Tourism, Development, and Climate Stress: The Case of Kinnaur, Western Himalaya

This article explores the nexus between tourism, dilapidated development, and climate change in Western Himalaya through an ethnographic study of Kinnaur District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur is undergoing a profound rural transformation due to tourism, border area development, and intensifying climate disruptions. Drawing on 15 years of longitudinal research, this study examines how the intersection of these events is reshaping the Kinnauri economy, ecology, and social structures. National and state government schemes promoting tourism aim to develop the Indo-China border region, which is leading to environmental deterioration on highly sensitive and precarious mountain slopes. The article concludes that a sustainable approach to regulation and planning may prevent further erosion of the socioecological fabric and enhance resilience of the Kinnauri tribal mountain community.