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The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate the concept of ecosystem conservation in the areas where human and ecosystem interactions are really complex as – in one of the biodiversity hotspots – the Himalayas in India.

The research results reported in this paper are the outcome of empirical studies performed for last 12 years in the Himalayas, combined with a review of available literature, discussions with stakeholders and experimental‐design in the field conditions.

The paper identifies that conservation and management of the ecosystems/landscapes and the development of the local economy are interwoven. It evaluates the landscape management and development in economic and ecological perspectives and concurrently develops the theoretical model to understand the change in human behavior under shifting political, socio‐economic and environmental conditions.

Through the development of a theoretical agent model this study would help the design and development of sound methodological approaches in providing feasible solutions for complex human‐ecosystems interactions for sustainable landscape development in the fragile Himalayan environment.

This paper is original and shows that the development of a model framework and of appropriate models for natural resource management in the Himalayan region are still very limited and the paper is an initiative in this endeavor.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the conservation and management of crop diversity in traditional agro‐ecosystems as a crucial component for sustainable landscape development in the mountains of the Indian Himalayan region. The results indicate that mountain farming has the potential to produce good output from a low input system where farmers still use local resources and locally developed technology.

The discussion of major issues in this paper is based on our empirical study involving a survey of the area and field‐based experiments to evaluate the productivity in traditional mountain farming systems. Additionally, landscape change was monitored with the use of satellite data.

The paper finds that the rate of genetic erosion within the study area during the last three decades is documented and the factors responsible for such erosion identified. The efficiency of traditional agro‐ecosystems of Himalayan Mountains in terms of energy and monetary value is presented. Traditional crop cultivation in the region appears efficient from the viewpoint of ecology of the area and economy of the local people.

This paper recommends practical options to encourage cultivation of traditional crops for their conservation and management in the Himalayan agro‐ecosystems that will lead to sustainable landscape development in these mountains. Traditional agro‐ecosystems are characterized by their dependence on local resources, close links to the surrounding forests, and locally developed technologies in the Himalayas of India. Research and policy support for their conservation in traditional agro‐ecosystems in this region is required as many traditional crops and their landraces are in jeopardy due to their rapid genetic erosion in the region. The land use land cover map developed within this study enables observation of the process of the landscape change trends in the region. Local communities need proper awareness and encouragement through appropriate research, institutional and policy support to continue growing traditional crops for both their economic incentives and management of the ecosystem services.

The paper shows that traditional crop diversity can enhance the economic conditions for people without having negative implications on the surrounding landscape.