Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH) Issue 3

Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)
Whistling with Knowledge

The First Development Journal from Karakoram
Volume 1, Issue 3 , July - September 2009

Online ISSN : 2074-7772
Print ISSN : 2074-9562
www.kkh-journal.org
Rupani Foundation
Rupani Foundation ventures into Production Phase
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Chitral, during the year 2007-8, Rupani Foundation has now entered into the production phase.
Highly skilled individuals with the support of improved technology are engaged in the produc-
tion of value added items made from precious and semi-precious stones. A cadre of skilled
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You are encouraged to get services at our production centers in

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more.
For more details, please contact:

Rupani Foundation, JJ Market, Adjacent Alfalah Bank, Jutyal Gilgit, Pakistan.
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Email : ceo@rupanifoundationpk.org ,
Website : www.rupanifoundation.org
ADVISORY BOARD
GHULAM ALI
K ara kor am K now le d g e H i g h w a y s ( K K H )
GHULAM AMIN BEG

FARMAN ALI
DR.HERMANN KREUTZMANN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ZULFIQAR ALI KHAN
GRAPHICS DESIGNER
KARIM KHAN FAYAZI
EDITORIAL SUPPORT
CHRISTEN ROMERO
EJAZ ALI
MARKETING TEAM
SHAHID KARIM
SULTAN AZAM
KADO PHOTO CREDITS

Karakoram Knowledge Highways
ZULFIQAR ALI AND KADO STAFF
KADO Central Office,Aliabad
District Hunza-Nagar,
The Journal is a product of the Knowledge Managment
Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
component of Karakoram Area Development Organization
Tel : (92-5813)-455816/458135 (KADO).
Fax : (92-5813)-455813 The opinions expressed in the various articles are those held
Email : kkh.journal@gmail.com by the contributors and are not necessarily shared and re-
flects the thoughts of KADO. KKH welcomes articles from
www.kkh-journal.org
contributors. All articles are subject to a review and ap-
www.kadohunza.org proval process by the Editorial Board.
Contents
Editorial 7
1 Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction 9
MUHAMMAD ZAFAR KHAN
2 Melting Glaciers and Agriculture in Pakistan 27
SYED MUJAHID ALI SHAH
Societal Development and Change in Hunza Valley: A Study of

3 31
Ghulkin
FAZAL AMIN BEG
4 Geographic Comparison of Pasture Land Use Patterns in the Pamirs 37
HERMANN KREUTZMANN 49
[Lessons from Himalaya]:Analytical Framework for Equitable

5 Mountain Tourism: An Analytical Discourse on Political Ecology of
Mountain Geography in Everest Region of Nepal.
SUNDAR KUMAR SHARMA 57
6 History of Formal Education in Hunza Valley
KARIM DAD 67
Editorial
The editorial board is pleased to share with you that the journal is getting wide recognition
beyond local and national borders, and many reputed professionals and researchers have
contacted us to voluntarily contribute to the journal as editorial members and reviewers.
We are also delighted to offer the internet-based, open-access format of the journal at
www.kkh-journal.org. The contents are downloadable as html and pdf files that you can
read online or print out and read as hardcopies. We hope that the online version will enlarge
and diversify the journals readership and authorship, particularly reaching all those inter-
ested in mountain-specific issues.
This issue presents assorted research works and case studies focusing primarily on various
aspects of natural resources in mountainous regions. The first paper discusses the state of
agrobiodiversity and the eroding situation of related indigenous knowledge in Gilgit-
Baltistan. The following article presents recent scientific findings on thawing glacier activity
in the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges and its impact on Pakistans agriculture. The subse-
quent piece provides a geographic comparison of pasture land use patterns in the Pamir
sub-regions.
This issue also includes a study on social change and development from the Ghulkin
communitys perspective.
A review paper regarding Nepals Everest region is also included. The work aims to develop
an analytical framework for equitable mountain tourism based on the discourse of political
ecology. The final write-up focuses on the evolution of formal education in Hunza Valley with
an in-depth chronicle of its earliest teachers.
We would also like to extend our particular gratitude to Christen Romero, who assisted in
editing this issue.
We welcome your comments and especially your submissions for publication.
-7-
-7-
Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the
Verge of Extinction
MUHAMMAD ZAFAR KHAN
The paper discusses the state of agrobiodiversity and the state of the eroding knowledge in
Gilgit-Baltistan. It also highlights the root causes of natural resource deterioration in the re-
gion in addition to the consequences of losing agrobiodiversity.
Gilgit-Baltistan(GB) possess peculiar geographic and climatic conditions coupled with tradi-
tional living patterns that support a diverse array of agrobiodiversity. By the mid-20th century
traditional farming systems had become balanced, sustainable and oriented towards self-suf-
Abstract
ficiency. The final decades of the century saw the intensification of farming and the alienation
of local communities from indigenous and biological resources. As a result, indigenous varie-
ties of crops, fruit, vegetable and livestock species lost their significance and began being re-
placed by high-yield crop varieties and improved breeds of livestock. The situation resulted in
the depletion of agrobiodiversity causing irreversible loss to indigenous biological resources.
Despite their benefits, the newly adopted agricultural practices brought additional problems
like pests, disease, and high input demands to the areas agriculture systems. Therefore, sub-
stantial efforts are needed to conserve the territorys unique and precious biological resources
before the traces vanish forever.
1. Introduction
The region spread across an area of 72,496 square kilometres bordering China, Afghanistan and India.
Situated between longitude 72-75 North and latitude 35 -37East, the region has been administrative-
ly divided into seven districts: Gilgit, Baltistan, Diamer, Ghizar, Ganche, Astore and Hunza-Nagar. These,
in turn, have been further sub-divided into 13 sub-divisions and 19 tehsils. The regions administrative
headquarter is located in Gilgit Town (see Map1).
Topography, Climate and Ecological Zones
GB have unique geographic features and is dominated by one of the most mountainous landscapes on
earth with an arm of the Hindu Kush to the west, the lesser Himalaya to the south, the Karakoram to the
east, and the Pamir to the north. More than half of GB is located above 4,500 meters. Nineteen of the
areas peaks exceed 7,600 meters, including K-2 (the second highest peak in the world); over 40 famous
glaciers are located in this region as well. Adding to the diverse landscape are several rivers including the
areas principle waterway, the Indus, which originates from Mansoor Lake in the Karakoram ranges of Ti-
betan belt. The origins of Gilgit River are Shandur Lake and Yasin Valley (above 12000 feet) while Hunza
Rivers source is Khunjerab Pass (16002 feet) near Chinese border. These two rivers join the mighty Indus
9
Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)
at the confluence of the three mountain ranges near Juglot Gilgit.
Climate conditions vary widely across GB , ranging from the monsoon-influenced, moist temperate zone
in the western Himalayas to the arid and semi-arid cold desert in the northern Karakoram and Hindu
Kush. Below 3,000 meters, precipitation is minimal, rarely exceeding 200 millimetres annually. However,
there is a strong altitude-based gradient, and at 6,000 meters 2,000 millimetres of precipitation fall per
year in the form as snow. Temperatures in the valley bottoms vary from extremes of 40C in summer to
less than 10 0C in winter.
The diverse climatic conditions in Gilgit-Baltistan , coupled with extreme variations in altitude and aspect,
Map 1 : Map of Gilgit-Baltistan
has led to an equally wide array of vegetation and ecological zones. Five distinct zones can be identified:
dry alpine areas and permanent snowfields; alpine meadows and alpine scrub; sub-alpine scrub; dry
temperate coniferous forest; and dry temperate evergreen oak scrub. This diverse range of vegetation
and ecological zones also supports a rich faunal diversity, including an estimated 54 species of mammals
and 230 species of birds (IUCN/GoP 2003).
Population
The 1998 population census estimated that there were just over 870,000 people in Gilgit-Baltistanas. De-
spite the growth of the GBs urban areas, the great majority of the population (approximately 86%) con-
tinues to be rural. Although the total population of GB is relatively small, it is linguistically and ethnically
diverse, reflecting the regions legacy of cultural change, migration and conquest over millenia. Each of
the areas districts maintains a different cultural mosaic, and often, different languages as well. Religious
-10- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)

affiliations also vary, from the traditional Sunni Muslims in Chilas near Nanga Parbat to the Ismailis in
Hunza and Ghizar to the Shias and Noorbakhshis in Baltistan and Nagar Valley (IUCN/GoP 2003).
Principal Land-Uses
Land-use in the region is dominated by subsistence cultivation, fruit production, livestock raising, forestry
and conserving protected land. There is a small but growing service sector, particularly in transportation,
tourism and trading, as well as a significant military presence. Only 2% of Gilgit-Baltistan is believed to
be cultivable. Of this area, just over 1% is already in use for the production of grain crops, fruit and veg-
etables. Approximately nine per cent of Gilgit-Baltistan is occupied by natural forests and scrub, and 22
per cent by rangelands (primarily alpine pasture). Human settlements cluster primarily along the valley
floors where glacial melt provides sufficient water for cultivation. Agricultural systems vary significantly
with elevation. Between 1,200 and 2,000 meters, both summer and winter crops are grown. Between
2,000 and 3,000 meters, only summer crops (either maize or wheat) are grown. Beyond 3,000 meters,
cultivation ends and high forests and Alpine pastures begin. (IUCN/GoP 2003)
1.2 Significance of Biodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan
The region represent diverse range of natural ecosystems including major wetlands and globally excep-
tional fauna and flora due to the regions peculiar geographical, topographical and climatic conditions. The
species tally for Pakistans northern mountainous area includes 45 species of mammals (Roberts 1997),
222 species of birds (Roberts 1991), 32 of reptiles, 6 of amphibians, and some 1000 species of vascular
plants (Stewart 1972).
A range of globally threatened species reside here including the snow leopard, Himalayan lynx, Himalay-
an ibex, Marcopolo sheep, blue sheep, Ladakh urial, markhor, musk deer, and the woolly flying squirrel.
The Western Himalaya is classified as an Endemic Bird Area (EBA) by Birdlife International. The resident
avifauna includes the Himalayan monal pheasant, snow partridge, Himalayan snow cock, and several
birds of prey including the Lammergeyer. The diverse flora also includes a number of progenitors of eco-
nomically useful crops including wild cumin, thyme, pine nuts, apricots and walnuts not to mention a host
of medicinal plants with potentially useful pharmaceutical applications. There are cold-retracting species
like buckthorn, hawthorn, low shrubs, and meadow grasses. Approximately 80% of the 300 or so plant
species known to be endemic to Pakistan are found in the mountains (UNDP 1999).
The principal food crops consist of wheat, maize, barley, and potatoes as well as additional vegetables
and fruits. Livestock are an integral component of the agricultural system; in 1996, the total livestock
population of Gilgit-Baltistan was estimated to be above two million animals (IUCN/GoP 2003).
Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction -11-

2. Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan
2.1 Importance of Agrobiodiversity
Agrobiodiversity refers to genetic variability in cultivated plants and domesticated animals including
closely related wild species growing and evolving under natural conditions (Thrupp 1997). Agrobiodiver-
sity not only directly contributes to national economies, but it also provides employment and livelihood to
a large section of the society. However, there are growing concerns that modern commercial agriculture
has had a direct, negative impact on biodiversity at all levels: ecosystems, species, and genes as well
as natural and domestic diversity are all negatively affected (UNEP 1995). Biological resources (including
genetic resources, whole organisms and their parts, populations, and all other biotic components of the
ecosystem useful to humanity) are renewable. With proper management they can support human needs
indefinitely. Therefore these resources, and the diversity of the systems which support them, should be
the essential focus of sustainable development (McNeely 1994).
Biodiversity provides not only food and income but also raw materials for clothing, shelter, medicines, and
new variety breeds and perform other services such as maintenance of soil fertility and biota and soil and
water conservation that are both essential to human survival. Nearly one-third of the worlds land area
is exploited for food production.
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, including: pasture and rangelands species and forest
genetic resources of trees that are an integral part of farming system Animal genetic resources for food
and agriculture, including fishery genetic resources, in cases where fish production is part of farming
system, and insect genetic resources;Microbial and fungal genetic resources (Fayyaz 2005).
Although the traditional varieties tend to be of the low-yield type, they are well-adapted to the local en-
vironment and are also disease resistant. Local crop and livestock varieties have evolved over centuries
and possess many characteristics that make them quite suitable for the specific environmental conditions
prevailing in GB ; there are believed to be, for example, some 32 indigenous races of cereals and pulses
in GB (Hashmi and Saifiullah 2003). For millions of farmersespecially resource-poor farmers in margin-
alized areas local landraces serve their household goals better than improved varieties offered by the
formal system (Hansen 1994).
2.2 Crop Diversity
According to IUCN/GoP 2003, Gilgit-Baltistan possess a rich array of genetic crop resources. These in-
clude traditionally cultivated varieties as well as wild relatives of crops such as wheat and barley. A di-
verse range of crops and vegetables is also grown. The principal crops include wheat, barley, triticale,
maize, millet, potato, pulses, buckwheat and several fodder crops. Wheat is the most important crop and
forms the regions staple diet of the region followed by maize and barley. There are several recognized
varieties of wheat differing in maturity, grain quality and rust resistance. Some of these varieties are
known to have originated in Badakhshan (Afghanistan), Ladakh and Kashgar (China).

Table 1: Wild Crop and Fruit Relatives Found in Gilgit-Baltistan
Common Name Scientific Name Distribution in GB
Hordeum bogdanii Karakoram mountains

Wild relatives of barley
Sorghum halepense Common throughout GB
Wild relatives of chick pea Cicer macranthum Sub-alpine slopes of the Karakoram and Himalaya
Cicer microphylum Sub-alpine slopes of the Karakoram and Himalaya
Pyrus pashia Temperate Himalaya

Wild relatives of fruits
Prunus prostrate Temperate Himalaya
Wild relatives of grape Vitis jacquemontii Skardu region of the Himalaya
Wild relatives of millet Pennisetum flaccidum Alpine slopes of the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Himalaya
Aegilops squarossus Mountain valleys
Aegilops triuncials Mountain valleys

Wild relatives of wheat
Elymus longe aristatus Highlands of the Hindu Kush,Himalaya and Karakoram
Elymus russelii Endemic to the Karakoram
Source: Nasir and Ali, 1970.
Potatoes were introduced to Gilgit-Baltistan at the end of the 19th century and are now grown as a cash
crop. Commonly grown pulses include lentils, black gram, peas, chickpeas, broad beans, mothbean (a
wild type of soya bean) and beans. Fodder crops include Lucerne, shaftal, vetch, berseem (introduced),
rye, white clover and sweet clover (which also occurs in the wild) and Onobrychis. Approximately 500
wild relatives of cultivated crops and fruits have been discovered in Pakistan, many of which are found in
Gilgit-Baltistan. Some of the most important wild relatives recorded from the region are listed in Table 1.
2.3. Fruit Diversity

Table 2: Fruit Varieties Found in Gilgit-
Baltistan
From an agro-ecological standpoint, Gilgit-Baltistan is particu-
Number of Varieties/
Fruit Species larly well-suited for the production of deciduous fruit and nut
Cultivars
Almond 3 crops (Doolan, 1993). They also lie close to the two major cen-
Apple 17 tres of fruit diversity, namely, Central Asia and China.
Apricot 28
Cherry 13
The ancient trade route from China to India passed through
Grape 8 Gilgit-Baltistan , and many of the regions fruit species were

Mulberry 4 originally brought here by traders. Fruit crops have been
Olive 6 grown here for centuries and now possess the genetic
Peach 5 basis for tolerance to extreme cold, heat, frost, drought,
Pear 14
diseases and pests; they represent a unique resource for
Plum 8
future horticultural development (IUCN/GoP 2003).
Walnut 15
Sources: Doolan, 1993; GB Department of Agriculture.

