Dependencies upon natural resources
In modern times, before the settlement of their rights, the hill people depended upon the resources of the area (part of which is now the Great Himalayan National Park) mainly for grazing their sheep, goats, cattle, and for collecting medicinal plants.

The migration of people from Punjab, Tibet, and Nepal into the region in the 19th and 20th century, and more prominently after independence of India in 1947, has affected the social and economic conditions of the Kullu district people. Impacts and development have:

Created new settlements
impacting the older inhabitants and locales which had been characterized by inaccessibility, fragility, marginality, diversity, and specific human adaptation mechanisms to the mountains.

Expanded communication and transportation systems
roads have accelerated the process of resource exploitation and affected the long-term sustainability.

Created new markets and skills
increasing exploitation of forest wealth for marketable use as opposed to its appropriation merely for local utilization.

Strengthened law enforcement
imposing more restrictions on the local people.

Resulted in modern research
finding new uses for hitherto unmarketable trees and plants. (For example, it has been estimated that a 20 year old yew tree[Texus bacata] can yield up to 30 kg. of leaves and 5 kg. of bark which can produce 4 gm. of taxol priced at a very conservative estimate of US$10,000.

The modern pharmaceutical industry continues to commercialize medicinal herbs and animal products which, in turn, has affected the extent of their exploitation by the local people. Some herbs (e.g., Aconites, Valerians, Dactyloirhiza, and Jurinea) have only become commercially valuable during the last 15 to 20 years. Currently, there are hundreds of dealers in the country including Delhi, Amritsar, Lucknow, and Calcutta who deal in herbs on commercial basis.

Park and Local Rights Issues
The inhabitants of the Ecozone (an area adjacent to the Park with 120 villages which depended on the Park for resources) recognize the fact that the medicinal herbs in the Park area have been overexploited. If a sustainable alternative income generation source can be provided to the villagers, then the exploitation of the Park's medicinal herbs can be checked. Grazing pressures have also significantly increased. The settlement of the rights of the local people in the Park provided a short-term reduction of pressures upon the natural processes which have been detrimental to the conservation of the biological diversity of the Park.

The process of creating the GHNP has resulted in an understanding of the impact that the Park’s management would have on local communities and what the impact local communities would have on the Park. A successful and honest Park management is envisaged for a positive synergy between apparently opposing forces. The innovative eco-development (ecologically sustained development) approach focuses on minimizing the adverse impact of unhindered loss of access to Park resources by creating alternate livelihood strategies.
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