The core idea of the project is integration of rural livelihood and sustainable management of the natural resources in the Himalayan region. It is based on a holistic approach to deal with the socio-economic complexities in hinterlands and the challenges posed by typical geo-physical conditions of the mountains. By facilitating the communities to convert those challenges as well constraints into opportunities for improving their livelihood is the key strategy.

The integrated approach for natural resources management and enhance rural livelihoods is based on premises that: the rural poor require capacity building support and resources to explore livelihood options; the management of natural resources is more efficient when linked to economic incentive to the local communities managing those resources; and that an effective local environmental governance could yield results in terms of Ecosystem Services at local, regional and global level for supporting the livelihoods of the poor associated with it. Thus, the idea approaches co-benefits and co- existence by mainstreaming livelihood based management of natural resources and involving the Village Forest Councils (Van Panchaysts - VPs in Hindi).

Attempting Ecotourism - Environmental Educational Tourism as a tool for livelihood enhancement will lead for strengthening the VPs on one hand and would be an ideal investment in our future generations by extending an opportunity to them to learn from their own environment and natural resources on the other. The project with RSG aims to build the capacities and skill development of the local communities to organise the Environmental Educational Tourism in partnership with the schools. A major output would be a field tested, developed through this action research, manual for rural communities to initiate the operations in entrepreneur manner.