Fruit trees tend to be located in the valleys and on the lower
slopes. Apricots are an important food staple, especially in Hun-
za, where the steep valley sides and narrow terraces favour the production of tree crops. Traditionally

only apricots, grapes, mulberries and walnuts were grown in Gilgit-Baltistan , but over the last century,
many other kinds of fruit trees have been introduced (Table 2).
2.4. Livestock Diversity

Table 3: Livestock Breeds Found in Gilgit-Baltistan
Many different breeds of sheep, goats and cattle are Breeds in Breeds in
Species
Pakistan GB
found in Gilgit-Baltistan (Table 3). Sheep (Ovis ar- Cattle 12 1
ies) breeds include the Baltistani, Gojali and Kohai- Chicken 3 1
Ghizar varieties. Goat (Capra hircus) breeds include Donkeys 4 1
Goats 32 7
Baltistani, Pamiri, Gojali, Kohai-Ghizar, Jarakheil,
Horses 4 2
Gaddi and Kaghani. Farmers also keep cattle (Bos
Sheep 37 4
taurus), yaks (Bos grunniens) and various cross-
Yaks 1 1
breeds between the two known as zo/zomo. (IUCN/
Source: Virk, Sheikh and Marwat 2003
GoP 2003).
Yaks are typically kept in the high regions such as Gojal, Baltistan and parts of Ghizar District. They are
highly valued animals and very important to the local economy as they provide milk, wool, draught power
and manure. Yaks are physically well-adapted to high altitudes. Their heavy wool and other thermo-
regulatory mechanisms enable them to tolerate extreme weather conditions (Seim 1999).
3. Causes of Agrobiodiversity Loss in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan

3.1. Alienation of Local Communities from Indigenous Biological Resources
Population growth, the availability of natural resources, standards of life, increased accessibility, degra-
dation of environment, and institutional interventions are all contributing factors of the changing trends
of rural life in Gilgit-Baltistan. By the last decade of 20th century, traditional farming, which was the only
life-sustaining activity, proved to be less capable to meet the subsistence demands of local communities.
Therefore, agricultural practices shifted from traditional systems to market-oriented patterns. Due to low
market preferences, local crop varieties and livestock tend to be replaced by improved varieties and live-
stock breeds. In pursuance of off-farm employment opportunities, less attention was paid to agricultural
practices. The regional community therefore overlooked agrobiodiversity during the last two decades.
However, environmental awareness among the local populace matters. They are not acquainted with the
value of biodiversity and its sustainable use.
3.2. Agriculture Intensification and Introduction of Alien-Invasive Species
The traditional farming systems in Gilgit-Baltistan were balanced, sustainable and oriented to self-suf-
ficiency until 1950 (Whiteman 1985: 41-45). By 1990 the basic farming systems were intact, but per-
formance analysis showed that the traditional systems were no longer capable of sustainably fulfilling
demand. Therefore the trend changed from subsistence-oriented to market- oriented farming systems.
Three types of adaptations in farming occurred as a result: expansion, intensification and diversification

(AKRSP 1995).
Box 1: Crossbreeding Between local Cattle and Yaks
Male Yak X Female Cow
F1 Zo Zomo x Yak
F2 Gar Garmo x Yak
F3 Gir Girmo x Yak
F4 Bre Bremo x Yak
F5 Luk Lukmo x Yak
F6 Yak Yakmo
Source: Seim, 1999.
The loss of biodiversity is extremely critical in agriculture. Modern farming practices, including those
advocated under the Green Revolution, are eroding genetic diversity in crops and livestock. Most of the
worlds food now comes from a handful of species and varieties, a situation vastly different from pre-
modern times when only a handful of people would use any single variety.
The introduction of high-yield crop varieties (e.g. wheat) is one of the principal causes underlying the loss
of genetic diversity between crops in Gilgit-Baltistan (IUCN/GoP 2003). The declining genetic diversity of
Gilgit-Baltistan fruit trees is a prime example of such a risk. The major threat comes from the unchecked
introduction of western fruit varieties by horticultural development programmes; in many areas farmers
are abandoning established, local varieties in favour of the new western cultivars (Thompson 1988). The
extent of this problem can be judged from the fact that between 1983 and 1984, 33 new apple varieties
were imported from England and introduced as mother trees on eight different government nurseries in
Gilgit-Baltistan (Whiteman 1985).
Domestic animal diversity is being lost in many parts of the world , as human population growth and
economic pressures accelerate the pace of change in traditional agriculture systems (FAO/UNEP, 2000).
The loss of livestock biodiversity is caused by the replacement of the traditional breeds with a small se-
lection of specialized, improved breeds, which have often been developed in very different environments.
Crossbreeding between exotic livestock and native breeds of cattle, sheep and goats is an added concern
(IUCN/GoP 2003). According to Seim (1999), perhaps the most serious threat to livestock diversity in
Gilgit-Baltistan comes from the multiple crossing of local cattle and yak (Box 1). Both have 30 pairs of
chromosomes, and hybridization is widely practiced. With each successive generation, female milk pro-
duction continues to decline.
While explaining the loss of agrobiodiversity due to agriculture intensification, Fayyaz (2005) added that
about 7,000 plant species have been cultivated and collected for food by humans since agriculture began
about 12,000 years ago. Today, only 15% of those plant species and a total of eight animal species sup-
ply 90% of our food.

Other causes of depleting agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan are deforestation and overgrazing.
4. Effects of Agrobiodiversity Loss

4.1. Effects on Agriculture System
Due to agriculture intensification crop diversity has been reduced to only a few varieties. In most of the
villages, farmers prefer to grow only potatoes or high-yield wheat crops. The local cultivars of cereals,
pulses and vegetablesonce grown widely throughout Gilgit-Baltistanhave been abandoned. One ex-
ample is buckwheat which was once grown widely throughout Gilgit-Baltistan and now seldom appears
in farmers fields. In pursuance of cash crops, the farmers pay little attention to crop rotation, making
their field more vulnerable to pests and weeds.
Soil fertility and productivity are also in peril due to mono-cropping and the application of chemical fer-
tilizers. The traditional system of agriculture never called for the continuous cultivation of the same crop
on same piece of land in back-to-back years. Usually leguminous crops were intermittently planted com-
pensate for mineral reducing, soil-exhausting crop; otherwise the land had to be left fallow (Tamusi-in
Brushaski and Shada in Shina language; spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan).
Disease outbreak and pest plagues are additional debilitating effects of agricultural intensification. Such
pests as the codling moth and woolly aphids in apples, Botrytis leaf virus in onions, crown gall disease
in cherries, and nematodes in potatoes are just a few examples which we inherited with introduced root
stock and seed material. The naturally occurring biological method of pest control has been irreparably
damaged due to the application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Biological control agents, like lady
bird beetles, dragon flies and wasps along with insect eaters like crows and magpies are dwindling at
alarming rates. Pesticides have also affected the populations of native pollinators like bees and wasps.
This has limited the fruit bearing process in some of the fruit trees.
Indigenous farming methods (such as proper tillage, crop rotation, change of seed material, cultivation
of legumes to increase soil fertility, well-drained irrigation, application of ash and juniper leaves for pest
control and above all love and respect for farming) enabled the local communities to have self-sufficient
agriculture systems prior to so-called modern agriculture. Agriculture for todays farmer has become
a misery due to the high cost of inputs, low productivity and poor markets (as commodities sometimes
lose their value due to seasonability).
4.2. Effects on Poultry
Poultry is a major source of food for inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan; historically, all households reared
a considerable number of chickens prior to the introduction of farm poultry. Farm poultry brought fa-
tal poultry diseases along with its introduction to the area. Now the local poultry, generally called Desi
Murghi, has become a rare commodity throughout the Gilgit-Baltistan. Chicken rearing was a well-adapt-
ed and cost-effective economic activity compared to the cost of farm poultry.. Thus, the introduction of

farm poultry deprived most locals of a major part of their daily diet.
4.3 Effects on Endemic Fish Populations
Invasive trout species have assaulted most of the streams and rivers in Gilgit-Baltistan. Native fish popu-
lations are now largely restricted to a small portion of the areas low-lying rivers.
5. Conclusion
Gilgit-Baltistan, due to their peculiar geographic and climatic conditions, possess a rich agricultural bio-
diversity. During the last two decades, market-oriented agriculture practices have replaced traditional
self-sustaining agricultural systems. This has resulted in widespread alienation of the local communities
from indigenous biological resources. Agriculture intensification comes at the cost of the unique biologi-
cal resources by limiting the genetic resources from many crop varieties and livestock species to only a
handful types. The pace of agrobiodiversity loss is alarming. If it remains unchecked, the people of Gilgit-
Baltistan will lose most of the historically-robust biological heritage in their area.
Reasserting the significance of agrobiodiverstiy and finding avenues for sustainable utilization of its prod-
ucts to local communities is essential to the conservation of indigenous biological resources for future
generations.
6. References
AKRSP 1995. A Contextual Study of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. Eds. Pieter H. Streefland, Shandana H.
Khan and Oliver Van Lieshout. AKRSP Babar Road Gilgit Pakistan.
Doolan, D. W. 1993. Production of Seeds and planting material in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan (End of As-
signment Report). Gilgit Aga Khan Rural Support Programme.
FAO/UNEP. 2000. World watch list for domestic animal diversity. Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization.
Fayyaz, S. 2005. Biodiversity for Food Security. An article published in the ENVIRONMONITOR , Vol. V,
No. 1-2, Jan-Feb, 2005.
Hansen_Friss, E. 1994. Conceptualizing In situ Conservation of Landscapes. Cited in Widening Prospec-

tive of Biodiversity. Eds. Anatole F. Kattiger, Jaffrey A. McNeely, William H. Lesser, Kenton R. Miller,
Yvonne St. Hill and Ranil Senanayake. IUCN-The World Conservation Union and the International Acad-
emy of Environment. pp. 137-145
IUCN/GoP. 2003. State of Environment and Development in Gilgit-Baltistan. Gilgit: IUCN-The World Con-
servation Union and Government of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan Administration.
Nasir. E. and S. I. Ali (Eds.). 1970. Flora of Pakistan. Islamabad and Karachi: National Herbarium, PARC
and Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Pakistan.
Seim, V. 1999. Grazing behaviour, habitat use and diet selection of domestic animals on the high pas-
tures in Basho Valley, Baltistan. (MS thesis submitted to Department of Animal Science, Agriculture
University of Norway.

Thompson, M. 1988. Bio-geographic Survey and Collection of Temperate Fruit and Nut Genetic Resources
in Northern Pakistan (Trip Report IBPGR 89/55)
Thrupp, 1997. Linking Biodiversity and Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Food
Security. WRI, Washington: pp. 19
UNDP. 1999. Project Document of the Pakistans Mountain Areas Conservancy Project. pp. 7,8.
UNEP. 1995. Global Biodiversity Assessment; Summary for Policy Makers: pp. 46.
Virk, A. T., K. Sheikh and A. H. Marwat. 2003. NASSD Background Paper: Biodiversity. Gilgit: NACS Sup-
port Project, IUCN Pakistan.
Whiteman, P .T. S. 1985. A Technical Report of Agricultural Studies in Gilgit District, Gilgit-Baltistan Pa-
kistan. Gilgit: FAO/UNDP Integrated Rural Development Project
The author is associated with WWF-Pakistan as Manager of Communications and Environmen-

tal Education.

Melting Glaciers
and Agriculture in Pakistan
Syed Mujahid Ali Shah
The agriculturcal sector is the single most important source of employment and base of exports in
Pakistan. The country is located in arid and semi-arid climate zones where rainfall is inadequate
to sustain crop growth. Irrigation is essential for agriculture in these regions. More than 90
percent of the total surface water withdrawals are for irrigation purposes. The Indus Basin River
System (IBRS) in the country is the largest irrigation system in the world and absolutely critical
for irrigation. The glaciers of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindukush and Pamir ranges in Gilgit-
Baltistan contribute significantly to the stream-flow of the IBRS. More significantly, during the dry
season these glaciers become the systems only source. Impacts due to climate change on these
Abstract
glaciers have been studied in recent decades and vivid fluctuation of water flow in the Indus River
Basin System (IBRS) has been reported.
This situation proves a truly worrisome phenomenon as experts, scientists and policymakers alike
work towards agricultural sustainability and food abundance in the coming years. Moreover, the
increasingly harsh climate is damaging and will continue to damage the aesthetic features of the
gorgeous mountain landscape.
Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, this paper examines recent scientific findings on thawing
glacier activity in the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, the subsequent fluctuations in water flow into
the Indus River Basin and the impacts this phenomenon has on the nations food production.
In forming solutions to this ever increasing problem, this piece consults expert opinions on pos-
sible technical adaptations and global socioeconomic measures to cut the carbon emission-the
main source of global warming. Finally, the ethical values of contemporary society are considered,
including reflections on the responsibility of humans in using natural capital and the rights of fu-
ture generations on natural resources.
1. Introduction
All sections of nature, including inanimate ones and entities such as ecosystems and the biosphere, pos-
sess intrinsic value (Gorke,2003). Nature is valuable not only because it fulfills the basic needs of man (e.g.
pure air and clean water) but also because it serves aesthetic and emotional purpose (Hargrove, 1989; Eser
and Potthast, 1999). To produce ecological, economical and social sustainability, adequate cooperation be-
tween several disciplines is necessary (Doering, 1999). Sustainable development demands that we equally
consider economic, social, and ecological development (Ott, 2003) while recognizing responsibility towards
future generations (Ott, 2004: 83-108). The natural capital is irreplaceable and indeed complementary to
other forms of capital. In terms of the production of goods, this means that the depletion of natural capital
(e.g. forests, fish stocks, water resources etc.) can become a highly limiting factor. However, scarcity of said
Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH) -19-

resources can also result in the deterioration of the human experience. In order to prevent such scarcity and
exhaustion, the remaining reserves of natural capital must be conservedthat is to say, a so-called constant
natural capital rule (CNCR) should be observed (Ott and Dring, 2004: 97-171): ...development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is
sustainable development (WCED, 1987). Today man-made climate change causes the depletion of natural
capital, sometimes to the point of irreversibility. One of the worrisome examples is global glacier retreat. For
good reason, glaciers have emerged as poster-children in the efforts to combat climate change (Gore, 2006).
Abundant evidences point to earlier spring river influxes and an overall increase in the winter flow in basins in
Asian areas with seasonal snow cover. The earlier arrival of the spring runoff leads to a runoff decline in sum-
mer and autumn, normally the seasons with the highest water demand. This ultimately creates quandaries in
terms of water availability (Rosenzweig et al., 2007). Accompanying the growing concern about climate change
is awareness that the global hydrologic system could be radically altered. This change, in turn, has consequenc-
Fig 1: A digital elevation model of the western end of Tibetan Hima-
layan orogen. (Source:Yeong Bae Seong et,al,2009)
es for water availability and the strength and frequency of water-based natural hazards across the surface of
Earth. Climate change will inevitably alter the way in which we manage aquatic resources (a sizable fraction of
which lies in glacier ice) and will significantly change (and possibly increase) the hazards posed to mountainous
regions (Oerlemans et al., 1998; Barry, 2006).
Pakistan, the second largest South Asian nation, has a total population of 169 million (Population Council,
2009).The country has a great variety of landscapes ranging from the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas,
Karakoram and Hindukush(HKH region) to the lush, vast irrigated Indus plain to the impressively rugged pla-
teaus of Pothwar, Punjab and Southwest Balochistan. Pakistan ecompasses a total area of 79.61 million hec-
tares (FAO, 2008). The cultivated area is 19.63 million hectares, i.e. 24.66% of total area. Irrigated land covers

