For decades following the Second World War, the destiny of billions in the Third World has been identified with "development", which can be described as the most extensive human activity in the world today. However, as practiced, it has remained an econometric exercise that marginalises the majority of the populace. The monetary reductionist approach to development has resulted in the free play of market forces. Development that is economically attractive for some but environmentally destructive for many has added to the burden of the poor. The process of marginalisation and environmental destruction is vividly evident in the mountains of the world.
According to the received history of civilisation, economic development is invariably seen to have evolved in the plains. This bias is so deep and extensive that even when attempts are made to redefine development, the rich experience of mountain regions are ignored, as was true, for instance, with the 1989 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development.
Due to the lack of a focused attention on the specific problems and potential of mountain societies, the development highlands is said to be marked by "uncertainty". In this way, what could have been an important indicator for reconceptualising development has been perceived as a "dilemma". This dilemma has its origins in the attempts to "develop" the mountains with a bias towards economic growth in the plains. In this way, the mountains receive investment in development merely to provide cheap timber, hydropower or even human labour to the plains. This plains' bias is based on the view of the hills as an inexhaustible reservoir of resources in need of externally induced exploitation.
Contrary to many experts who see as "backward" and "traditional" all areas which are inaccessible to comfortable transportation systems, the mountain areas have undergone continual socio-economic transformation over centuries. These transformations have been in response to specific and changing societal and environmental conditions. In considering appropriate development possibilities for the mountains, it is important to understand what might be called "mountain characteristics."