Picture Page on Peripheral South Asia

Outline

  1. Physical and Natural Environment
  2. Human Environment
  3. Human-induced Changes to the Physical Environment

Physical and Natural Environment

Map of Peripheral South Asia

http://www.atlapedia.com/online/maps/political/India_etc.htm

Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka are three countries located in the Peripheral South Asia region.  The three countries are small in terms of area, but Nepal and Sri Lanka have fairly large populations for their respective sizes.  In fact, Nepal and Bhutan are located on the border right between the two most populated countries in the world, India and China.  In the north, the landscape of these two countries is dominated by the Himalayan Mountains, the highest mountain range in the world.  However, Nepal has a total of five climate zones, ranging from arctic in the highest mountains, to tropical in the southern part of the country.  Likewise, Bhutan has vastly different climate zones in the north and south.  Both countries experience an extra “fifth season,” the monsoon season.  Sri Lanka is an island country located just south of India.  Sri Lanka also experiences a monsoon season; however, its climate is almost exclusively tropical.  The country is mostly flat and heavily vegetated, with a small mountain region in the south.  It is this highland region that experiences the coolest temperatures, and frost often occurs there during the winter.

 

Mount Everest/The Himalayas

http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/39/mount-everest.jpg

The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world.  Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth, is located in the Himalayas in the northern part of Nepal.  Including Everest, Nepal is home to, or shares through borders with other countries, eight out of the ten highest mountain peaks in the world.  Here, Mt. Everest can be seen shooting up towards the sky, over 29,000 ft. in the air.  The first person to successfully reach the summit of Everest was Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand.  He was assisted by a Nepalese Sherpa named Tenzing Norgay.  The Sherpas are an ethnic group that resides mainly in the northern most mountainous regions of Nepal.  They have gained fame for their skills as guides during Everest climbing expeditions, and their knowledge of the terrain has been pivotal to the success of many who have climbed Everest.

 

Diverse Wildlife

http://kellycullen.net/SriLanka/elephants.in.sri.lanka.jpg

 

Sri Lanka’s tropical climate allows for a very diverse wildlife population.  The country is home to the world’s largest herd of captive elephants at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.  Here, elephants that have been separated or abandoned by their parents are taken in and cared for by humans.  The orphanage was started in 1975 as a way to help counter the problem of dwindling elephant populations in Asia.  In addition to elephants, Sri Lanka has wild cats such as leopards, several deer species, hundreds of different types of birds and fish, and numerous amphibians and snakes. 

Human Environment

Traditional Festival Dress

http://www.journeys.travel/images/countries/photos/bhutan.jpg

Buddhism is Bhutan’s national religion and is practiced by about 70% of the country, with Hinduism being the minority religion.  Temple festivals are very important to the culture of the Bhutanese people, and everyone who participates in the festivals dresses in traditional Buddhist clothing.  In fact, the Bhutanese government has laws that require its citizens to adhere to the “national dress” code.  The national dress was started in an effort to give Bhutan a distinct national identity.  It requires that men wear a knee length robe called a gho, while women wear a dress known as a kira.  Anyone who works a government job must adhere to this dress code, and citizens are also to wear these traditional clothes to formal occasions and in public.

 

Pashupatinath Temple

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1034635805033718048wNsSdH

Hinduism is the prominent religion in Nepal, but Buddhism is also practiced by many people.  Lord Shiva is regarded as the guardian angel of Nepal.  The Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu is the largest Shiva temple in the world, and is considered one of the holiest sites of the Hindu religion.  Every year, thousands of Hindus make the pilgrimage to the temple from all over the world.  Here we can see the long lines of people waiting to get inside.  Only followers of the Hindu faith are allowed inside the temple.  All other tourists and visitors can only look from the outside.

 

Ceylon Tea

http://www.student.britannica.com/eb/art-74123/A-worker-picks-tea-leaves-on-a-plantation-near-Nuwara

One of Sri Lanka’s exports is its world famous Ceylon Tea.  The island of Sri Lanka was formerly called Ceylon, and this is where the tea’s name comes from.  Sri Lanka is the third largest tea producing country in the world, and there are numerous tea plantations all around the country.  The plantation economy developed in Sri Lanka during nineteenth-century British colonization.  Tea became a major crop during the late 1800s after a deadly plant fungus wiped out many of the nation’s coffee crops.  Because the plantation style economy led to economic inequality, most colonial style plantations have become dismantled and privatized.  Although Sri Lanka is moving to a much more industrialized economy, agricultural exports such as tea are still very important. 

Human-induced Changes to the Physical Environment

Takstang Monastery

http://www.himalayantours.com/images/bhutan_tiger_nest_2.jpg

Because of the very rugged terrain, people in the region have had to adapt appropriate construction techniques to build homes and other buildings in the mountains.  Here in Bhutan, the very elegant looking Takstang Monastery has been built right into the mountainside.  Takstang means “tiger’s nest” in the Dzongkha language, and it is local legend that a religious leader named Padma Sambhava flew to the spot on a mythical tigress, meditating in a cave for three months.  The monastery was later built on this spot, and Tantric Buddhism grew out of the area.  The monastery is regarded as one of the most sacred places in Bhutan.  This is just one of many examples of how people have adapted to their physical surroundings.

 

Rajapur Irrigation System

http://www.environment.mottmac.com/projects/?mode=type&id=151154

The Karnali River in Nepal is the largest tributary to the great Ganges River that is so important to India.  Nepal has an extensive irrigation system built into the Karnali that is crucial to farmland in the country.  Unfortunately, severe flooding has been a major problem, and the Nepalese government commissioned a project to “reduce flood damage to the irrigation system, stem land loss through river erosion, improve dry season irrigation, and strengthen capacity for sustainable management.”  The plan includes man-made improvements to reinforce river banks, as well as “spurs” that are designed to affect the flow of the river.

 

Renewable Energy in Sri Lanka

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/EXTEAPASTAE/0,,contentMDK:21042050~menuPK:2900851~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:2822888,00.html

With financial assistance from organizations such as the World Bank, Sri Lanka has implemented plans to help lessen its reliance on foreign oil, and to promote clean, renewable energy alternatives.  Much of the World Bank backed projects have dealt with the development of solar energy.  However, this home is being powered by a small hydro-energy station.  Not only do the projects help to bring clean, environmentally friendly electricity to many rural Sri Lankan homes, but they have also created growth opportunities for local businesses that have gotten involved in the program.

 

Submitted by Darrin Drews on 3/3/08.