18.22 million ha (FAO, 2008). Agriculture is the single largest sector of the Pakistans economy, providing
livelihood to 66% of the population, accounting for 20.9% of the states GDP, and employing 43.4% of the
work force (Economic Survey, 2007/08). The sector is strongly linked with food security, poverty alleviation,
rural development and the possibility of achieving bigger goals, for example, employment-led economic
growth through its linkages and multiplier effects (B.A. Sheikh, S.A. Sheikh and G.H. Soomro, 2005). Paki-
stan is in arid and semi-arid climate zones, and cultivation therefore depends primarily on sporadic precipi-
tation and river flow. In Pakistan, the average annual rainfall varies from less than 100 mm in Balochistan
and parts of Sindh provinces to over 1,500 mm in the foothills and northern mountains of the Himalayas,
Karakoram, Hindukush and Pamir (Randhwa, 2002). Glaciers in Pakistan cover 13,680 sq. km, a total of 13%
of the mountainous regions of the Upper Indus Basin (UIB). Glacier water accounts for more than 60% water
flow to the UIB ( Rasul, 2008).
The importance of the mountains cannot be overstated. They limit intrusions of the monsoon and force it to
weaken as it creeps towards the northwest. Except on the south-facing foothills, climatic controls in the Up-
per Indus Basin are therefore quite different from the eastern Himalayas (Randhawa, 2002).
Fig. 2: Major River Basin in HKKH region (Source ICIMOD)
The Karakoram Range in Gilgit-Baltistan and adjacent India and China is one of the principle glacial areas of
the region while the Pamirs and Tien Shan also contain a significant number of these ice-based formations.
Some of the worlds largest valley glaciers can be found there, culminating in the aggregation of the four
glaciers in Asia around the K2 and Gasherbrum peaks. These include the Biafo, Siachen, Sarpo Laggo and
Baltoro glacial formations. (Wissmann, 1959).
Ultimately crops depend on river-based irrigation, especially during the dry season, which is an ever increas-
ing problem in the semi-arid countries of centeral Asia in general and Pakistan in particular (Sheikh et al.,
2005). Himalayan glaciers are receding faster than in any other part of the world, and, if the present rate con-
Melting Glaciers and Agriculture in Pakistan -21-

tinues, the likelihood of these natural resources disappearing by the year 2035 is incredibly high (ICSI, 1999).
Studies have shown that land surface temperatures have risen more than sea surface temperatures and that
temperatures in higher elevations are rising more rapidly (Liu and Chen, 2000; Beniston et al., 1997). There-
fore Karakoram and Himalaya region of Pakistan are venerable for climate change impacts which can be a
reason for fast glacier melt as described by IPCC in 2007.
2. Irrigation System in Pakistan
The Indus Basin Irrigation System is the worlds largest contiguous irrigation system. On the Indus River Basin
System (IRBS), since 1947, Pakistan implemented the Indus Basin Replacement Works Project (IBRWP) with
the financial backing of World Bank. Under the IBRWP, 39.54 million acres were irrigated. The IRBS consists of
the Indus River and its major tributaries, 3 major reservoirs (Tarbela, Mangla, and Chashma), 19 barrages, 12
link canals, 43 canal commands, and over 107,000 watercourses.
The length of canals total 61,000 km with watercourses, farm channels, and field ditches stretching another 1.6
million km. Typical watercourse commands range from 200 to 700 acres. Flows into the Indus are from glacier
and snow melt as well as from rainfall outside the Indus Plain (World Bank, 1995).
By the end of the 1960s, the canal head withdrawals had increased to an average of 78.6 million acre feet
(MAF) as compared to an average 64 MAF at the time of national independence in 1947. The increase is at-
tributable to the storage reservoirs of Mangla, Chashma and Tarbela which became operational in 1967, 1971
and 1976, respectively. The water release of the Mangla and Chashma average 5 MAF though this has swelled
to 15 MAF in the last decade with the addition of Tarbela.
While the bulk of the storage supplies are utilized during the Rabi (April to mid/late June, summer or monsoon
season), they are also made available during periods of heightened water scarcity. This includes the annual pe-
riod when Kharif crops (July to October autumn) are left to sow and mature. Altogether, surface water develop-
ment has materially increased the extent of irrigated lands while greater control over the water supply coupled
with enhanced water diversions have contributed to increased agricultural production (Mulk and Mohtadullah,
1991).
2.1 Indus River System
The Indus River, originating in Tibet at 17,000 feet above sea level, stretches 1,800 miles. The vital waterway
traverses the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir and through Pakistan before emptying into the Arabian Sea. In
Pakistan, the Indus basin (with its five major tributariesSutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum) contains the
largest contiguous irrigation system in the world, providing 16 million ha with approximately 172 km3 of high-
quality river water annually (Prathapar et al., 2005). The drainage area, which extends into India, is 450,000
square miles and contributes to an average annual inflow of 175 MAF. The rivers flow fluctuates seasonally but
is intrinsically linked with the melting of remote Himalayan glaciers which accounts for nearly 90% of the water
supply in the Upper Indus River Basin.
The UIB is a high mountain region and contains the greatest area of perennial glacial ice outside the Polar Re-
gions (22 000 km2); the area of winter snow cover is an order of magnitude greater (Hewitt, 2001). The Indus

River and its tributaries originate in the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Himalayan mountain ranges; the UIB
extends from the Tibetan Plateau to northeast Afghanistan.
The Indus River itself contributes more than half the total flow and has a controlling storage at Tarbela Dam
as the river emerges from the mountains. Tarbela was primarily designed for irrigation control but also in-
cludes a hydropower production capacity of 3700 Mw providing Pakistan with 13% of its annual energy out-
put. Inflow to Tarbela is measured at Besham, which has a mean annual flow of 2425 m3 s-1 (19692001),
varying annually from 80-130% of the mean. This represents considerable variation for potential irrigation
and hydropower production (Haley and Archar, 2005). Although most of the Indus Basin lies in a zone of de-
ficient rainfall (<10 inches annually), abundant flow is present during the monsoon season (July-September),
accounting for 51% of the total annual flow. Evaporation claims nearly 10% of the rainfall while seepage
destroys approximately 41 MAF of unlined
Fig 3: Indus river and its tributaries (Source:www.stratfort.com)

canals. The subsequent water-logging
renders the land useless for agricultural
purposes.
The system utilizes over 41.6 MAF of

groundwater (in addition to canal supplies)
pumped through more than 550,000 tube
wells. Outside the Indus Basin, there are
smaller river basins, which empty directly
into the sea. One of these is located on
Balochistans Mekran coast while the other
is the closed basin Kharan. The total in-
flow of both amounts to less than 4 MAF
annually. These streams are naturally ir-
regular. About 25% of their inflow is used
for flood irrigation. The total annual sur-
face water diversions at the systems ca-
nal heads roughly equal 105 MAF.
2.2 Reservoirs
The sustainability of irrigation and agriculture systems depends primarily on the amount of river flow during
the five high months of summer. In order to stagger these peak summer flows, three surface reservoirs were
constructed
These include the Mangla reservoir (constructed in 1967) on the Jhelum River with a live storage capacity of
6.6 BCM; the Chashma reservoir (constructed in 1971) on the Indus River with a capacity of 0.6 BCM; and
the Tarbela reservoir (constructed in 1975) also on the Indus River with a capacity of 11.5 BCM. After two-
and-a-half decades, the storage capacity of the existing reservoirs has decreased by 22 %, but the popula-
tion has more than doubled. Thus, there is a need to increase the storage capacity in the existing reservoirs

and to create additional facilities.
3. Water shortage in the past years
Glacier thaw, snow melt, rainfall and runoff constitute river flows. These flows are limited in the Rabi season
because of limited glacier and snow melt plus low rainfall during winter. During an average year western rivers
provided 173 billion m3 of surface water during the pre-storage period (1937-1967). The bulk of the river flow
occurred during the Kharif season and totaled more than five times the amount of flow during the Rabi season.
Flow variability in the eastern rivers was even higher than in the western waterways. Before the Mangla and
Tarbela storage dams were built, the eastern rivers contributed 26 billion m3 of water to the Indus River system
in an average year of which 84% occured during the Kharif season. The eastern rivers significantly added to
the Indus River system accounting for 11% of the inflow during the Rabi season and 13% during the non-Rabi
season.
During 1995 to 2004 intra-annual flow pattern is considerably changed and annual flows reduced by 15%.The
2001/2002 drought in Pakistan was so severe that snowfall during the winter season was significantly less than
in normal years. Although snowfall records are unavailable prior to 1999, it is thought that snowfalls during this
period was below or close to the historical minimum (Rundhwa, 2001).
Fig: 4: Reservoirs in the Indus River System (Source.Me-
hdatullah,2007)
A 30% population increase per decade in Pakistan requires at least the same increase in food and fiber pro-
duction to meet national requirements. Coupled with Pakistans objective of increasing exports and reducing
imports, it is more realistic to achieve 63 percent increase in agricultural production per decade (set by gov-
ernment in 2000) This requires a 13.3% increase in water availability (Rundhwa, 2001). Glacier melting in the
Himalayas is projected to increase flooding and will affect water resources within the next two to three decades.

Climate change will compound the pressures on natural resources and the environment due to rapid urbani-
zation, industrialization, and economic development. Crop yields could decrease by 30% in South Asia by
mid-21st century while floods and droughts are expected to rise in Pakistan (Rundhwa, 2001).
Fig 5: Impact of Climate Change and Glacier retreat on Indus
Glacier
Area: - 50%) Source (Arshad Khan.GCISC Pakistan 2009)
flow between 195-2004 (CCS): Temp: +3C,
4. Glacier Retreat in HKKH region
In the aforementioned mountain ranges climate change signals into hydrological changes is more consistent
(Akhtar et al., 2008). Some minor changes in some glaciers are discernible but their magnitude is minor
compared to other mountain glaciers which in the same time span lost about 30% of their surface area (Be-
niston, 2003). The reason of such limited changes is surely due to the debris cover present on the glacier
surface. It reduces the surface ablation and thus slows down glacier recession. In the last 100 years, in the
Karakoram 26 sudden, rapid advances have been reported involving 17 glaciers. At least 12 other glaciers
have features associated with surge behaviour.(Hewitt,1969).
Debris-covered glaciers are typical in the Pamir, Karakoram and Himalayan areas, but with the actual warm-
ing climate they seem to become the fastest growing glacier type (due to surge* in such glacier). This is
due to the feedback between ice thinning and supra glacial sediment accumulation (Diolaiuti et al., 2003;
DAgata et al., 2005). Some authors consider many of the debris-covered glaciers vulnerable to or influenced
by recent global warming because changes from debris-free ice to debris-covered areas and changes in de-
bris thickness may affect the local climate through surface-to-atmosphere interaction (Nakawo et al., 1997).
Several studies have been devoted to debris-covered glaciers in order to understand their special behaviour
and their role in providing runoff to mountainous regions (Nakawo et al., 2000).
Western Himalayan glaciers will retreat over the next 50 years causing an influx of flow from the Indus River.
* Surges are relatively short-lived episodes involving a sudden increase in ice movement by at least one order of magnitude,
sometimes two orders, compared to presurge, and postsurge behavior (Meier and Post, 1969) may last from afew months to
several years(Dowdeswell et al,1991)

The glacier reservoirs will become severely drained due to flow decreases of 30-40% over the same time period.
World Bank (2006): Glacier melt in the Himalayas is projected to increase flooding within the next two to three
Figure 6 presents the tail ends of the Central Rimo Glacier (upper) and the South Rimo Glacier
(lower). The tail end of the South Rimo Glacier retreated slightly, but that of the Central Rimo Glacier
extended about 1.3km. If we look closely, we can see that retreating and extending glaciers are
mixed in this area Source Japanese Earth Resources Satellite-1 (JERS-1) (Fuyo-1) Sensor: Visible
and Near Infrared Radiometer (VNIRV) Ground resolution: 18.3 m x 24.2 m Map Projection: Universal
Transversal Mercator (UTM)
decades. This will be followed by decreased river flows as the glaciers recede (IPCC, 2007).In the Karakoram,
Hindukush and Himalayan regions, most flow to the UIB comes from thawing snow, melting glaciers, and
summer runoff. These amounts of water from these sources are strongly correlated with winter precipitation
and summer temperature (though they may be negatively correlated in glacier- and snow-fed hydrologic sys-
tems). From 1961 to 1999 there were significant increases in annual precipitation levels in general and winter
and summer levels in particular. Significant warming occurred in winter whilst summer showed a cooling trend;
these trends will impact water availability (Haley and Archar, 2005).
5. Indicators of Recent Impacts on Agriculture Production
To examine the impact of temperature at 0.3C increase per decade on agriculture, the PINCCC studied four-
teen crops in Pakistan and their ability to flourish under different climatic conditions. In the study, each of the
fourteen crops significantly suffered due to heat stress. Considerable increases in temperature reduced growing
season lengths to 8% and 15% increase is prospected in 2020 and 2050.
With a 6% drop in rainfall, net irrigation water requirements could increase in Pakistan (PINCCC, 2003). Due to
decreasing production the agricultural sectors share of the GDP has continually declined and stood at 20.9%
in the 2008 fiscal year (FY) (Table 1). Not surprisingly, the shares of all its sub sectors also fell down. Despite
the decline, agriculture continues to be the primary income source for 66.0% of the population while employ-
ing 43.6% of the workforce. The livestock subsector is a primary source of livelihoods for poor households in
irrigated tracts. On rangelands around lakes and along rivers, other poor households depend on grazing small
stock, minor forest products, and inland fishing for their sources of revenue. Coastal fishing communities who

do not own mechanized boats make a living from the sea.
Basin) with overlaiddigitized boundary of the glacier showing

the changes in the main glacier stream. (Source Malik 2007,
Fig7: Landsat 30m3d view of Main Biafo Glacier (Shigar River
PCRWR,Pakistan)
Table 1: Components of Agriculture Sector by Share in GDP
Item FY2000 FY2003 FY2006 FY2008
Agriculture Sector 25.9 24.0 22.5 20.9
Major Crops 9.6 8.2 7.6 7.1
Minor Crops 3.5 3.0 2.6 2.4
Livestock 11.7 11.7 11.6 10.9
Fishing 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3
Forestry 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.2
Source: Asian Development Bank, 2008

5.1 Falling Situation of Basmati Rice Production
The Basmati rice is one of the major export crops in Pakistan. Recent production patterns for this vital food
source are grim and future scenario is worrisome. In 2085 harvest yields will be dropped to 3400-3600 kg/
hec as compared to 4200kg/hec in 1990. This fall represents an 18% drop in total production
5.2 Water Scarcity and Population Increases
Between 1950 and 1995 the per capita availability of water resources dropped by almost 70 percent in South
and Central Asia. Pakistan is heading inexorably into the category of water-stressed countries, defined as
having less than 1,000 m3 per person per year.
On top of depleting food sources, Pakistan is also facing in the very real threat of running out of water. To
quench the thirst of its growing population, the nation must preserve current or secure additional aquatic
sources. Without doing so, Pakistan faces the inability to provide adequate amounts of water to its civilians
as soon as 2025. Population of Pakistan is estimated to be 280 million in 2025 while the per capita availability
of water is already decreased to 1,100 m3 per person per year in 2007 as compare to 15, 00 m3 per person

Fig 8: Projected yield decrease by 2085 18% in upper
southern plains and 15% in lower southern plains (Arshad
Khan,GCSIC Pakistan 2009).
per year in1961. This will further decrease to 600m3 per person per year in 2025.
Water availability in the year 2025 is projected as 125.6MAF only if Klabagh, Diamer Bhasha and Skardu dams
are constructed, while by the year 2025 the actual need of water is estimated 267 MAF (Malik Bashir, 1995).
Fig.9: Population versus water (Source Mohdatullah,2007).
6. Adaptation Measures to Confront Water Shortages
The government formulated a plan to battle water scarcity in 2002 under the following two broad categories:
6.1. Constructing additional reservoirs:
Construction of additional dams in UIB i.e Diamer-Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan and North West Fron-

tier Province, Skardu dam in Gilgit-Baltistan and Akhori and Kalabagh dams in the Punjab.
Raising the level of the Mangla dam;
De-silting the Tarbela dam;
Constructing carry-over dams;
Constructing small- and medium- sized dams;
Harnessing hill-streams; and
Exploiting remaining groundwater.
6.2. Conservation and management measures:
Lining canals and waterways while giving priority to areas with brackish groundwater;
Changing cropping patterns to adjust for water availability; and
Using high efficiency irrigation techniques.
The following adaptations are proposed by scientific panels
Adaptations in cultivation and farming (PINCCC, 2003)
Changing cropping patterns e.g sugar beets should replace sugarcane;
Adjusting cropping patterns with water availability;
More share of cropped area should be brought under oil seed crops;
Increasing productivity and introducing production-management.
Introducing farm forestry
Adaptations through Food production (Ahmed, et al, 2005)
Increasing yields, which requires an improved agricultural policy environment, covering input supplies, pro-
duction efficiencies, prices and marketing as well as improved research and extension services.
Increasing irrigation intensity of the existing cropped land, which requires additional water to be available
which will have to be achieved through a combination of improved water management and improved effi-
ciency and additional water availability at critical times of the year. This would require additional/expansion
of existing irrigation infrastructure.
Gradual shifting of the traditional irrigation techniques to high efficiency irrigation system such as drip irriga-
tion system, could help increase crop yield and save a large quantity of water.
Increasing surface water resources (especially small dams used domestic water supply) to meet future
needs;
Decreasing losses of pipeline supply systems to provide additional water. Mass awareness programs

should be initiated to motivate domestic and industrial water users to conserve water;
Comprehensive planning in the water sector coupled with integrated development and management of ir-
rigated agriculture is essential to achieve self-reliance in agricultural production and the sustainability of
the resource base;
Viewing the efficiency of water conveyance in the context of ground water quality, as any loss of water in
the brackish groundwater zone is not retrievable due to irreversible quality reduction. Therefore, canal and
watercourse lining programe should be given priority in the brackish groundwater zone;
Researching and developing low-cost, effective linings for canals and watercourses;
Piloting projects for canal management to address issues of operational management, institutional re-
forms, productivity and sustainability;
Emphasizing the importance of recycling water and wastewater management; and
Researching low-cost and low O&M treatment plants for sewage and industrial effluents immediately.
Adaptation in Water Management ( Haq et,al ,.1998)
Earliest possible construction of multipurpose dams to conserve water from 40 of MAF water flowing to sea
Implement reservoirs sediment programme
Use new technologies of drip, sprinklers and buried pipes to optimize water conveyance
optimize lining to improve water course
7. Conclusion
The mountainous and glacial regions of the Upper Indus Basin, namely the Karakoram, Himalayan, Hindukush
and Pamir areas, are critical sources of water for Pakistan. With ongoing climate change the glaciers of this
region are exhibiting patterns of retreat; though some studies show that Karakoram glaciers are expanding
however scientists agree that it is a temporary phenomenon.
With glacial retreat and increasing temperatures comes water scarcity since the snow- and ice-melt from gla-
ciers and mountains represent the major sources of river flow. This represents a severe problem as 90% of the
agriculture in Pakistan is irrigation-based. Therefore, the country must make ones its primary concerns achiev-
ing sustainable water usage in order to allow for sustainable agricultural production.
Natural capital is irreplaceable and indeed complementary to other forms of capital ( Ott and Dring, 2004). On
the global scale we need to cut Green House Gases (GHGs) according to Contract and Convergence methodol-
ogy in order to solve the political and ecological double-jeopardy of climate change.
The situation necessitates a showing of moral responsibility towards nature, We should value nature and re-
spect it as its ecosystems and biosphere possess intrinsic value (Gorke, 2003). Furthermore, we should evalu-
ate and justify our decisions and actions in the natural sphere in ethical and moral terms.

