Sustainable community development in mountain regions: the case study of Hanle Dark Sky Reserve, Ladakh, India

Development practice in mountain regions around the world has a long history of causing socio-environmental degradation. In this regard, local communities in mountain regions and government agencies have been struggling to adopt a sustainable development model that suits their social and environmental context. In this paper, we use sustainable development as a conceptual framework, more specifically the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to discuss a development initiative underway in Hanle valley in Ladakh, north India. This valley is famed for the darkness and clarity of its night sky. It is for this reason that the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) chose Hanle in 1994 to establish its field stations and install telescopes to collect vital data about the space and the universe. However, developmental changes since have resulted in degradation of the quality of the night sky due to light pollution. IIA in collaboration with Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, the Administration of UT of Ladakh, local communities and local stakeholders have been working to establish Hanle as India’s first dark sky reserve by mitigating light pollution while also promoting astronomy tourism and reviving traditional astronomical knowledge. This is an innovative approach that uses the night sky as a unique resource to create new systems that engage with different stakeholders to address various dimensions that are covered by SDG framework. This case describes the vision, process, challenges and expected outcome of this initiative to explore if such local resources can provide a viable model for sustainable development in mountain regions.