In many areas of the world destruction of natural resources and the rapid growth of populaton are among the most important problems facing individuals and governments. This book, first published in 1976, utilises the tools of social anthropology and population studies in an attempt to see some of the causes and consequences of populations growth and some of the effects of change on natural resources. It analyses a particular ‘community’ in the Annapurna range of the central Himalayas during this century, and investigates how the destruction of forests and the growth of settled rice cultivation have occurred, and some of the consequences. The Gurungs are famous as recruits to the Gurkha regiments of the British and Indian armies, and the demographic and economic effects of foreign mercenary labour are among the topics examined.