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Geographic comparison of
pasture land use patterns in the
PAMIRS
Hermann Kreutzmann
The Pamirian Knot encompasses an area characterized by exceptional altitude and aridity. Yet even at
altitudes exceeding 3500m the region hosts a variety of valuable pasture resources. For centuries these
meadows have been used by mobile pastoralists who either followed a combined strategy of pasture
utilization or acted as highly mobile pastoralists migrating between summer and winter fields.
A series of political transformations beginning in the second half of the 19th century altered the socio-
economic and political framework of pasture land-use patterns in the Pamirs. The establishment of
forward posts by the Russian Tsar in the Murghab Pamir and the conquests of the Afghan Amir Abdur
Rahman in northern Afghanistan were the beginning of significant changes there. The interface between
the four political powersAfghanistan, British India, China and Russiarestricted and reduced the liveli-
hood opportunities of the Pamir inhabitants who previously dwelled in small principalities and avoided
heavy tributes to mighty neighbours wherever possible.
The Great Game activities for the remaining territorial domination of the Pamirs resulted in border de-
limitations, which affected Badakhshan significantly. The Anglo-Russian agreement about border deline-
Abstract
ation and the acceptance of the Oxus (Amu Darya, Pjandsh) as a boundary left the majority of the Pamirs
within Russian-dominated territory while the two Pamirs (Chong and Kichik Pamir) were conferred to
Afghanistan.
Following the October Revolution and the Third Anglo-Afghan War the international boundaries became
tangible. The creation of the Gorno-Badakhshanski Avtonomnaia Oblast (GBAO) within Tajikistan and
Afghanistans Wakhan Woluswali brought about different fates of the people living within the respec-
tive areas. After Soviet collectivization, the living conditions, education and health services of the Tajik
Pamirs paralleled the overall conditions in Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Pamirs remained as remote as before and lacked infrastructure assets and a
hierarchical social structure. The Khan of Kirghiz in the Afghan Pamirs became an affluent and wealthy
public figure for whom a number of jobless Kirghiz pastoralists began tending his herds of yak, sheep
and Bactrian camels.
Across the border in Tajikistan, collective animal breeding stations in the form of kolkhoz and sovchoz
projects practiced a much different form of pastoralism. This was guided by principles of modern ani-
mal breeding and economies of scale. For two generations the lifestyles and land-use patterns of the
region took divergent paths until the commencement of the third transformation in the late-20th century.
Civil war conditions in the aftermath of Tajikistans independence affected the livelihoods of Pamirian
dwellers significantly and challenged them to reinvent survival strategies based on local resources. Since
the 1990s we observe a re-privatization of herds and household-based approaches to pastoralism in the
GBAOs Eastern Pamirs. A new system of social stratification is evolving and will differentiate society in
Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH) 33

the future.
In the Afghan Pamirs, different developments took place. In the aftermath of the Saur Revolution of
1978, the vast majority of Kirghiz pastoralists were exiled to Pakistan. While the leadership suggested
and enforced resettlement in Turkey in 1982, a small group of dissidents returned to the Afghan Pamirs
and tried to make a living there. These dissidents continue to graze their herds here though the animal
groups are much smaller than in previous times. Consequently, there is no shortage of forage at present
though preferential pastures are often overburdened with excessive grazing while others have been left
without herds for quite some time. Much research remains in order to understand how this pattern of
seasonal pasture-use affects certain localities and households in the Tajik Pamirs.
To sum it up, natural pastures play a vital role for Kirghiz and Pamiri pastoralists and will do so in future.
The resources have been used for centuries and, in order to continue doing so, one must safeguard their
existence through sustainable land use.

1. The Pamirian Knot
The Pamirian Knot is characterized by high mountain valleys and plateaux. Altitude and aridity cause
natural thermal and hydrological gradients and thresholds. Wakhi villages are located between 2,150
and 3,500 m.a.s.l. Arid and semi-arid conditions prevail, resulting in irrigated single-crop agriculture
(barley, wheat, potatoes, beans and peas), which is always supplemented by animal husbandry. With a
few exceptions, natural vegetation is scarce and forests are more-or-less absent from the region. A few
fruit trees, e.g. apples, apricots, walnuts and mulberries are found and wood is harvested from poplar
plantations. The advantageous attraction specific to this altitudinal ecological belt is the availability of
water stored in glaciers and snow. Melt-water feeds the irrigation systems constructed for cultivation.
While the Wakhi grow crops, the Kirghiz have traditionally refrained from any form of settled agriculture.
Geographic comparison of pasture land use patterns in the Pamirs -35-

Both groups utilize high pastures found where groundwater and runoff create seasonal meadows. Kirghiz
grazing grounds are generally located above 3,500 m.a.s.l. Marco Polo highlighted the nutritional prop-
erties of the Pamir pastures and game such as the Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon), ibex (Capra ibex),
and livestock (yak, fat-tailed sheep and goats); all of these became famous sources of high-quality meat
in low-lying Central Asian oasis towns along the southern Silk Route.
The Wakhi term pamerwhich defines natural grazing grounds of substantial extent as pamirsis spe-
cific to the fertile high mountain pastures. Four Pamir rangesKargushi, Rang Kl, Sariz and Alichurare
located in the Eastern Pamirs of Gorno Badakhshanskaja Avtonomnaja Oblast (Gorno Badakhshan Au-
tonomous Oblast, GBAO; Gorno Badakhshan) in the Republic of Tajikistan. Afghanistan contains the Little
(Kichik) Pamir (Kirg.) 1
or Pamir-e Khurd (Pers.) and the Great Pamir (Chong Pamir (Kirg.) or Pamir-e
Kalan (Pers.)) in the northeastern part of the remote Wakhan strip. The Taghdumbash Pamir in the ad-
jacent Tajik Autonomous County of China is the seventh of the major pamirs (cf. Curzon 1896; Dor &
Naumann 1978). In addition to the seven large pamirs (each of which has at least 300km2 of pasture)
there are smaller pamirs such as the Pamir-e Bugrumal (upper Gunt Valley, Gorno-Badakhshan), Mariang
Pamir (Sarikol), Tagarma Pamir (Sarikol) and Shimshal Pamir (in ). The greatest asset of the Pamirs is
their natural grazing lands though this is augmented by cultivation in a few places.
The overall setting is characterized by three areas. The valley bottoms are mainly inhabited by Wakhi
and other Pamirian mountain farmers who live in permanent villages and who seasonally access nearby
pastures in the side-valleys. Above 3,500 m.a.s.l., the main valleys widen, become flatter and form
extensive Pamir pastures which are utilized by the Wakhi and the Kirghiz. Wakhi retreat to their home-
steads during the winter while the Kirghiz do not migrate. The third areathe high plateauis dominated
by Kirghiz nomads. The high plateaux favour mobile pastoralists due to the great distance between
permanent dwellings in the river valleys. Nevertheless, growing demand for natural grazing and mutual
dependency has resulted in changing patterns of utilization, mobility and political interference.
2. Traditional subsistence strategies and their transformations
Two major strategies are used to capture pastures potential of Western High Asia given the ecological
constraints and socio-political circumstances of the area. These strategies include nomadic animal hus-
bandry and mountain agriculture (Ehlers and Kreutzmann 2000).
(i) Nomadism incorporates the advantage of mobility. Traditionally nomadic groups were able to exploit
natural resources at dispersed locations. Great distances, in the order of several hundred kilometres,
separated valuable mountain pastures from winter camp sites with areas of less economic interest lying
between them. Functional migration cycles existed in the region. They generally included long stays in
high-altitude pastures during the summer months followed by migration to low-lying basins in the north-
ern foothills or the plains of the Inner Asian mountain arc in the winter. The nomads depended on being

tolerated as a mobile group and being able to pay grazing fees, if applicable, in both areas.
(ii) Combined mountain agriculture has the advantage of simultaneous fodder production in the perma-
nent homesteads for herds which are grazed in the high pastures during the summers. This systems
limiting factor is the provision of up to nine months of livestock feed, which must be produced on private
or common village property. The Wakhi houses are usually located on the upper levels of permanent
settlements in single-crop farming areas. Consequently, access to Pamir pastures involves shorter migra-
tions and some mobility within the summer habitations. Fodder here is relatively plentiful though only
available for a short period; feed storage and transport to the homesteads are of limited importance.
Both approaches can result in natural resource competition in the same location and are frequently dis-
cussed in this context. The debate over these subsistence strategies has also entered ecological debates
due to their impact on the surrounding environment.
In the discourse of modernisation and social change, nomadismhas been usurped by agriculture. The
extensive utilization of marginal resources is superseded by the intensification and increase of external
inputs. Thus, it is not surprising that mountain farmers and nomads have been a prime target for de-
velopment aimed at reducing subsistence levels by integrating people from the periphery into a nations
mainstream. When this occurs, traditional lifestyles and locally-developed economic strategies become
endangered.
3. Social and political organization: ethnicity and actors
Outsiders call the Wakhi by this ethnonym, which is used to label their language as well; the Wakhi refer
to themselves as khik and their language as khik zik. Why this discrepancy? Their neighbours and visi-
tors identify the Wakhi as the people living in Wakhan (wukh watan). Until 1883 the Wakhan principality
stood on both banks of the upper Amu Darya and the Wakhan and Pamir Darya (cf. Figure 1). It was ruled
by a hereditary ruler (mir) who controlled a territory in which sedentary mountain farmers and Kirghiz
nomads lived. Both communities paid taxes and tributes in cash and in kind. Wakhi society consisted of
an upper stratum: the ruling family (mir), some religious leaders (pir, sayid, khuja) and a few financially
well-off families (sana, khaybari). The vast majority of the people (> 95%) belonged to the ordinary
people (khik) who practiced combined mountain agriculture and were obliged to deliver taxes and per-
form such services as carrying loads and and enlisting for military duty (cf. Kreutzmann 1996; Shahrani
1979). Social structure followed a patri-lineal system while female family backgrounds played a bilateral
role when marriages were negotiated. Children were predominantly regarded as belonging to the fathers
family. Female influences and responsibilities were primarily restricted to the domestic sphere although
these limitations have broken down in recent years (cf. Felmy 1997).
Wakhan was no exception in Western High Asia where many valleys were more-or-less identical; these
principalities maintained strong links with their mighty neighbours such as the Amir of Afghanistan, the

Emir of Bokhara (later replaced by Tsarist Russia/Soviet Union), the Chinese Emperor and British India.
The competition between these major players affected diplomatic relations, taxation, conscription poli-
cies, local politics and economies and finally resulted in the delineation of international boundaries and
the termination of Wakhans independence.
The Kirghiz did not only live within Wakhi administration. Their mobility enabled them to shift to grazing
grounds in areas with favourable conditions, i.e. low taxation and tolerable political pressure. Stories
abound in Kirghiz family histories about leaving certain territories and starting a new life under different
conditions, masters and/or protectors. But the search for suitable pastures and low outside interference
was always guided by socio-economic principles while political pressures could lead to the loss of lives,
captivity, deprivation and deportation (cf. Kreutzmann 1996: 352-375). Among themselves the Kirghiz
were organized in a tribal structure. Migratory groups were headed by a camp elder (beg, khan) who
normally represented the most affluent family. Within their communities a highly stratified hierarchy
evolved in which the poorest yurts were occupied by shepherds servicing the big herd-owners. The af-
fluent leaders and rich households profited from the system of renting (amanat) their livestock to shep-
herds (cf. Shahrani 1979). Kirghiz communities formed their own microcosms in the Pamirian pastures
and generally sustained strong relations with their neighbours. Common goals included the defence of
grazing grounds and the avoidance of outside interference.
The Wakhi and Kirghiz represented rival communities competing for the same resources. Competition
was ubiquitous and relations between neighbouring groups was often hostile. Both were involved in a
power struggle for survival where threats came as much from direct and distant neighbours as from raid-
ers, slave traders, administrative representatives, conscriptors and tax officials.
4. Demographic trends affected by external developments
An analysis of Wakhi population changes indicates fluctuations in space and time. Demographic trends
show an increase in population from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century almost everywhere in
High Asia. Around 1880 the Wakhi people reached an early population peak when the population in the
entire Wakhan mirdom was an estimated 6,000 people. Shortly afterwards a major crisis occurred. The
geopolitical confrontation between British India and Tsarist Russia during the Great Game as well as the
Afghan Amirs Islamization and the expansion programme threatened the autonomy of the small princi-
palities in the Hindu Kush, Pamir and Karakoram. Wakhan was one of the principalities whose rulers were
taken hostage and/or threatened. In 1883, the Mir of Wakhan, Ali Mardan Shah, organized a preventive
exodus for his family, and approximately one-quarter of the population took refuge in his father-in-laws
territory in Chitral. The mirs fears materialized and Wakhan was divided in two parts as were other prin-
cipalities along the Amu Darya (Oxus). The northern part was controlled by Russia while the southern
part became an extension of the Amir of Afghanistans territory. The Wakhan strip (cf. Figure 1) was
created as a buffer zone between Russia and British India as the superpowers of the time had decided

Fig 2: Demographic distribution & migration patern of Kirghiz & wakhi
that they should not have common boundaries. The demarcation took place at the end of the nineteenth
century, and it remains the current international boundary.
The division of Wakhan led to a refugee crisis and the population of Wakhi decreased by one-sixth
(Kreutzmann 1996: 136). The populations nadir came in 1900 as demographic trends have since sloped
upwards. Currently 50,000 Wakhi reside in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, (Xinjiang) and Pakistan (Figures 1
and 2). Each of these populations exhibit demographic patterns that are linked to their respective coun-
tries and mobility. The twentieth century appears to have been a time of migration with Pakistan being
the major refuge. Afghan refugees still seek shelter and work in Chitral. Migrant workers from Tajikistan
usually end up in Gojal (Hunza, Pakistan) and expect support from local Wakhi residents whose fore-
fathers took refuge there over 200 years ago. The Gojali Wakhi themselves participate in trans-border
trade with their Chinese neighbours. Thus, Wakhi communities can be found in four countries with dif-
ferent political systems, varying economies, contrasting infrastructures, diverse education and welfare
systems.
Kirghiz nomads have been affected by the same geopolitical developments, though estimates of demo-
graphic trends are more complicated because of the nomadic context. The seasonal grazing grounds
of the Kirghiz were often in locations which belonged to different countries after the delineation of in-
ternational boundaries. While in earlier times crossing borders was possible for them, it became next-
to-impossible during the Cold War. Consequently, the term closed frontier nomadism was introduced
(Shahrani 1979).

