The thirteen papers presented in this publication review fish stocks and fisheries of mountainous areas of Asia: Himalayas (Bhutan, Nepal, northern states of India within the Himalayas), Western Ghats (India), Karakoram-Hindu Kush (Pakistan, Afghanistan), Pamir (Tajikistan), Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan), Altai (Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China), high altitude lakes of Mongolia and those of western China (provinces of Qinghai and Xinjiang [Uighur Autonomous Region] and Xizang [Tibet Autonomous Region]) and Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan). From south to north, fish fauna complexes change from Oriental to Palaearctic. Cool and coldwater streams and rivers support subsistence and/or recreational/sport fisheries, with commercial fisheries practised only in some lakes and reservoirs. While fishing of streams and rivers is largely unmanaged, considerable management effort has gone into some lakes and reservoirs, especially in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and India in order to maintain reasonably high fish catches. The management measures have included translocation and stocking of exotic fish species and regulation of fisheries. For recreational fishery, brown trout has been stocked in rivers and streams of the southern slopes of Himalayas, rainbow trout in some streams of Western Ghats ... etc.

The thirteen papers presented in this publication review fish stocks and fisheries of mountainous areas of Asia: Himalayas (Bhutan, Nepal, northern states of India within the Himalayas), Western Ghats (India), Karakoram-Hindu Kush (Pakistan, Afghanistan), Pamir (Tajikistan), Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan), Altai (Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China), high altitude lakes of Mongolia and those of western China (provinces of Qinghai and Xinjiang [Uighur Autonomous Region] and Xizang [Tibet Autonomous Region]) and Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan). From south to north, fish fauna complexes change from Oriental to Palaearctic. Cool and coldwater streams and rivers support subsistence and/or recreational/sport fisheries, with commercial fisheries practised only in some lakes and reservoirs. While fishing of streams and rivers is largely unmanaged, considerable management effort has gone into some lakes and reservoirs, especially in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and India in order to maintain reasonably high fish catches. The management measures have included translocation and stocking of exotic fish species and regulation of fisheries. For recreational fishery, brown trout has been stocked in rivers and streams of the southern slopes of Himalayas, rainbow trout in some streams of Western Ghats ... etc.

This book provides case studies and general views of the main processes involved in the ecosystem shifts occurring in the high mountains and analyses the implications for nature conservation. Case studies from the Pyrenees are preponderant, with a comprehensive set of mountain ranges surrounded by highly populated lowland areas also being considered. The introductory and closing chapters will summarise the main challenges that nature conservation may face in mountain areas under the environmental shifting conditions. Further chapters put forward approaches from environmental geography, functional ecology, biogeography, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Organisms from microbes to large carnivores, and ecosystems from lakes to forest will be considered. This interdisciplinary book will appeal to researchers in mountain ecosystems, students and nature professionals. This book is open access under a CC BY license.

The trans-Himalayan region covers the countries of the Himalayas, Karakoram and in Hindu Kush and Pamir. Fisheries play an important role in providing food and income to the mountain people. This volume contains papers presented at a meeting, held in July 2001 in Nepal, to review information, experiences and findings related to fish and fisheries in the region, including fish species distribution, fishing intensity, socio-economic conditions and livelihoods of fisher communities, as well as to the impacts of environment degradation, conservation measures and aquaculture technologies on indigenous and exotic cold water fish.

Being able to access fish and other aquatic resources in inland waters for nutrition and food security is essential for rural populations in many developing countries and inland fisheries contribute significantly to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, are tools allowing governments to strengthen governance and develop policies that secure equitable distribution of benefits and empower stakeholders. This document examines the tenure systems, rights and governance issues in the vast, diverse and complex inland fisheries of India. The objective is to highlight how inland fisheries have been changing and the associated challenges for governance and tenure. The legal and policy contexts, within which fishing in rivers, wetlands and estuaries takes place, are described as well as the diversity of fishing activities and practices in the different environments found in India, which include inland capture fisheries, culture-based fisheries and freshwater aquaculture systems. Multiple drivers of change that affect inland fisheries are discussed from within the fisheries sector and from wider social, economic and environmental contexts. The ways in which formal and informal institutional arrangements and customary access regimes interact with each other are highlighted. The potential outcomes of institutional change and emerging policies for ecological sustainability, economic equity and social justice are discussed, with a focus on capture fisheries within India’s inland fisheries.