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Himachal Pradesh launches ‘PEHEL’ or Pastoralists Empowerment in Himalayan Ecosystems for Livelihood

March 31, 2026 6 min read Environment & Ecology Social Issues GS Paper 1 (Society Vulnerable Communities) GS Paper 3 (Environment Biodiversity)
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What Happened

  • Himachal Pradesh has launched the PEHEL (Pastoralists Empowerment in Himalayan Ecosystems for Livelihood) scheme in its 2026-27 budget, with an allocation of Rs 300 crore targeting over 40,000 families belonging to pastoral communities such as the Gaddi, Gujjar, Kinnaura, and other groups known as 'Puhals'.
  • Key interventions under PEHEL include digital identity cards for shepherds (serving as a single-window document for government benefits and livestock records), life insurance coverage for pastoralists, and a market stabilisation support price of Rs 100 per kilogram for wool.
  • The announcement coincides with the United Nations designating 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, bringing international attention to communities whose traditional livelihoods are increasingly marginalised.
  • The scheme aims to combine livelihood security for pastoral families with conservation of Himalayan mountain ecosystems, recognising that transhumant grazing practices — when sustainably managed — support biodiversity and rangeland health.

Static Topic Bridges

Transhumance and Pastoral Communities in India

Transhumance is the practice of seasonal migration of livestock between complementary pastures — typically lowland winter grazing grounds and high-altitude summer meadows (locally called 'bugyals' or 'margs'). India's Himalayan and semi-arid regions are home to several transhumant pastoral communities, each with distinct ecological relationships and cultural identities. In Himachal Pradesh, the primary pastoral groups are the Gaddis (shepherds and goat herders of the Dhauladhar range) and the Van Gujjars and Gujjars (buffalo and cattle herders).

  • Gaddi transhumance: summer pastures in high-altitude zones of Lahul, Spiti, and Kullu (3,000-5,000 metres); winter descent to the foothills of Kangra and Chamba.
  • Van Gujjars historically migrated between the upper Himalayan ranges in summer and the Shivalik foothills in winter; many were affected by the creation of protected areas.
  • Other major pastoral groups in India include Changpas (Ladakh, yak herders), Bakkarwals (J&K), Bharwads and Rabaris (Gujarat/Rajasthan), and Todas (Nilgiris).
  • Transhumance prevents overgrazing by distributing grazing pressure across seasonal pastures and elevations — a form of de facto range management encoded in traditional practice.
  • Declining livestock permits, fodder scarcity, and the need for children's education are pushing Gaddi youth away from transhumance, with studies documenting reduced participation across generations.

Connection to this news: PEHEL directly addresses the livelihood insecurity that is causing pastoral families to abandon transhumance. By providing digital identity cards (reducing bureaucratic barriers to government benefits), insurance (offsetting occupational risk), and wool price support (stabilising income), the scheme attempts to make the pastoral livelihood economically competitive with sedentary alternatives.

Mountain Ecosystems and Biodiversity: The Himalayan Context

The Himalayan mountain system — spanning roughly 2,500 km across India, Nepal, Bhutan, and adjoining areas — is one of the world's most ecologically significant regions. It is a global biodiversity hotspot (the Himalaya hotspot), a critical watershed for the Indian subcontinent's major river systems, and a carbon sink. Alpine meadows (bugyals) above the treeline are particularly fragile ecosystems. Sustainable pastoral use maintains these grasslands; abandonment leads to shrub encroachment and biodiversity loss, while overuse causes compaction and soil erosion.

  • The Eastern Himalayas is recognised as one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots identified by Conservation International.
  • Alpine pastures support species such as snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, blue sheep (bharal), red fox, and multiple raptors — all dependent on the mosaic of grasslands and shrublands maintained partly by pastoral grazing.
  • Key river systems originating in the Himalayas: Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra — together watering approximately 40% of the Indian population.
  • Reforestation programmes in some Himalayan states have been documented as displacing pastoral communities, as afforested areas shrink available grazing land — a tension between two conservation objectives.
  • India's SECURE Himalayas project (supported by GEF-UNDP) works to conserve high-altitude biodiversity and reduce community dependence on natural resources through alternative livelihoods.