Fig 3: Cross-bunndry exchange relations
The Amu Darya became the most controlled boundary between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan in
contrast to its previous, more open status. The border dispute between the USSR and China led to the
introduction of the so-called system as late as the 1980s. The system was a demilitarized zone which
included a 30 km-wide border strip with metal fences on both sides. Thus, communication and grazing
across boundaries and within the system became impossible. Kirghiz communities were restricted to
their respective countries.
The current situation is that the Eastern Pamirs of present-day Tajikistan are predominantly Kirghiz terri-
tory as are the Little and Great Pamirs of Afghanistan. China introduced a Kirghiz Autonomous District by
the name of Kizil Su (Red River). Other ethnic Kirghiz live in the Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan.
5. Diminishing environmental assets and growing legal restrictions
For nomads the extensive use of wide-ranging pastures is essential. From their perspective any restric-
tion of migration and limitations on potential grazing grounds are perceived as environmental crises. In
the case of high-mountain nomadism, the principle of maximum utilization of natural pastures is linked
to grazing flocks at high altitudes (>3,500m.a.s.l.) during summer and to keeping herds in low-lying
pastures (around 1,200m.a.s.l.) during winter. The Kirghiz strategy in the Pamirs was based on such an
approach. During winter the urban oases of the Southern Silk Route or those in the Fergana Basin offered
opportunities for keeping their herds on agricultural fields after harvest. The animals grazed on crop resi-
dues and grass while improving the irrigated lands in the oases through manure-fertilization. At the same
time, the Kirghiz pursued business and trade before retreating to the high pastures for the summer. This
system has long since died out as the low-lying winter pastures have been replaced by the expansion
of cultivation around irrigated oases and the introduction of sedentary livestock at oases. In addition,

increasing urbanisation has led to the exclusion of nomadic entrepreneurs and their herds. Furthermore
political changes such as collectivization and central planning affected long-established patterns of ani-
mal husbandry. In summary the pastures that are currently accessible are in areas where modernized
agriculture failed or where political circumstances permit. Such pastures are generally located in remote
locations above 3,500m.a.s.l. altitude.
For Wakhi mountain farmers the situation has been modified by the introduction of irrigated crop farm-
ing. The increased number of households predominantly engaged in agriculture resulted in a higher de-
mand for natural resources which, in themselves, are limited. Although there is competition with Kirghiz
nomads for high pastures during summer, the real constraint occurs in winter when fodder production in
the homesteads competes with food production. This is because of limited village lands as land area av-
erages <1ha per household. Moreover, cultivation at the upper altitudinal limit not only faces the vagaries
of climate but also gives comparatively less return and minimal prospects for expansion. Consequently,
animal husbandry has gained in overall importance in the regional production system. Of course, the
changes outlined above have major consequences for the livelihoods of the people concerned.
6. Divergent developments under changing political conditions
The complexity of sociocultural problems and the manifestation of transformation processes in societies
with pastor-based economies varies from region to region. The two cases presented below emphasize
the reorganization of the livestock sectors initiated by external interventions. The examples show how
political frameworks have affected the livelihoods of Kirghiz and Wakhi in Western High Asia during the
twentieth century.
6.1 Soviet sedentarisation programmes and recent developments in Middle Asia
As the majority of the Pamirs are located within the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) of
the Tajikistan Republic, the people living there were involved in the sedentarisation of nomads during
the Stalinist modernization programmes in the 1930s. Autonomous republics and districts were created
in order to uplift the pre-modern strata of society; hence the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of
Tajikistan was carved out as a new political entity. At this time nomadic production systems and lifestyles
were declared backward. Consequently the system of pasture utilization under Kirghiz begs was re-
placed by kolchoz (kollektivnoe chozjajstvo = collective economy) and sovchoz (sovetskoe chozjajstvo =
Soviet economy) settlement-centred seasonal migration of herds. Collective and/or Soviet state farming
meant that winter quarters were established where the collectivized herds were brought to pasture. The
flocks were controlled by shepherds of the respective units while, during the summer, yurt encamp-
ments remained as filial branches of the unit. Where feasible, fodder production was increased and at-
tempts to improve the breeds and the health of the herds were made. Permanent winter stables with
adequate infrastructure, veterinary treatment and sufficient fodder contributed to the formation of new
settlement cells, which in some aspects resembled those of contemporary Pamirian pastoralism in the

Eastern Pamirs. Here Kirghiz shepherds and a few Wakhi kept yak, sheep and goats herds around well-
established supply stations from which they undertake seasonal migrations to high summer pastures.
Basically, Kirghiz nomadism was converted into a form of mobile animal husbandry under conditions of
collective resource management. The Wakhis combined mountain agriculture system was also adjusted
to the prevailing socio-economic system.
Khorog is the capital town of the Soviet Pamir, and the 5th Congress of the Soviets of the mountainous
Badakhshan region was held there. The delegates came from distant regions (the distant Murghab, Bor-
gang [Bartang], Bakhan [Wakhan], and other places in the S. and E. edges of the U.S.S.R. that border
with Afghanistan, India and Western China) on foot, by horse, by yak, and on donkeys along perilous
mountain tracks.
The 110 delegates elected were 78 Tajiks, 16 Kirghiz, and 16 Russians. In the conference hall were many
women in their white, homespun-silk garments.
Khorog is the capital town of the Soviet Pamir, and the 5th Congress of the Soviets of the moun-
tainous Badakhshan region was held there. The delegates came from distant regions (the distant
Murghab, Borgang [Bartang], Bakhan [Wakhan], and other places in the S. and E. edges of the
U.S.S.R. that border with Afghanistan, India and Western China) on foot, by horse, by yak, and on
donkeys along perilous mountain tracks.
The 110 delegates elected were 78 Tajiks, 16 Kirghiz, and 16 Russians. In the conference hall were
many women in their white, homespun-silk garments.
Khorog is now lit with electricity that was installed in the spring of this year. The president of the
congress, Faisilbekov, spoke of the wonderful things that have taken place in the Soviet Pamir. Aero-
planes are flying over inaccessible mountain ranges, a splendid, 700 km. automobile road has been
constructed from Khorog to Osh that links the Pamir with the rest of the U.S.S.R. Formerly there was
only one school in the entire Pamirs-now there are 140 schools and a training school for teachers.
Instead of dark, smoky earth huts and skin tents, European houses are now being built; collective
farms are being established in the Pamirs, and they are growing lush harvests of wheat, millet and
beans. Residents have also learned how to manure their fields and ensure good crops (Izvestia 29.
11.1934, quoted from IOL/P&S/12/2273).
Under Soviet rule, Tajikistans economy was completely integrated into the centrally-planned union sys-
tem and subjected to decrees from government administration. This had significant effects on even the
remotest mountain areas (with Gorno-Badkhshan providing a prime example). The Soviet, state-run
economy had selected the Eastern Pamirs primarily as a sheep and yak-producing region. All other previ-
ously prevalent agricultural activities were subordinated to the livestock sector. A number of examples
reaffirm this:

Irrigated village lands formerly utilized for grain production were converted into fodder production
zones.
The Wakhi members of sovchos roi kommunizm in Rajon Ishkashim kept a sizeable yak herd in the
upper parts of the Amu Darya valley and in Khargushi Pamir.
In low-lying Wakhi villages alfalfa and other fodder crops replaced barley, wheat and beans, and their
entire agricultural system was devoted by decree to animal husbandry. Other food supplies were im-
ported from outside. Even high-protein fodder (about 50T each year) was imported from Sary Mogol in
Kyrgyzstan to sustain a herd of 450 yaks year-round on the Pamirs.
With the independence of Tajikistan and its subsequent transformation, individual ownership of land and
cattle were re-introduced between 1996 and 1999. Yak herding is now organized through the farmers
association, and shepherds keep 70% of their production while the rest belongs to the association. The
Wakhi of Ishkashim still control a herd of 300 yaks as well as 15,700 sheep and goats. In the neigh-
bouring, Kirghiz-dominated Rajon Murghab, residents currently maintain nearly 14,000 yaks and 38,000
sheep and goats (cf. Herbers 2001; Lambertin 2001; Bliss 2006). The majority of herds are controlled by
diminishing state-run enterprises or dominant private farmers associationsthe organisations that have
succeeded kolchoz and gozchoz (state farms).
The adverse economic conditions of the current transformation period have impoverished the Kirghiz
herdsmen because remaining herds are too small to sustain a household. Food supplies are meagre and
additional food bought from the markets is expensive. As a consequence, the vast majority of agricul-
turists in Gorno Badakhshan are currently dependent on humanitarian aid, although the degree of local
self-sufficiency seems to have increased from 25% in 1996 to 69% in 2001 (Aga Khan Development
Network 2002). The level of self-sufficiency appears high compared to other mountain regions if we take
into account that in mountainous areas of industrialized countries less than half of the goods consumed
are produced locally. This was also the case in the mountain regions of the Soviet Union and China where
4090% were imported from other regions while in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayawith some
regional exceptionssubsistence levels are higher (AKRSP 2000:37; Kreutzmann 1996:219, 2000:496,
2003; Streefland et al. 1995:845). This is a global feature as it corresponds to higher self-sufficiency
levels in poorer regions while affluent mountain areas tend to import substantial amounts of basic food.
After the failure of the Soviet modernization model, the area experienced a reversal in its development
path. Two to three generations ago the Kirghiz nomads and Wakhi mountain farmers were expropriated
and their property collectivized. Subsequently they became workers in cooperatives and state employ-
ees. Now their resources and their property have been returned, at least in part. However, the people
were ill-prepared for this sudden change. Most are graduates of the most sophisticated education system
in Western High Asia, and they lack experience in stock breeding and farming because of the professions

they adopted during the Soviet era. The present socio-economic transformation has forced the majority
of Kirghiz and Wakhi to follow an agricultural subsistence strategy based on crops and livestock. It ap-
pears to many to be a return to their parents survival strategies, though the global and regional condi-
tions are different. The present income levels are far below previous ones, and it remains to be seen if
this resource-based strategy will be sustainable.
The local levels of economic depression and household income deficiencies are high, and, as a conse-
quence, young people have migrated and are seeking low-level employment in Russia and Pakistan.
During fieldwork in 2001, I established that on average 7590% of all households in Gorno-Badakhshan
had a migrant family member in Russia. Close to 300 Wakhi were seeking employment in Moscow with
a smaller number looking for work in Pakistan. Out-migration currently seems to be the most successful
strategy to alleviate the severe local cash deficiency.
6.2 Kirghiz exodus from, and return to, the Afghan Pamirs
The Great and Little Pamir within Wakhan Woluswali of Badakhshan Province (Afghanistan) have been
studied extensively up to the last exodus of the Kirghiz nomads to Pakistan in 1978 (cf. Shahrani 1984).
Their fate is one of the more prominent cases where border delineation has interrupted traditional migra-
tion patterns.
In 1978, nearly all Kirghiz (the inhabitants of 280 yurts) fled to Pakistan in the aftermath of the Afghan
Saur Revolution and prior to the invasion of the Soviet Army. When the Kirghiz left the Afghan Pamirs
they left their wealth behind as only a small herd of 6,000 animals was taken across the high passes and
into Pakistan. Rahman Kul alone left 16,000 sheep and goats and more than 700 yaks, 15 horses and 18
Bactrian camels behind; the Afghan Pamir community as a whole possessed more than 42,000 animals
(Dor and Naumann 1978; Shahrani 1979). By comparison the majority of Wakhi existed on a much lower
economic level. Wakhi farmers utilizing the pamirs for summer grazing had to compete with rich Kirghiz
nomads who controlled most of these pamirs; some impoverished Wakhi took up jobs as shepherds for
Kirghiz herd owners. Eventually they turned to nomadic strategies, one of the rare cases of farmers be-
coming nomads.
In August 1982 Rahman Kul migrated to Eastern Anatolia with his followership of 1,132 Kirghiz (cf. Dor
1987; Shahrani 1984). A Kirghiz community was established in Kurdish territory as a government reset-
tlement scheme which provided each household with ten sheep and goats as well as three cattle; none
of their previous livestock were moved to Turkey. Rahman Kul became the village head of Ulupamir Ky
where he died in 1990. The leadership was transferred to his eldest son. Presently this community has
grown to 2,000 members and follows a combination of sedentary agriculture and animal husbandry with
a herd size of 7,000 sheep, 1,000 goats, 6,000 cattle and 70 horses. Last summer (2002) there was no
sign of them leaving this part of Turkey in the near future.

Almost going unnoticed, a small group of 200 Kirghiz refused to follow their khan to Turkey and returned
to the Afghan Little Pamir in October 1979. Under the leadership of Abdurrashid Khan (who utilized previ-
ous ties to the KGB) and granted grant by Pakistans President Zia-ul Haq, they established themselves
in Soviet-occupied Wakhan and have remained there ever since. The community grew to 102 yurts in
Pamir-e Kalan (Great Pamir) and 135 yurts in Pamir-e Khurd (Little Pamir) by 1999. The number of yaks
hovers around 1,400, and there are 9,000 sheep and goats, 160 horses and 90 Bactrian camels. Any
form of animal husbandry has been limited to subsistence survival strategies in recent years as tradition-
al exchange lines have been interrupted due to the adverse political climate. Presently these Kirghiz are
engaged in livestock breeding and in limited barter trade with entrepreneurs from neighbouring Hunza
in Pakistan. The itinerant traders supply basic necessities in exchange for yaks and sheep, and livestock
products such as wool, hides, yak tails and qurut (protein-rich cake from boiled-down and dehydrated
butter milk). Nevertheless, humanitarian aid from outside is regularly needed to meet basic food require-
ments. Abdurrashid Khan remembers the period of Soviet occupation in the Afghan Pamirs as the most
comfortable period of his life. Prospects for the future are bleak even as negotiations with Kyrgyzstans
government have started. Up to now, the majority of Kirghiz have refused to leave the fertile pamir
pastures for an uncertain future in the Alai Valley of Kyrgyzstan. Among all the Kirghiz groups studied,
the least change in survival strategies has occurred amongst these Kirghiz. No school and no dispensary
or hospital are located in the Afghan Pamirs nor are there any bazaars or shops. Bartering of livestock
products and animal husbandry organized through a migratory cycle between winter and summer camps
remain the prime occupations of this community.
References
Hermann Kreutzmann 2007: The Wakhi and Kirghiz in the Pamirian Knot. In: Brower, B. and B. R. John-
ston (eds.): Disappearing peoples? Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Minorities in South and Central Asia.
Walnut Creek, pp. 169-186
Sabine Felmy & Hermann Kreutzmann 2006: Wakhan Woluswali - Winds of change in Badakhshan. In:
Bogolyubov, M. N. (ed.): Indo-Iranian Linguistics and the typology of linguistic situations. Prof. Alexan-
der L. Gruenberg Memorial Volume. St. Petersburg, pp. 165-176
Hermann Kreutzmann 2006: The significance of geopolitical issues for development of mountainous ar-
eas of Central Asia. In: Strategies for Development and Food Security in Mountainous Areas of Central
Asia. Aga Khan Foundation. [Internet: http://www.akdn.org/mountains/2-Significance of Geopolitical
Issues (Eng).pdf]
Hermann Kreutzmann 2003: Ethnic minorities and marginality in the Pamirian knot. Survival of Wakhi
and Kirghiz in a harsh environment and global contexts. In: The Geographical Journal 169 (3), pp. 215-
Dr. Hermann Kreutzmann currently holds the Chair of Human Geography at the Center for
Development Studies in the Institue of Geography, Freie Universitt Berlin.
Prof. Dr.Kreutmann has nearly thirty years experience of fieldwork in South Asia and has car-
ried out fieldwork and research in China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Nepal.

Harnessing Culture for Local Development
Gold Case
Glass Case
Bell Pull
SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT
& CHANGE IN THE HUNZA VALLEY
A STUDY OF GHULKIN Part 1
Fazal Amin Beg

Abstract
This study presents a holistic picture of the development and change from the peoples perspective
in the mountain society of Hunza valley by taking the village of Ghulkin as a case study and the
AKRSPs intervention year in the rural settlement [1983] as a reference point. Development and
changes are seen against different indicators within the social, economic, political, cultural and en-
vironmental realms. Many facets of this study could be generalized on the development and change
in the regional contexts.
1. Introduction
If humankinds (and their interests) are the source of their societys formation, it is then the humankinds
themselves, who can determine, bring and manage change, and move ahead at individual and collective
levels. There could be three ways of bringing societal change: internally motivated or forced; externally
motivated or imposed; and/or the blend of the first and second approaches. Effective and sustained societal
change could be brought only if changes come or are brought first in human minds. Minds would accept the
change only when they perceive the needs, get motivated and wish for the change. Without bringing change
in human minds and/or stirring up the mindsets, societal change may not be more effective or sustainable
because a societywhether a rural, urban or a blend of both fosters diverse views and thoughts (support-
ive, opposing and latent) of its dwellers possessing different backgrounds and interests (e.g., familial, ethni-
cal, lingual, religious, financial, political or otherwise). In such circumstances, around the diverse interests,
the roles and functions of some social groups at different levels become very crucial who lead, guide, advise
and represent their members on various options and directions.
This study is about a small but an impressive rural society, a village called Ghulkin of the Hunza valley in the
Karakoram region. Ghulkin was previously unsettled by humans except for the existence of other biodiversi-
ties. For the first time, emigrants with different descent groups came here in varying periods from different
geographical regions such as Central Asia, South Asia and China; and founded the settlement. One can im-
agine how the societal composition of different human entities would have shaped this settlement with the
course of time. Since its inception, the apical ancestors of different descent groups engaged themselves in
the developmental activities of their rural society by constructing the water channels, bridges and footpaths
in the arduous terrains in absence of any adequate tools; in building their houses and developing/leveling
the lands; raising the livestock and having transhumance; in cultivating crops and celebrating festivities and
rituals; in regulating the society and representing their clans, in confronting each other and preventing/
resolving conflicts, in having the corporate and forced laboring and so on.
SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE IN THE HUNZA VALLEY -47-

In its history of not more than three hundred years, the Ghulkin society, like others in the valley, encountered
with and witnessed different experiences and phenomena, critical and normal, and progrened ahead. The soci-
etal change has been observed through a reference-point before us, against which measurement the previous
and post development is seen comparatively. In the context of Ghulkin (also entire Hunza), we find various
events as reference points in historical perspective. For instance, 1824 CE: the first Ismali Mir (ruler), Silum
Khan-IIIs death and peoples conversion to Shia Ismaili faith; 1891: the British campaign against and occu-
Fig 1: A view of Ghulkin valley
pation of the former principalities of Hunza and Nager; 1912: establishment of the first ever primary school in
Hunza [Baltit] by the British-Indian government; 1921-22: visit of Agha Abdul Samad, His Highness Sir Sul-
tan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan-IIIs representative, to Hunza and China; 1940: the peoples of Gojals revolt
(excluding Gulmit and Ghulkin) under Arbob Adob Khon of Passu against the injustices in the chiefdom and
demands for reduction in taxes; 1946: establishment of the Diamond Jubilee schools in Hunza by His Highness,
Aga Khan-III; 1960: the visit of the first ever Imam of the Ismaili community, His Highness Prince Karim Aga
Khan, to Hunza; 1974: the abolition of the Principality of Hunza by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto; 1978: the opening up
of the Karakoram Highway (KKH); 1983: the development intervention of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program
(AKRSP) in the village of Ghulkin; and the like.
Among the above important turning-point in regional context, I have chosen the AKRSPs intervention year

