The article introduces the importance of fresh and clean water for human survival and maintenance of ecosystem on land. It outlines the concept of integrated water resource management and its essential ingredients for sustainable development. The atmospheric, geospheric and biospheric interactions in Himalayas are briefly dealt with. Himalayan snow and ice reservoirs, its lake systems and river systems are discussed. The development of water resources for creating storage reservoirs and generating hydropower are described and measures for soil water conservation on a watershed basis are dealt with before dealing with environmental constraints and natural disasters. Global change research thrust in the mountain areas is outlined and emphasis laid on development of data bases for resources utilisation with a few concluding remarks on the importance of snowcover monitoring, establishment of hydro meteorological observatories network and district biogeodata bases to evolve sustainable development plans in the ecofragile mountain region.