Connection to this news: PEHEL's dual mandate — livelihood support and ecosystem conservation — reflects a growing policy recognition that pastoral communities are not threats to mountain ecosystems but stewards of them. Maintaining the viability of transhumance is an indirect conservation instrument for Himalayan biodiversity.

Scheduled Tribes, Forest Rights, and Marginalised Pastoral Communities

Pastoral communities in India occupy a complex legal and policy position. Many are classified as Scheduled Tribes (STs) or Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and are entitled to constitutional protections. However, the creation of protected areas (national parks and wildlife sanctuaries) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, has historically restricted or eliminated traditional grazing rights, creating conflict between conservation law and community livelihood.

  • The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act) recognises community forest rights and pastoral rights over traditional grazing lands — but implementation has been uneven.
  • Many pastoral communities lack formal documentation of their identity and livestock holdings, making access to government welfare schemes difficult — the precise gap that PEHEL's digital identity card aims to close.
  • The Van Gujjars of Uttarakhand faced displacement from Rajaji National Park; their case became a landmark in the debate about conservation versus community rights.
  • Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities were also particularly affected by colonial-era Criminal Tribes Act designations; many were de-notified in 1952 but continue to face social and economic marginalisation.
  • The Renke Commission (2008) and the Idate Commission (2017) documented the situation of de-notified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes (DNTs), recommending welfare boards and developmental schemes.

Connection to this news: PEHEL is a state-level operationalisation of the welfare principle recognised at the national level for pastoral and nomadic communities. The digital identity card mechanism is particularly significant as a step toward formalising pastoral identity, which is a prerequisite for accessing any rights or entitlements under existing law.

International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026

The United Nations General Assembly designated 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), recognising pastoralism as a sustainable land use system and advocating for the rights and livelihoods of an estimated 500-800 million pastoralists and rangelands-dependent people worldwide. Rangelands — grasslands, savannas, shrublands, and tundra — cover roughly 54% of the earth's land surface and are critical carbon stores and biodiversity reservoirs.

  • Global estimate: 500-800 million people depend on pastoralism and rangelands for their livelihoods.
  • Rangelands store significant amounts of soil organic carbon and support approximately 34% of the world's livestock.
  • The IYRP 2026 is being coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and other UN agencies.
  • Key themes: recognition of pastoral rights, sustainable rangeland management, climate adaptation, and integration of pastoral knowledge in land governance.
  • India's pastoral communities number in the millions across Himalayan, semi-arid (Rajasthan, Gujarat), and peninsular (Nilgiris) ecological zones.

Connection to this news: Himachal Pradesh's launch of PEHEL in 2026 aligns directly with IYRP 2026, lending international policy legitimacy to the state's domestic initiative. The scheme's framing around ecosystem services and livelihood — rather than welfare alone — resonates with the IYRP's broader agenda of recognising pastoralism as a productive and sustainable land use system.

Key Facts & Data

  • PEHEL scheme budget: Rs 300 crore (Himachal Pradesh Budget 2026-27).
  • Target beneficiaries: over 40,000 pastoral families from Gaddi, Gujjar, Kinnaura, and allied communities.
  • Key features: digital identity card for shepherds, life insurance coverage, wool support price of Rs 100/kg.
  • UN designation: 2026 as International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026).
  • Forest Rights Act (2006) recognises community and pastoral rights over traditional grazing areas.
  • Eastern Himalayas: one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots; habitat of snow leopard, blue sheep, Himalayan tahr.
  • SECURE Himalayas project: GEF-UNDP initiative for high-altitude biodiversity conservation in India.
  • Key pastoral communities in India: Gaddis (HP), Van Gujjars (HP/Uttarakhand), Bakkarwals (J&K), Changpas (Ladakh), Bharwads/Rabaris (Gujarat/Rajasthan).
  • Declining transhumance drivers: theft of livestock (~85% cited), fodder scarcity (~72%), need for children's education (~49%).