(1983) as a reference-point, which proved both internal and external motivation source for the community to
bring societal change. Second, post-AKRSP intervention year in all its history could be observed as an era of
rapid societal development and change in the village as well as in the region. Some critics may argue that
it was either the KKH or abolition of the princely state that brought change in the region and the regional
change affected in the villages development. I would partially agree with them; but we cannot give the sole
credit to either the road-communication (KKH) or the abolition of the state. Sticking with the reference point,
this paper tries to explore development and change in Ghulkin around different parameters/indicators within
social, economic, environmental and cultural realms.
2. An Account about the Locale
Ghulkin, a village of Lower Gojal1, is situated on the west of the Hunza River in the Karakoram. The village
is entrapped2 naturally by and between the glaciers and glaciers streams: to the north by Ghulkin-Hussaini
glacier, and to the south by Gulmit glacier. Within the main settlement, Ghulkin is bifurcated by the Rawd,
water emanating in the spring season from the glacier and flowing from the middle of the settlement. To the
West of Rawd are Suru Diyor (Upper village) and Pastu Diyor (Lower village); to the South lies the Abdulloh
Khon-e Shawaran (polo-ground of Abdullah Khan) and Chunum, snout of the village. To the East and North-
east of the Rawd are Matur Kits and Nachirey Diyor. Besides, there are also the sub-villages named as uy
ix (the lake area), Suru Jingal (Upper Jangle), Pastu Jingal (Lower Jangle), Chatghust and Ghushtik Bushay
that lie in the south, east and northeast of the main village respectively.
The link road3 of the village from the Karakoram Highway (KKH), is almost 142 kilometers away from Gilgit
city. The village is then accessed through its the link road by ascending further 3 km from the KKH at Ghush-
tik Bushaycurrently not a communal residential area but futures commercial center of the village. Ghustik
Bushay is that particular place on the KKH where the land of Serena Hotel was bought by Prince Amyn Mu-
hammad, Aga Khan, in 1989 and the hotel is expected to be constructed in the future.
There are currently (in September 2009) 153 households in the village with a population of 1185 individuals4.
According to a conservative calculation, the literary rate of the village is above 75% while 100% of the chil-
dren (male and female) do attend the three types of schools: Diamond Jubilee (DJ) middle school, govern-
ment primary school, and Nasir Khusraw Model Academy. In addition, religious education is also given to the
students in the religious centers. Ghulkin has also an attractive jamatkhana (prayer-hall). The government
has facilitated the village with a basic health facility, a first-aid post.
The language spoken in the village is Wakhia language of the old Eastern Iranian Stock within the Pamiri
group. All community members presently speak the same language and have same religious affinity, being
1
Lower Gojal signifies here the villages from Passu to Shishkat: that are, Passu, Khuramabod, Zarabod, Sisuni (now
named as Hussaini), Borit, Ghulkin, Gulmit, Shishkat and Ghawuben(now as Ayinabad).
2
Besides, people of the village have also their land in Borit and Qara Chanay, Khunzhrav valley.
3
The jeeb-able link road of Ghulkin was constructedfor the first time in 1962; then made tractor-able in the first half of
1980; and currently the road is being expanded for the trucks.
4
In 2006, the population of Ghulkin was 1098 with 145 households (Shia Ismaili Council for Gulmit).

the Shia Ismailis, but it is interesting to note that the social environment of the village is further composed of
and colored by different descent groups and ethnicities coming from different regions and localities.
Population-wise, there are two big descent-groups in the village called Busing Ktor5 having 79 households and
Nakhchirey comprised of 45 households. The apical ancestor of the former was Khoja Ahmadi Busing who is
said to have come from Darwoz (Darwozi speaker); while the apical ancestor of Nakhchirey, named Palwon
Zanchi6, immigrated to Ghulkin from the Shigar valley of Baltistan (a Balti speaker). The Busing descent group
has three sub-clans known as Bakht Ktor (37 households), Qerghez Ktor (22 households) and Cheqer Ktor (20
households). The Nachirey clan has four sub-groups named as Khalifa Ktor, Qurbon Shoh Ktor, Dinor Ktor (also
as Shor Ktor) and Mamusing Ktor.
Four other descent groups, came in the village from different regions, have allied with the two sub-clans of Bus-
ing: Bakht Ktor and Qirghez Ktor. These allied clans are called Buduley (also called Budul Ktor: 13 households),
Abdullah Khan Kuts7 (4 households),
Matur Kuts8 (8 households), and Shotman Kuts (4 households) within Maltashey9. The apical ancestor of
Buduley or Budul clan is said to have come to Gulmit from the Chaprot valley in Nager; and then two brothers,
named Khuram Shoh and Bodur Shoh10 were settled in Ghulkin. The apical ancestor of Abdullah Khan s/o Mir
Silum Khan-III11 was Ayashum Ayasho [Shoh Khon] who has been brought from Darwoz of Afghanistan in order
to rule the Hunza State. The apical ancestor of Matur Kuts (or Matur Kitsik), named Yighul Matur, has emigrated
from Tung of Sariqol to Tashkurghan [both places in Xinjiang], and from Tashkurghan to Chipursan and then
finally he settled at Ghulkin. The ancestor of Shotman Kuts has come to Ghulkin from Manich of Yasin Valley.
This descent group also links itself, paternally or maternally, with the Diramting tribe of Baltit.
All these clans and sub-clans thus do maintain covert and overt roles and function, which give them a pride,
prominence and identity in their society. On the other, they also significantly influence and dominate the societal
development in Ghulkin.
5
Ktor in Wakhi, Guru in Farsi and Kuts in Burushaski signify the descent group (i.e., either lineage, or clan/tribe). Besides,
kuts in Burushaski also denotes someones geographical relation: e.g., Hundzu kuts means (dweller) of Hunza, or Baltit
kuts, dweller of Baltit.
6
The apical ancestor of the Nakhchirey was Palwon Zanchi but became famous with Nakhchirey. The suffix ey indicates Ktor or
lineage or clan affiliation. Thus, Nakhchir means fox and Nakhchirey means from the foxys descent group. Historically, Palwon
Zanchi came along with the then Mir (ruler) to Ghulkin and liked this place. and the Mir gave him land here.
7
Abdullah Khan lived in Ghulkin in the nineteenth century.
8
The sub-descent groups are Bai Mamud guru in Ghulkin, Dardaw guru in Gulmit and Gul Badan kuts in Altit.
9
Maltaey [Maltashey] is a tribe in Manich, Yasin valley. One of the clan members named Nawbahar Shah came from Yasin five
generations before and settled in Ghulkin in alliance with Bakht Ktor.
10
Historically, to counter or balance the power of the opposite sub-clan of Nakhchirey (called Qurbon Shoh Ktor), two brothers
named Khuram Shoh and Bodur Shoh s/o Hassan Ali (five generations before) of the Budul clan were taken to Ghulkin from Gulmit
on special request to the then Mir by the elders of Bakht ktor, as the siblings paternal family was politically strong (remained as
the headmen); and on the other, siblings mother was from Bakht Ktor.
11
Mir Silum Khan-III was the first Ismaili ruler of Hunza. Living in Gulmit in the house of his foster brother named, Arbob Bai Nazar,
Mir Silum Khan passed way in 1824; and the Ismaili tradition of Chirogh Roshan, was performed for the first time. The house still
exists with name of Khalifa Aliyars house.

Politically, besides a small number of neutral group, there are two strong groups affiliated with the Pakistan
Muslim League (PML) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Ghulkin has a union councilor represented in the
respective union council for Lower Gojal.
Above all, there are numerous voluntary setups whereby hundreds of volunteers work for the social, eco-
nomical, religious, cultural and environmental development of their society. Significant among them are the
village and women organizations (VWOs), local clergies (Mukhi, Kamarria, Khalifas), member of the Ismaili
Council for Gulmit; Ghulkin Educational, Social Welfare and Natures Conservation Association (GESWNCA)
the umbrella organizations of the village, the uniformed volunteer groups of the Aga Khan Volunteer Corps,
Boys Scout, Girls Guide, Board of Governors of the community school (Nasir-e Khusraw school), committees
of other schools and so on.
2.1 The toponym and the etymological interpretation
The two syllables toponym of Ghulkin is composed of compound words, ghul and kin. It depicts different
meanings in different related languages; and they almost hold true contextually. As mentioned earlier, there
is no aboriginal descent group in the settlement, rather they have historically come from different regions
with different ethno-linguistic identities such as Pamiri, Dardic, Burusho, Tibetan and Turks. It is noteworthy,
however, that the academic exercises of the etymologies derived out and interpreted hereunder may not be
termed final.
Ghul in Arabic means giant, ogre or demon; and kin/keen in Farsi means rancor, spite, and re-
venge. Both these coined words signify as giants or ogres rancor or revenge. In the folklores of the region,
we often come across the stories of the giant, ogre or demons; and the tug-of-war and animosity between
[the spirits versus humans or vice versa. In Ghulkins context, the folklores, narrated by the respondents,
describe that when Khoja Ahmadi Busing, came for the first time in this village, he was along with his im-
mediate family. Some respondents say: Khoja Ahmadi controlled the evil- sprits such as giants, demons or
ogres and involved them for the construction of the Ghulkin irrigation channel, which were seen at that time
by the women of Busings family when they carried lunch at the construction venue.
Second, kin in Farsi is also an abbreviation of ki in means that (which is) this. When ghul, as explained
above, joins its second syllable, then Ghulkin gives meaning of that, this is the giant or ogre or demon. The
land, when it was unsettled, could have been the land of giants, ogres and demons. The folklores are in
abundance in this regard, as mentioned in the first interpretation.
Third, there is also another word in Arabic called ghull , which means Iron collar; chains; yoke ; and
kin in Farsi for rancor, spite, revenge or hostility. In this way, the coined words of ghul-kin gives us
meaning of yoked or chained in revenge or rancor or spite. When we look into the respondents narratives
with regard to their societal evolution and development, it becomes clear that these heterogynous clans com-
ing from different regions with different ethnicities got problem of recognizing each others existence. The
strife could be observed from a historical account. The respondents narrate that because of the inter-clan
tussles and strife in the villageand consequently to counter or balance the power, the opposite sub-clan of

Nakhchirey called Qurbon Shoh Ktor, two brothers named Khuram Shoh and Bodur Shoh s/o Hassan Ali (five
generations before) of the Budul clan were taken to Ghulkin from Gulmit on special request to the then Mir by
the Bakht Ktor. This was done so because the siblings mother was from the Bakht Ktor of Ghulkin; and more
particularly because the siblings paternal family was politically dominant, being the arbobs (headmen), in
Gulmit (the second capital of the former principality). In brief, Ghulkin could therefore also mean yoked or
chained in [clan] rancor or revenge or strife. The influence of clanism, as is for other villages of the region, too,
could be observed even today.
Fourth (Wakhi-Wakhi): Ghul in Wakhi is for group, or gathering in circular-form too. When ghul combines
with the second word kin (of Fars & Wakhi), it gives us the meaning as group(s) in rancor, spite or revenge.
Connotatively, the explanations have been made above (in third) whether rancor, spite or revenge is among the
evil-spirits or among the humans (inter-clans) or between the evil spirits and the humans. Furthermore, kin in
Wakhi also means whose. In this manner, Ghul-kin means Whose group.
Fifth (Burusahski-Farsi/Wakhi): Ghulk in Burushaski (and also in Wakhi) means a pond. When ghulk joins
the second part kin, then it means pond of rancor, spite and revenge or animosity.
Sixth (Burushaski-Burushaski): There is another Burushaski word khan [i.e., kan], which means settlement.
In this way, Ghulk-khan gives us the meaning of pond-like settlement. The landscape of the main settlement
of Ghulkin is like ghulk-khan.
Seven (Burushaski-Burushaki): When in(e) of Burushasaki meaning his, joins ghulk, then Ghulkin signifies
as his pond.
Eight (Burushaski-Farsi): if the second syllable in of Farsi becomes prominent with the first syllable of Burush-
aski ghulk, then Ghulkin gives a sense as This Pond. Eight: when ghulk combines with the Wakhi kin (means
whose), then Ghulk-kin means whose pond.
3. Societal Pictures before and after AKRSPs Intervention Year
The prevailing situations before and after the AKRRSPs intervention year at Ghulkin are seen around different
parameters, that clearly shows societal change from its previous state to the present.
3.1 Social Organization
Before the AKRSPs intervention in the village, the people, like other societies, organized around their interests
at the level of descent groups (families, lineages, clans) and village, besides their age-grade or friendship as-
sociations. The community would diverge on different issues, but for their communal interests, they converged
again. Politically, the people would organize around the arbob (headman of the village, and performed their
tasks at community level such as the involuntary or forced laboring (called ashar) in the fiefdom. There wasnt
however any adequate or truly representative platform whereby the whole community members could openly
and democratically participate, express themselves and discuss their common issues.
When the AKRSP arrived in the village in 1983 that provided the community, for the first time, the collective
forums in the form of village and women organizations (V/WOs), as one of the community leaders expresses

proudly:
When the AKRSP began its development intervention in the village, it firstly started organizing the commu-
nity around one platform each for male and female by forming the Village and Women WVO), in 1983 and
1984 respectively; and advised us to hold regular our weekly meetings, deposit and maintain our savings,
openly discuss our common issues, and make effective and agreed resolutions to address those issues and
challenges.
A VO member says: It was a time when the people had no money; and few people had seen the currency
notes. We initially started our saving from half a rupee and one rupee only. While we had no money, we
would sell eggs and save the money in our WO account, a WO member describes.
Commenting on the previous socioeconomic conditions, another community leader describes: Although,
Ghulkin had a good reputation for its agricultural produce (specially faba-beans and barely) which also met
the needs of the needy people in our village and other villages by lending the grains to them, but even then,
I must say, the socioeconomic situation was worse, indeed.
Composed of contrasted descent groups (related to the Caucasoid & Mongoloid races), the small society
of Ghulkin (comprised on 83 households), the people at the grassroots level came encountered each other
in the VOs forum. Initially, it took time for the members to understand and accept each others views in a
democratic way. Resultantly, confrontations on development emerged.
3.1.1 Confrontation among members on the first PPI to Ghulkin
After the formation of the VO, members discussed getting a Productive Physical Infrastructure (PPI) project
from the AKRSP having two different proposals. A minority group favoured the construction of the irrigation
channel to a deserted-land in Chatghust; but majority of the members supported to construct the irrigation
channel in Shohbod, an old settlement in Borit that had become desolate due to the cut-off and severe dam-
age to the previous channel as a result of glacial movement. Keeping in view the majoritys opinions and
benefits, the AKRSP opted for Shohbods irrigation canal was constructed and water began flowing to the
desolate-land.
After bringing water to Shobod, the community of Hussaini, a neighboring village, immediately sued against
Ghulkin community in the governments court [in Gilgit] claiming ownership of this desolate-land. The litiga-
tion continued for several years but no result came out. In meanwhile, the Aga Khan Arbitration and Recon-
ciliation Board (AKARB) within the Shia Ismaili Council for Gulmit12 intervened and settled this case outside
of the governments court.
12
Introduced in 1969 by His Highness, Shah Karim al-Husseni, Aga Khan, the Shia Ismaili Council (SIC) for Gulmit under
Regional Council for Hunza is a totally voluntary setup that functions at Lower Goal level (Passu-Shishkat) having more
than seven villages and 13 jamatkhanas. Since its inception, SIC for Gulmit has been functioning efficiently, especially in
line with social mobilization for community development.

