Breif Profile

Vishwambhar Prasad Sati, D.Litt. and Ph.D., a Senior Professor of Geography and Resource Management, is currently working at the Mizoram University (A Central University), Aizawl, India. With a teaching career of about three decades, he has served in several higher education institutions within and outside India, some of them being ‘Eritrea Institute of Technology’, Asmara, Eritrea (NE Africa), ‘Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment’, Chengdu, China, ‘Madhya Pradesh Higher Education’, and ‘HNB Garhwal University’, Srinagar Garhwal. In the same field, he has deeply been involved in research, and has worked as a Visiting Professor and Visiting Scholar in the world’s various renowned research and academic institutions, including ‘The World Academy of Sciences’, ‘Chinese Academy of Sciences’, ‘Indian National Science Academy’, ‘Indian Council of Social Science Research’, and ‘Indian Institute of Advanced Studies’. Besides, he has travelled widely – 36 countries and all over India. He has an impactful expertise in the fields of Natural Resource Management, Environment-Development Interface, Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods, Disaster-Related issues, and Culture of the Himalayan region. He has developed several models and action plans for environmental conservation and economic development of the fragile Himalayan ecosystems/landscapes. More than a dozen of national individual projects and projects with international collaboration have been conducted by him. With more than 160 research papers and articles, and about three dozen books published, his academic contribution is well-documented at national and international levels.

Summary:

Himalaya is one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world. Meanwhile, it is one of the hotspots of agro-biodiversity, where a number of crop cultivars/races including food grain, oilseeds, pulses, fruits, and vegetables grow in the different altitudinal gradients from the river valley regions (<300 m) to mid-altitudes, the highlands, and alpine grasslands (up to 3400 m). These are traditional crops with high nutritional values. Practicing agriculture is the main occupation and the major source of livelihood of the inhabitants. In the recent past, the human population has grown up, which has put lots of pressure on the cropped land. Further, due to the warming of the river valleys and mid altitudes and large climate variability, production and yield of crops have decreased and many cultivars have vanished from the locations where they grew earlier. As a result, the people of the Himalayan region are facing acute food insecurity and malnutrition and they have out-migrated to other areas of the country for a safe livelihood. Climate-smart agriculture is one of the approaches for coping with climate change and variability in the region. Under this approach, more arable land can be added under irrigation mainly in the valley regions and other suitable areas. It can be done through a suitability analysis of the arable land. The second factor is that because there is a global warming phenomenon taking place, agro-ecological zones have been shifted towards the higher altitudes – from the river valleys to the highlands. There are examples of citrus, nut, and apple fruits that are grown areas, which have shifted about 200 m to 400 m higher from the altitudes they grew earlier. Under such a situation, crop suitability analysis can be done, which means that within the changing climate and its high variability, which crops can grow at what altitudes? Further, the slope aspect is another driver that impacts crop suitability along the latitudes. This can be taken into account at the time of crop suitability analysis. In the Himalayan region, an area under alluvial plains and the river valley terraces is quite less. However, irrigation facilities are substantial and therefore paddy rice and sugarcane can grow larger in these areas. System rice intensification can be introduced. Among vegetables, onion is a suitable crop for the valley regions. Wheat along with mustard and barley can grow in both lower and middle elevations. The highlands provide ample agro-climatic conditions to grow millets, food grains, pulses, and oilseeds, high nutritional value crops. They maintain high air moisture throughout the year due to the nearness of the snow-clad mighty Himalaya. Citrus fruits, which have shifted to a little higher elevation due to the warming of the valleys, can grow in the new locations, and similarly, apples can grow in the little higher elevations. The Himalaya itself supports apple cultivation by providing chili winds. Potato along with numerous highlands vegetables and medicinal plants can grow with the changing climate. One of the practices is tea cultivation, which will restore the fragile landscape and will provide ample livelihoods. The farmers can be taught about climate change implications and climate-smart agriculture. Similarly, ample market facilities will assist farmers to sell their products. This model will be very useful to cope with the climate change phenomenon in the Himalayan region and other mountainous regions of the world, where similar geo-environmental and agro-ecological conditions exist. The following model needs to be revised because of shifting agro-climate zones.

Main Objectives of Project:

• To examine the agro-biodiversity in the Himalayan region,
• To analyze the impact of climate change on agro-biodiversity,
• To study the crop suitability analysis,
• To re-delineation of agro-climatic zones
• To study climate-smart agriculture for attaining food security

Main Activities of Project:

• In order to address the climate change and changing agro-ecological zones in the Himalaya, the present study will investigate the drivers that are contributing to climate change and changing agro-climatic zones and consequently causing low crop production and yield. The study will be conducted by gathering data from primary and secondary sources. About 10 villages will be selected based on their locations – from the river valleys, middle altitudes, and the highlands. Data will be gathered on climate – rainfall, temperature, and humidity, changes in crop production and yield, and people’s perceptions of changing climate and its impact on crop production, yield, and agro-climatic zones. Maps will be prepared for the re-delineation of agro-climatic zones. Data from secondary sources – the department of agriculture and horticulture and the department of environment, forest, and climate change will be collected.The extensive field study will be conducted after rapid field visits. A participatory approach will be employed to understand the situation related to climate change and changing crop production and yield. The data will be analyzed using various statistical methods such as descriptive statistics – mean value and standard deviation. The other methods will be used in correlation and regression methods. The crops’ production and yield will be correlated with the altitudes. Maps will be prepared and digitalized, which will delineate agro-ecological zones. A comprehensive report will be prepared and submitted to the Grassroots institute,

Outline of Prospective Projects:

Project-1

Project-2

Project-3