uimonskaya (Ust-Koksinsky district, Altai Republic, Russia) and Kinnaurskaya (Himachal Pradesh state, India) mountainous areas were selected as representative territories. The common biosphere features of the two territories were identified (high mountains, climate severity, vulnerability of mountain landscapes). The parallelism in the use of biosphere products (Siberian and Himalayan pine nuts), crops cultivated in these territories (barley, wheat, buckwheat) is shown. General economic, ecological and social problems are indicated, which include soil degradation and deforestation, uncontrolled tourism, high production costs, loss of traditional lifestyle, population migration, climate change. Recommendations in the field of agriculture and nature management in high mountain areas are given. In particular, due to the remoteness of the mountainous regions of the Uimon Valley and Kinnaura from the sales markets, it is important to develop deep processing of agricultural and biosphere products locally, to intensify the production of products according to historically traditional recipes, which makes them an exclusive product on the market. A common challenge for Russian and Indian village inhabitant living in unique natural landscapes is the introduction of organic farming technologies.