Water towers of humankind research perspectives on hydraulic resources and future development in High Asia

Abstract

The wealth of hydraulic resources stored in glaciated high mountain regions disguises the fact that water management within arid mountain areas can be quite complex and characterized by deficiency symptoms. Scarcity of available water resources could be explained from different systems properties such as ecology, agricultural practices, socio-economic set-up and experiences with resource utilization. External forces and fields of conflict tend to modify the framework. The systematic approach is projected on the conditions in arid high mountain regions and the prevalent forms of agricultural practices there.