The need for micro-scale and meso-scale hydrological research in the Himalayan mountains

Mountains are fragile ecosystems and globally important as water towers of the earth. Sustainable use of mountains depends upon conservation and optimal use of soil and water resources (Ives & Messerli 1989). Despite regional and global efforts to understand the hydrology of the Himalayan region, soil and water conservation (SWC) programmes in this region mainly rely upon engineering measures. For want of cost-effective vegetative (bioengineering) measures (Deoja et al. 1991), and land use and land cover conducive to SWC, the fragile Himalayan watersheds continue to lose soil and water at alarming rates.