3.2 Housing structure of the community
The Wakhi Pamiri housing structure is fascinating, which has different portions and platforms inside the house.
Conventionally, there are four main portions of the traditional house named as Sroy, entrance, corridor and
toilette portion; Knj, intermediary part between the main house and Sroy, also for keeping shoes; Xun [Khun],
the main-house; and the an, store for cereals, flours, dairy and fruit products. The main-house has six plat-
forms named as nsn-e ra (razh), sleeping platform; jia or zia ra, infants or delivered-mothers platform;
kla ra, sheep/goats platform; past-ra, lower-platform; nikard, sitting platform around the hearth; dildung,
upper-platform of the hearth. Besides, there are other parts in the main house such as yorch, place of fire-
woods (and also dance during wedding); iki (childishly as chikish), utensils place; yiri, place of bread-basket,
pots of yeast and dough and so on. The main house stands on seven pillars and it has two big-holes for the
light, air and smoke called ricn [ritsn]. On top of the roof, there remained a fruit-store called mara along with
its terrace termed as bildi.
Fig 2 : Villages elders performing traditional dance
Traditional Wakhi house is attractive, but one thing could be considered negative in todays perspective as it had
open toilet system, mostly located at the entrance of the houses. Normally, there was no bath-room system.
Besides, the cattle-houses were also attached with the human houses. Such phenomena therefore openly in-
vited diseases at all seasons to the humans. For the first time in Ghulkin, Ashraf Khan, then an employee of the
Northern Areas Transport Corporations (NATCO), introduced the modern lavatory system in his house in 1976
and the community looked at it awkwardly. The villagers thought It was bad and would restrain the people in
producing manures for the agricultural field., the respondents say.
After 1983, the community members began replacing their traditional lavatory system and also detached the
cattle-houses from their houses. Workers of the Aga Khan Health Services, Pakistan (AKHSP) established
its center in Gulmit in 1979, also contributed about hygienic issues and the lavatory. Presently, all houses in
Ghulkin have the modern lavatory system with running tap water in the bathrooms.Most of the people have also

constructed additional rooms and bathrooms. The cattle-houses and pens are detached.
In the 1990s, Building and Construction Improvement Program (BACIP) within Planning and Building Service
of AKDN experimented in the traditional houses in introducing the hatch-windows (on the roof), better light-
ing, and insulation system. Todays traditional Wakhi houses in the village vary in many respects from that
of the previous period.
3.3 Family, kinship and marriage system in the society
Hunza valley, like other regions, has a patriarchal society tracing descent through the male line. Basically,
being agro-pastoralists, the family types in Ghulkin remained extended with an exception for some nuclear
families. Mostly, clan-endogamy was preferred in the society, besides cousins marriages; though, some
inter-clan and inter-village marriages also took place, especially for building their relationships.
Mate selection was arranged for the conjugal partners. Levirate marriage, termed as haqdor, sorrorate mar-
riage and polygyny also remained in practice. No marriages out of their religion took place. There was no
education, thus no education preference, rather wealth along with the partners personal character were de-
terminants. Marriages took place in teenage, rather before; and procreation of more children was preferred.
Preparation of marriages would involve four to six days. Time and day calculated by the khalifa, village
clergy. On the last day, the wedding would take place. If marriages were between distant villages, the time
consumption for travel was long in absence of any road and vehicle as the people would travel on horses
back and on-foot.
Before the era of Mir Nazim Khan (1891-1938), some respondents describe, the musical instrument in Gojal
mainly included flute (nay/tutek,gabi), tambourine (doriya or daf) and a kind of violin (sitor; ghizhek); and
the womenfolk could also dance in the wedding. The three local musical instruments, the drums (dedang &
damal) and pipe (surnay), were introduced and followed in the Wakhi society during Nazim Khans period.
The previous family types do exist in the village, nuclear families are increasing (47.8%). See the following
table.
Table-1: Family types and houses of the descent groups in Ghulkin
Extended/joint
No. Descent groups Sub-groups Nuclear families Total
families
1 Busing Ktor Bakht Ktor 18 19 37
2 Qerghez Ktor 11 11 22
3 Cheqer Ktor 11 09 20
5 Allied groups of Busing Budul Ktor 07 06 13
6 Matur Kuts 04 04 08
7 Abdulloh Khon Kuts 03 01 04
8 Shotman Kuts 01 03 04
9 Nakhchirey 18 27 45
Total 73 80 153
Source: Authors own survey through respondents, September, 2009.

The current preferences in mate-selection are more focused on the state of boys and girls educational quali-
fications, income and personal characters. The previously arranged and preferred endogamy (within cousins,
clans or village) is loosing position (though, still strong) in result of peoples more exposure to education and
the media, especially the electronic. The expected conjugal-partners have presently more power in the deci-
sion-making processes than other immediate family members. Marriages of consent, understanding and love
between the expected life-partners are regarded. Age-limit as mnimum 18 has been fixed for the wedlock.
Procreation of more children is not encouraged and most of the conjugal partners follow the modern family
planning techniques and practices. A sons birth is still preferred as was before.
The traditional way of marriage arrangements of four to six days are also in practice, but a move is also wit-
nessed. Instead of engaging the clan members for several days in managing wedding, some people either gave
up their livestock or engaged in employment, opted for the alternatives in giving food orders and arrangement
in the restaurants/hotels. Today, the days travel is covered in minutes and hours by riding vehicles opposed to
the previous time. The role and power of a khalifa, has greatly reduced. Now a khalifa could be engaged only in
few rites and ritual. All traditional musical instruments are in use except for ghizek, as there is a great dearth
in this regard.
3.3.1 Role and importance of children
Childs birth is very welcoming in the Wakhi society, especially on the birth of every son, the immediate family
members and other relatives rejoice it by shooting fire in the air. On birth of more daughters, the parents and
the family members would not be pleased. The roles and responsibilities of children remained diverse laboring
such as grazing cattle, goats and sheep; collecting and bringing fire-woods and dung; and performing other
different tasks according to their capacities and gender. The children thus relieved their family members from
a big chunk of workloads and saved enormous monetary resources in todays term.
Today, the children according to their capacities and gender have drastically changed. From age 3, girls and
boys are sent for getting early childhood education, then to their schools then moved ahead in colleges and
universities. Realizing the importance of education, most of the parents in the village have given up rearing the
sheep and goats; and also cut down the size of cattle, sheep and goats. A few children could be there who are
involved in helping their parents in rearing the livestock while returning from their schools.
3.4 Gender roles, responsibilities and functions in the present context
As per norms and values, hard or heavy weighted tasks remained part of men in the Wakhi society. A highlight
of some of their tasks follows as carry out manures from the cattle-sheds to and cultivating the fields; watering
the fields, forests and gardens; cutting trees for timber and other purposes; carrying out forestation; breaking
stones/boulders; building walls or houses; leveling the lands; carrying heavy loads on their backs (e.g., fire-
woods, cereals et-cetera); fighting in the battles and so on.
Womens roles and responsibilities mainly included cooking, washing, sweeping, rearing children, bringing fire-
woods, grazing and caring the livestock, cleansing cereals, fetching water, and processing and preparing dried-
fruits and dairy products, and so on. Within the households, a senior woman would perform as a manager to

supervise and conduct the in-house affairs. In addition, there are some areas of work that may not be heavy
and could be shared by both gender group.
Confined to their domestic chores, women had no say in their personal decision-making processes such as
marriage engagement. Food of good quality was for the male members and low quality or even the leftovers
were for the women. Being a rare item, wheat bread was offered only to the guests, and if something left was
presented to the male members in the house; but as per routine, both gender group ate bread of faba-bean
in their houses. The people considered girls education (like boys education) awkward by saying: would the
girls become khalifas or a munshi (clerk)? In case of any negligence or otherwise, there was harsh behavior
of the male members (or vice versa). Compelled women of the village got suicide. Divorce of women was
relatively high.
As per norms and vlues, the hard tasks are still part of men today, especially among those who are non-
literate or less educated. Majority of the village people have given up goats & sheep and womens chores
along with children in grazing cut-down, and less manure carrying task for men.
The previous women chores such as cooking, washing, sweeping and son on exist, though wool-related tasks
ceased when rearing sheep and goats ended. Fetching water from distant places in drums finished, as clean
drinking tap-water is available in houses from the spring. The senior womens role in supervising in-house af-
fairs mostly ended, especially providing flour and other stuffs to the junior women. The non-gender-specific
tasks are performed by both sexes such as fire-woods, lighting fire, caring children, supplying food on the
table/cloth, picking fruits from the tree et cetera. Today, men assist women by cooking food also, when they
got exposure to the outside world.
Today, all womenfolk of the village have power to decide for their fate (conjugal partnership). There is no
more food discrimination, rather both women can eat their meals together on the same table. Womens sui-
cidal case in their houses are not witnessed, except for a girl student of a school who suicide when failed in
her examination in 2007. Women have begun their own enterprises by modernizing their traditional handi-
crafts at individual and group levels in the field of sewing, knitting, weaving and so on.
Women have acquired full participation and representation in the communitys social life. Women were used
by men like animals, and now thanks to the AKRSPs initiatives, our situation has improved, mentions a
previous WO member. Besides, women are also holding positions in different organizations (CSOs and pubic
sector) and contribute shoulder-to-shoulder with men in employees and volunteers. Men strongly support,
these days, girls education and female empowerment.
3.5 The educational status
Informal education remains part of every family and elders in a society whereby different facets of cultures
are taught and transferred to their progenies and generations. In Hunza, besides family members, the
khalifas and other elderly members of the society had their big role in providing informal education to their
descendants. Formal education in Hunza began in 1912 when the British opened a primary school in Baltit;

and more particularly, when His Highness, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan-III, opened the Diamond
Jubilee (DJ) schools in 1946 in different parts of Hunza including Gulmit. Some students of Ghhulkin attended
the school in Gulmit in a pastime manner, not to become a past-master, as the high priority remained for their
agro-pastoral activities.
For the first time in its history, a DJ primary school for boys was opened at Ghulkin in 195713 with Ali Johar as
the first native teacher14 and run initially in a local traditional house, then in the langar, communal kitchen cum
store attached to the jamatkhana. The girls education was initiated (as coeducation) in this school in 1970.
The government opened its primary school in the village after 1974. The first boy and girl students did their
matriculation in 1968 and 1982 respectively.15
Due to the social taboos, the literacy rate before 1983 was very poor16 and 100% of the students, especially
girls did not attend the school. People were unable to leave their village for educational or other purposes be-
cause of an overall poverty.
After 1983, the educational progress is amazingly different in this tiny village. At present, there is no social
taboo on girls education rather parents prefer it keeping in view their Imams directives. 100% children, both
boys and girls, do attend the three types of schools: the AKESP, the government primary, and the community17.
Since 2007, through community-AKESP partnership, classes are also run at Early Childhood Education (ECD)
and secondary level18. The ECD classes are also run in the government primary school with community partner-
ship.
The following table hereunder reflects the number of schooling going students in educational institutions within
the village.
13
In the AKESPs record, the school was opened in 1961.
14
Ali Johar served from 1957-1959. He was getting a pay of Rs. 10/- (ten only). Afterward, Mukhi Arman Baig took over him and
served for 18 years.
15
First male matriculate was Ashraf Khan s/o Niga Shah and female-matriculate was Lal Jahan d/o Teghun Shah.
16
By 1982, in Ghulkin, there was only one female-matriculate; who then got married in Shahrisabz (Chipursan valley); and
one female matriculate from Gulmit got married in village. In male-education, there were seven intermediates, two graduates
(bachelors)..
17
The community-initiated NKMA (Nasir-e-Khusraw Modle Academy) was formed in November 1991, which is run at middle level
(grade-8) at present. Dozens of NKMAs students have marvelously been qualifying the admission tests in the famous educational
institutional institutions in Gilgit-Baltistan and down countries.

18
Education is the government school is free but for the ECD, run community partnership, the parents pay Rs. 50/- only
as the fee. The fees are given as the stipend to the two teachers who assist the other two government teachers.

Table-2: Number of students in different types of schools in Ghulkin
Name of school Number of students

No.
Total
Male Female
1 DJ Middle school 51 59 110
2 Government primary school 28 25 053
3 Nasir-e Khusraw Model Academy (NKMA) 65 39 104
4. Community-based secondary classes 07 13 020
Total 151 136 287
Source: Records of the schools, September 2009

In percentage, the female students are of 47.4% and male 52.6%. This village seems a laboratory for the
community on education; and on the other, there seems a competition among these schools in attracting stu-
dents in the respective institutions. There, however, arise serious questions related to facilitating students,
primarily in availability of teachers. The following table shows the number of teachers available in different
schools of the village.
Table-3: Number of Staff members in the Schools of Ghulkin
Number of Number of Support

Total Total
teachers staff
No. Name of the school
Male Female Total Male Female Total
00
1. DJ Middle School DJ teachers 03 03 00
Community 09 01
01 02 00 01
Teachers
Govt. Primary 02
2. Govt. teachers 00 01 00
School 04 01
Community
00 02 00 00
Teachers
NKMA (middle Community 01
3. 02 09 11 00 01
school) teachers
Total 08 16 24 01 02 03
Source: Respondents of the respective schools, September 2009.
Looking at the number of students and teachers on the one hand, and communitys participation such as
paying fees etcetera in enabling environment for the children on other, it becomes clear that the focus is
enormously on education of their children. The table hereunder shows the students monthly fees of the
educational institutions functioning in the village.

Table-4: Statement of per month fee in the four types of school in Ghulkin
Education Fees
Secondary
SNo Name of School ECD Primary level Middle level Remarks
Level
PKR PKR PKR PKR
ECD and secondary
level education are
1. DJ Middle school 200 350 600 500 community-based
started in 2007.
Govt. primary No fee Community-based

2. 050 NA NA ECD and fee paid
school to the teachers
250 for Nursery
NKMA (middle 200 class
3. 100 350 NA
school) 300 300 from Prep-
Grade-5
Source: Records of the respective schools in September, 2009.
The above cited educational platforms have given the parents different options in order to admit their children
for getting education. The DJ school has insufficient teaching staff (and probably capacity, too) as also holds
true for the Government Primary. They therefore depend on the community-teachers. While the purely commu-
nity-led school, NKMA has adequate teaching-staff but with not retainable teachers who leave the school when
the teachers get high-paid salaries.
Fig 3 : The girls having equal opportunity in the village
The school buildings were constructed through self-help initiatives as the community, yurt, offered their volun-
tary laboring and individual philanthropy as we can see the cases with the governments primary school in the

1970s, the old and new buildings of the DJ school in the 1980s, the community-driven and community-led
school building of Nasir-Khusraw Model Academy.
3.5.1 Computer facilities in the schools
All schools in the village have also been facilitated with computers, NKMA has even a separate computer lab,
but these schools lack in having relevant computer instructors. Besides, many households have computers,
too and facilitated their children to be acquainted and experienced with the computer know-how in their
houses.
3.5.2 Students of Ghulkin studying out of the village
Besides the 287 students pursuing education within the village, there are 249 students engaged with their
studies in different institutions out of the village that are illustrated in the following table.
Table-5: Number of students studying in different places in the country
Number of students
No. Place of pursuing education Total
Male Female
1 Gulmit (FGHS, FGGS, AMS) 21 09 30

2 Central Hunza (AKHSS, private schools/colleges) 02 28 30
3 Gilgit 34 28 62
4 Islamabad 08 01 09
5 Rawalpindi 10 10 20
6 Abbotabad/ansehra 04 01 05
7 Peshawar 01 02 03
8 Kashmir 01 00 01
9 Lahore 02 00 02
10 Karachi 68 19 87
Total 151 98 249
Source: GSA (2009), GECA (2009), and through enumerators & respondents in September, 2009
After acquiring education at middle level, most of the students get options either to go to attend the com-
munity-based secondary classes in the DJ school at Ghulkin or go out of the village in search of better
educational institutions found in Gulmit, Central Hunza, Gilgit and down country. Same occurs for acquiring
admissions at college and university level. The current (2009) number of regular students enrolled in some
universities of Pakistan (not included university students through colleges) engaged with their masters level
education (MA, M. Sc, MBA,MPA, M. Com etc) is shown in the following table.
Overall number of students engaged in their education from ECD level to masters is 536 (302 male, 234 fe-
male) making 45.2% of the total population. In the premier institutions in Gilgit-Baltistan like the Aga Khan
Girls Higher Secondary Schools (AKHSS) in Karimabad and Gilgit, there are currently (September 2009) 9
girls & 14 boys respectively. In the Karakoram International University, Gilgit, there are total 16 students (10
female and 6 male). It is estimated that every year, the number of masters degree holders would increase
by more than 15.

Table-6: Current Number of Students from Ghulkin pursuing their Masters Degree
Number of the regular

students
No. Universities Total
Male Female
Karakoram International University,

1 03 01 04
Gilgit
2 Peshawar University 01 02 03
Universities in Islamabad/Rawal-
3 03 03 06
pindi
4 Karachi 01 00 01
Total 08 06 14
Source: Own survey through enumerators (September 2009).
3.5.3 Master Degree-Holders from Ghulkin
Before 1983, there was no masters degree holder19 from Ghukin; but in the aftermath a slow move is wit-
nessed till 1999 (only seven master degree holders and no female). From 2000 onward, an amazing speed is
seen. Presently (September 2009), there are 54 Masters degree-holders (40 male and 14 female).
3.6 Health condition and healing approaches
Before 1966, there was no health facility at all in the entire Gojal. Among the whole Hunza, there was the only
dispensary in Aliabad (50 km away from Ghulkin), established during the British Indian government. The peo-
ple of the region therefore depended mainly on two types of healings: supernatural knowledge, and acquired
indigenous knowledge. Within the former approach, there were further categories. First, individuals would
present special offerings to God in their meditational place. Second, patients healed by clergies called khalifas
or mullo, who would make talismans/amulets or other healing tools. Third, pay special visits to the shrines such
as Bobo Ghundi in Chipursan valley. Fourth, pay visits to the shamans called bitan.
In contrast, there were the indigenous knowledge specialists who would treat the patients through the scientific
approach of their capacity in line with setting the joints dislocation; adjustment of bones fractures or cracks;
dealing with stomach problems, headache, jaundice, treating tonsils and the navel related issues, pneumonia
and so on. Patients for complicated and serious types of diseases were in great trouble and passed away. For
addressing the issues of maternal and child health during delivery, the senior/experienced ladies would volun-
tarily serve the patients. The maternal and child mortality rate was very high, however.
For the first time, in the history of Gojal, the government opened a first-aid post in 1960s in Gulmit20, the prin-
cipalitys second capital. The patients were given the first aid treatment. First time again, the Aga Khan Health
19
Gul Baig s/o Awal Baig is the first masters degree holder of Ghulkin who did it in 1983. He currently holds a trustable
position with the government as General Manager, Finance, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA),
Islamabad.
20
Khuda Aman from Central Hunza headed this first-aid post. According to him, this health facility was provided in
1965/6. Second time, he went to Gulmit in 1971.

