The Himalayan region is characterised by mountain communities that have many of the poorest and isolated peoples in the world. These communities suffer from poor infrastructure and lack of access to basic resources and services, including relevant information. Since the mid-1990s, Internet technologies have been used increasingly in different parts of the Himalayan region, in an attempt to address problems of information access and sharing and of communication among and between communities. The overall objectives of using these technologies in mountain areas have been to bring about an improvement in the quality of life and to seek to avoid increasing marginalisation of mountain communities through a widening ‘information gap’ between the richer, ‘connected’ urban populations and the poorer isolated rural communities.
There is growing interest on the part of various players, including governments, private organisations and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), to promote the use of the Internet and related information and communication technologies. Among the international NGOs, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) plays a unique role in the Himalayas, as it has a mandate to specifically serve communities in mountain areas and it works throughout the region, in Afghanistan, North Pakistan, North India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
This paper traces the history of Internet usage in the Himalayas and introduces the issues and problems faced in implementing projects and other initiatives to promote usage. Specific reference is made to examples arising from some of ICIMOD’s projects; lessons learned from these experiences are highlighted.
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References
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[1] Through its Mountain Environment and Natural Resources Information Service Division, ICIMOD (www.icimod.org.sg) has also been very active in promoting the use of geographical information systems for development planning in the Himalayan region. These projects are not covered in this paper.
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[2] See: Internet in South Asia , Economic and Political Weekly34 (1999) 3305-3326 . Electronic versions of four articles in Economic and Political Weekly (‘Struggling with the digital divide: Internet infrastructure, policies and regulations’; ‘Promoting the Internet in South Asia’; ‘Telecommunications infrastructure: a long way to go’; ‘Online content in South Asia: opportunities and realities’) are available at: www.sasianet.org
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[3] Available at: www.globalknowledge.org/press.html
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[4] The Hindu-Kush Himalayas: Ecoregion of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ( Environment and Natural Resources Division, ICIMOD, Kathmandu , 1999).
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[5] United Nations Development Programme , Human Development Index ( UNDP , 1999).
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[6] B.R. Kanel , Information and Communication Infrastructure ( Nepal Telecommunication Corporation, Kathmandu , 2000).
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[7] Available at: www.panasia.org.sg/nepalnet
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[8] Available at: www.unescap.org/pop/database/chinadata/tibet.htm
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[9] Available at: www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white6.html
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[10] Available at: www.unganisha.idrc.ca/itrain/materials.php3
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[11] Sustainable Development Network Programme (SDNP), Islamabad, Pakistan, 2000.
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[12] Division of Telecommunication, DrukNet, Bhutan Telecom, 2000.
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[13] Literacy rates: the approximate average of (i) the seven north-eastern States are Arunachal Pradesh: 60%, Manipur: 76%, Meghalaya: 77%, Mizoram: 95%, Nagaland: 84%, Sikkim: 79% and Tripura: 73% and (ii) two northern States are Himachal Pradesh: 77% and Uttararakhand: not available. Figures on literacy rates for individual States are from Economic Survey of India 1998-99.
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[14] Available from: www.epw.org.in/34-4647/sa5.htm
