The Kullu Valley has always attracted people with its beauty and resources. Its isolation also provided a safe refuge from the turmoil and wars on the Indian plains below. Historical records indicate that people started migrating into the valley about 1,000 years ago. For the last 800 years the migration of people did not place an undue burden on the natural resources. People lived in relative harmony with their environment and sustained their livelihoods.

With the coming of the age of colonization under the British, new pressures began to change the Kullu Valley. In the 19th Century the British started exploiting the rich forests and their products. A new trend of negative human impacts on the environment commenced. Initially, the cutting of the forests, and later road construction required additional labor. More people from other areas migrated into the interiors of Kullu to fill these labor needs. They introduced different customs and stresses and this in turn affected the local populations and their way of life.

The first half of the 20th Century was a period of even more intense migration into the area and increasing human impacts. One important milestone was the official recognition of the forest rights of local people by the British government. This settlement report (Anderson Report, 1886) codified these rights, such as use of medicinal herbs, grazing, timber cutting, etc.

Since Indian independence (1947) human impacts continued to increase. In the interests of development and resource exploitation new roads were built increasing the flow of traffic into Kullu from within India as well as from Nepal and Tibet. Another cycle of stresses commenced: more roads brought more people, creating more impacts and further affecting the natural resources, culture, and environment of Kullu.

Modern medicine and the need for natural precursors of pharmaceutical products led to increased exploitation of forest medicinal herbs. As population pressures increased, the need for additional sources of income increased and both villagers and immigrants looked to the forest for their livelihood. A pattern of decreased sustainability of natural resources had begun.

Enlightened individuals in and out of government recognized the threat to the natural beauty and value of the Kullu Valley. In the early 1980s efforts began to protect the area and create a conservation site representative of the unique ecology of the Western Himalayas. Through surveys a region was identified in the Banjar Valley of the Kullu district which was sparsely populated and had sustained minimal human impact. This 754.4 sq. kms. area eventually became the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP). Working with local government and local people, from 1980 to 1999 a series of steps were implemented (surveys, research, environmental impact reports, local rights issues, etc.) to officially consolidate the creation of the Park, working with local government and local people. A critical aspect of the Park's creation was the settlement of the local people's rights first recognized in the Anderson Report, compensating them for the loss of livelihood as a result of resource areas being incorporated into Park.

As the 21st Century dawned, GHNP became an official reality under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act. Globally, India's special ecology places her as one of 12 countries with mega-biodiversity and with unique flora and fauna. GHNP protects one of the major ecological zones, the Western Himalayas, for the people of the world.
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