Poverty in Mountain Areas of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas: Some Basic Issues in Measurement, Diagnosis and Alleviation

Mountain areas of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region not only have a relatively high proportion of people living in poverty, the forms and sources of their poverty also differ from those commonly seen in the plains. However, analyses and policies relating to poverty and its alleviation often fail to recognise the specificities of the situation in mountain areas.This paper looks at the prevalent concepts on, measurement methods of, and approaches to alleviation of poverty in the specific context of mountain areas of the HKH. It points out certain specificities of poverty and its sources and outlines the basic elements of a framework for analysis and alleviation of poverty in mountain areas. The paper is organised into five sections (i) Manifestations of Poverty in Mountain Areas; (ii) Sources of Poverty; (iii) Poverty-Natural Resource Degradation Linkage; (iv) Common Strategies and Interventions; and (v) Towards a Framework for Poverty Alleviation. It is hoped that the paper will encourage discussion that will help improve understanding of causes of poverty and in evolving more appropriate strategies and policies to address it.