"The book is the outcome of a study leave project undertaken by the author for the Planning Commission in 1986-87. The project focussed on afforestation strategies being adopted by the forest department in the catchment of the controversial Tehri dam located in the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttar Pradesh. The chipko movement has been extensively studied as a major response of the local people to the problem of deforestation caused by commercial exploitation of forests. However, people’s responses to the more difficult problem of protecting and regenerating forests in the Himalayas have not been extensively documented. The present study fills an important gap in this respect. In the first part, the writer explores the processes of destruction which were unleashed in the nineteenth century with the onset of British rule. These forces continued to govern forest policy well into the post independence period-a fact which is dramatically brought out by the author in her comparative study of the profile of Reserve forests of Tehri Garhwal over four decades of independence. The second part deals with the forest department efforts to restore forest cover in the Himalaya. The author draws upon her touring experience in remote areas in Tehri Garhwal to present data and human interest stories which give a vivid and varied picture of what is happening in the field. The writer also independently evaluated 500 acres of plantation in Tehri Garhwal. The third and last part covers hitherto unexplored territory in Tehri Garhwal by documenting in considerable details the people’s own efforts for protecting and greening the Himalayas. The author’s close interaction with women’s groups and organizations is evident in these accounts which make fascinating reading and may lead to evolution of a new strategy for saving the Himalayas."
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