Center was established in Gulmit in 1979 that effectively targeted women and children health issues in the
region.
The government facilitated Ghulkin with a first-aid post in 1984 in a rented house, then it constructed its
own building. Preliminary health issues are dealt here; but for complicated problems, patients are carried to
the hospitals in the Gulmit; and in case of any emergencies, patients are referred better treatment in the in
Aliabad, Gilgit or down country.
The previous dependence on the traditional healing approaches, especially the supernatural has significantly
decreased; but dependence on the indigenous knowledge experts in the field of bones and joint fixation still
exists, as many related patients still do prefer to be treated by the practitioners of the indigenous knowledge
in Gulmit21. (To be continued)
The author is specialized in Social and Cultural Anthropology, and works as a Development Researcher
& Consultant
21
A prominent indigenous knowledge specialist/practitioner (bone-setter), named Zafar Ulah Beg (80 year old), has a
record of successfully treating more than 40,000 patients for the last 55 years. Besides some tourists, many bone-related
patients (as per documentary records) from the entire Hunza (even out of the region), after getting treatments from the
doctors in PIMS, CMHs, DHQ hospital Gilgit, even from the AKUH came to him and he settled/adjusted.

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[Lession From Himalaya]:
Analytical Framework for Equitable Mountain Tourism: An Analytical
Discourse on Political Ecology of Mountain Geography in
Everest Region of Nepal.
Sundar Kumar Sharma
This paper aims to develop an analytical framework for equitable mountain tourism based on the dis-
course of political ecology. The framework explores the contribution of tourism interventions to the
Abstract
development of destinations and its people. Based on the analytical framework, an assessment was
carried out regarding the impacts of the tourism interventions to the landscape and ecology, culture and
livelihood of indigenous people; and overall socioeconomic power relations of the people in the moun-
tain region. This model also assesses income distributions patterns from mountain tourism to explore
its economic contribution to different social classes in the mountain region. The analysis examines the
effectiveness of sustainable tourism development strategies in reference to sustainable mountain de-
velopment policies and hence can be replicated as an analytical model for the development of equitable
mountain tourism in different mountain regions. The case of Everest tourism as an example is reviewed
for contextualization of this analytical model.
1. Introduction
1.1 Mountain Tourism
International tourism started in the Everest region in 1950. When Everests peak was finally summited
in 1953, the worlds attention was drawn not just to the mountain but also to the people who inhabit its
base (Rogers, 2007).
After the opening of the Everest region to commercial tourism in the mid-1960s, tourism rapidly expand-
ed in the early 1970s to become the leading component of the local economy (Rogers, 2007).
The Khumbu (upper belt) and Solu (lower belt) directly to the south are two different belts of Everest
Region having different sociophysical settings. Khumbu is inhabited by roughly 3,500 people residing
primarily in the following eight major villages: Khumjung, Kunde, Namche, Pangboche, Phortse, Thame,
Thamo and Thamote. Over 90% of the total population belongs to the indigenous Sherpa ethnic group.
Less than 0.2% of Khumbu is arable land (See annex for Map of Solukhumbu District; two different belts
are indicated in the map).
The lower belt, Solu, is inhabited by ethnic Sherpas as well as Khaling Rais, Magar, Tamang and Gurung.
Peoples living in Solu historically have closer ties with lowland Nepal whereas the peoples of Khumbu
historically had closer sociocultural links with Tibet.
The number of Everest tourists has grown from no visitors in 1949 to approximately 20 people in 1964,
Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH) 65

600 in 1971, 5,000 in 1980, 10,000 in 1991, and 25,000 in 2001(Rogers, 2007). Rogers has also provid-
ed the account of the national park entrance station data from 1997-1998, which indicates that 18,511
tourists were accompanied by 20,551 staff and 2,386 pack animals. An additional 13,838 commercial
porters transported food and supplies into the park, much of which was consumed by non-resident visi-
tors.
Nepals overall tourism revenues in the 1995-1996 fiscal year were US$116 million, which accounted
for 3.8 % of the countrys US $3 billion gross
domestic product (GDP) and 18 percent of all
foreign earnings (Nepal Ministry of finance 1997
and Sharma 1998 as cited in Rogers 2007).
By 1999, Nepals tourism revenues had risen to

US$150 million, and constituted 3.5 % of GDP
(Lohani 1999 as cited in Rogers 2007).
In 1994, Everest tourism attracted 59 of the 107

high-altitude mountaineering expeditions visiting
Nepal, and these Everest climbing expeditions
paid 77 percent of the fees collected from climb-
ing expeditions that year to Nepal government
(Gurung, 1998 as in Rogers 2007). In 1995, 13
percent of Nepals total park entrance fees were
from Sagarmatha National Park (Gurung, 1998
as in Rogers, 2007) and 18 percent (fifteen thou-
sand) of the trekking permits issued in Nepal
were for the Everest region (Nepal Ministry of
Tourism, 1996;, Sharma, 1998; Rogers 2007).
In this view, Everest tourism has made a significant contribution to Nepals tourism revenue.
Tourism activities in the Everest region are confined to Khumbu. Khumbu has now adopted four primary
types of tourism: luxury tourism, religious tourism, trekking tourism and climbing tourism.
Khumbu area has two air strips, a hospital, dental and eye care clinics, a high school, grade schools in
every village, a plethora of modern bridges, luxury hotels and lodges; the lower belt Solu, however, is
located in same region yet is out of the reach of Everests tourism benefits.
This marginalization of indigenous groups can be further analyzed through the political ecology approach
while keeping the socioeconomic power relations and human-environment relationships at the centre;

the impacts and effects of tourism interventions are to be assessed within the analytical model based
on the discourse of political ecology (detailed presentation can be found in Analytical framework). From
these reviews Everest tourism is seen as an ideal case of mountain tourism on which to base the political
ecology framework.
1.2 Objectives of the study
The overall objective of this research is to investigate the issues and challenges in sustainable mountain
tourism development in the wider spectrum of environment-human relationships and the socioeconomic
power relations among mountain tourisms different stakeholders. Based on this investigation, an ana-
lytical model for the development of equitable mountain tourism is proposed. Within the framework of an
analytical model based on political ecology discourse, case studies of mountain tourism interventions in
Everest are analyzed for the following research objectives:
General Objective
a. To modulate a framework with domains of significant impacts of mountain tourism to ecology, econo-
my and society of mountain region.
Specific Objective
a. To design an analytical framework (political ecology framework) for analyzing mountain tourism im-
pacts by reviewing Everest tourism.
b. To generalize an analytical model for mountain tourism impact through political ecology discourse as
related to mountain tourism.
1.3 Reviews for setting statement of problem for research questions and model development
By the late 1990s tourism had become the worlds fastest growing industry, involving an estimated 625
million people and earning receipts of nearly US$500 billion per year. Receipts from international tourist
travel grew by an average annual rate of 8 percent during the 1990s with mountain tourism accounting
for an estimated 15 to 20 percent of worldwide tourism revenues by the end of the decade (WTO, 1999
as in Rogers, 2007). But, all these figures of benefits are elite captured. Though different tourism devel-
opment programs generate higher revenue it ends marginalizing low income groups.
Socioeconomic power relations of indigenous peoples and the vulnerable biogeography are the major is-
sues of Everest tourism. Tourism intervention in the Everest region should go beyond ecological impacts
and revenue generation. It should be equitable for the overall development of the region and the people.
Actually no better alternative for socio-economic development exists in this region. Hence, this vital eco-
nomic toolEverest tourismshould be advantageous for all Solukhumbu natives.
Analytical Framework for Equitable Mountain Tourism -67-

To address these issues, a greater focus is needed on the rights of indigenous people. There is marked differ-
ence in the socioeconomic power between Khumbu (upper belt) and Solu (Lower Belt) though they are in the
same region. The socioeconomic marginalization of the lower belt residents and some lower class inhabit-
ants of the upper belt indicates that Everest tourism is still questionable in terms of equitable growth and dis-
tributive development (Sharma, 2009). Local participation in the promotion of and decision-making about
tourism is dominated by local businessmen and educated elites with vested economic interests in this sector
(Adhikari, 2006),
Based on a household survey of the Khumbu, Pharak and Solu, Rogers and Aitchison (1998, as cited in
Rogers 2007) concluded that while there have always been economic differences between the commu-
nities in the area, it would appear that the inequalities between them are widening due to differences in
tourism involvement. If tourism development is left to market forces, it is probable that income inequali-
ties will widen. This indicates that Everest tourism has a significant impact on socioeconomic power rela-
tions; now one must ask, how and why?
The issues of land degradation in the Everest region, the marked socioeconomic gap between the dif-
ferent regional belt, and the impacts of tourism interventions on indigenous culture, occupations and
livelihood strategies suggest a critical need to fully contemplate socioeconomic marginalization causal
factors and the actual consequences of tourism interventions to the development of that region. A num-
bers of research works have highlighted both the positive and negative effects of tourism. In Clint Rogers
(2007) words, out of those many have testified about what tourism has done to the Everest region and
the Sherpas, few have explained why and even fewer have explicitly drawn any practical lessons from
it. This suggests that there is a dearth of studies regarding the ecological and socioeconomic effects of
Everest tourism. Consequently, there is also a lack of recommendation to guide future Everest tourism
development policies.
The following research questions should be considered in order to truly comprehend and develop an ana-
lytical framework for understanding the impacts of Everest tourism.
1. Why are some Everest indigenous groups poorer than others?
2. Why are indigenous people of Everests lower belt (Solu) not benefiting from tour-
ism revenue? What is the reason behind the marginalization of the Everests lower belt
?
3. Why do low income groups not have opportunities in entrepreneurial development in the tourism
sector?
4. What are the ecological, natural, and socioeconomic impacts of tourism? Should Everest tourism be
halted?
5. What is are the class conflicts that arise as a result of Everrest tourism?

6. What indigenous concerns should be addressed (and how) to prevent farther marginalization of this
social sector? How have tourist-related activities endangered indigenous knowledge?
7. Why are people from the poor southern belt more disadvanted than thenorthern belts inhabitants?
Why have the benefits not flowed to southern belt?
Based on these reviews and the theoretical orientation of the discourse of political ecology (as described
below), an analytical framework can be modulated and contextualized as follows.
2. Analytical Framework Based on Political Ecology Discourse
This research uses the political ecology framework; in other words, it deals with the relationship be-
tween ecological and socioeconomic power relations. According to Belsky (2002) the political ecology
framework is a trans-disciplinary perspective for studying fundamentals in an attempt to understand
environmental change.
Political ecologyas it has risen out of cultural ecology, political economy of development, Marxism and
post-structuralismencompasses diverse theoretical and methodological approaches (Bryant 1998; Peet
and Watts 1996 as in Nightingale 2002). It has demonstrated the importance of examining the linkages
between local environmental issues and global political-economic processes (Nightingale, 2002).
Political ecology emerged during the 1970s as a method of fusing cultural ecology anthropologists
empirical studies of local environmental practice with cross-scale analyses of the political economy
(Escobar 1999a).
Academic work focusing on the interface between politics and environmental degradation has often been
labeled political ecology (Blaikie, 1985 as in Stainer and Lopez 2001). Political ecology offers productive
possibilities for developing an understanding of convservations political dimensions (Stott and Sullivan
2000; Zimmerer and Basset 2003; Peet and Watts 2004; Robbins 2004 as in Adams and Hutton, 2007).
It also addresses the relations between social and natural processes arguing that social and environmen-
tal conditions are deeply and inextricably linked (Adams and Hutton, 2007). According to Walker, (2005),
political ecology is todays most prominent inheritor of geographic traditions with deep historical roots in
the study of both biophysical ecology and social science.
Schubert (2005) has suggested combining two major theorieshuman-environment relationship theory
and entitlement theorywhile dealing with political ecology in development research.
Problems arising over access to resources have been a key focus in many political ecology studies, espe-
cially those that have examined the often destructive impact of Western-driven conservation policies in
many parts of Africa (D. Brockington 2002; R. Duffy 2000; R.P. Neumann 1998; R.P. Neumann 2003 as
cited by Julian Bloomer, 2009).
Jones (2008 as cited by Kepe et al., 2008) has stated that political ecology is characterized by attention

to ecological dynamics; a sensitivity to the role of the state and the wider global economy in shaping
environmental change; emphasis on social difference, especially among decision-makers; the acknowl-
edgement of the centrality of poverty and inequality as key factors affecting environmental change; and
Ecology
Ecological analysis on ;
Land Use
Habitats
Carrying Capacity
Legislation
Pride of Place
Migration, Urbanization
Subsistence Practices
Export argiculture/ Local
Wage sharing
Products
Hunman-environment
Eco-tourism draw
Relationships
(Exchange of
Prodcution systems
(Exchange of stability
management functions)
management functions)
Society
Moutain people and their (Place Based Mout ain tourism)
Culture, Knowledge system Equitable tourism experience,
Population, Migration Soical Better Quality of life Economy
network, infrastructures, Tourism Revenues
Conformity to norms Export agriculture / Crafts
Export Manufacturing
Government spending
/Dept
Tourism draw, benefit distribution, Internal Economy
employment, cultural stress, Immi- Ownerships/ Entitlements
gration
(Exchange of Development man-

agement functions)
Analytical framework designed by the researcher, based on the ecological modeling for tourism by, Patterson
et al (2004); Sustainable mountain region development models having links with ecological and, economic
concerns by Singh(2006), Analytical notes by Little (2007), Political ecology as ethnography: a theoretical and
methodological guide; and theoretical orientation by Schubert, (2005), Political Ecology in Development
Research.
contextual analysis of multiple scales of influence.
Blaikie is one of the pioneers of political ecology and has contributed comprehensive literature in linking
environmental knowledge and politics. Moreover, he has demonstrated how environmental analysis (and
hence policy) can be reframed to address the problems of socially vulnerable people by using the political

ecology framework (Forsyth, 2008).
According to Greenberg and Park, (1994) there are two major theoretical thrusts that have most influ-
enced the formation of political ecology. They are: political economy with its insistence on the need to
link the distribution of power with productive activity and ecological analysis with its broader vision of
bio-environmental relationships.
Karl Marx, perhaps, came closest to defining the dialogue between individuals, their productive activity in
human society, and nature by his insistence that one must not begin with abstract premises or dogmas
(K.Marx and F.Engels, 1970 [1846]:42 as cited by Greenberg and Park, 1994), but with the productive
activities of real individuals. This focuses attention on political economy as it transforms and is trans-
formed by individuals and nature.
3. Justification of the Framework (Based on literature review, specific research ques-

tions, the model of analytical framework designed above and political ecology discours-
es)
Literature review has gone through various phases to depict the effects of tourism intervention on the
mountain regions inhabitants and environment. Major literature focused on previous studies basically

focus on issues of environment, culture, economy, infrastructure development, and indigenous people.
However, there is no literature based on the political ecology framework that examines the issues of class
disparity, marginalization and exploitation of and among indigenous people as a result of tourism inter-
ventions. Lately there have been studies based on political ecology discourse such as Ecological modeling
for tourism by Patterson et al. (2004) and Sustainable mountain region development models having links
with ecological and, economic concerns by Singh (2006).
Regarding the issues of resource usage and environmental conservation, Zimmerer (2006), one of the
pioneers of political ecology research, inferred that the rapid growth of the interface between conserva-
tion and livelihoods and resource use is driven by many factors. These range from territorial expansion of
protected areas to the management, politics and discursive strategies that are deployed in such broad-
ened conservation efforts. It means political ecology of small territories is webbed by complex dynamics.
Hence, the diverse issues of environment and socio-economic power relations have direct links to policies
and management strategies.
Zimmerer focuses on governance issues from the perspectives of political and cultural ecology. In do-
ing so, he often suggests that environmental governance at the local level is politically necessary and
pragmatic for environmental conservation and management that occurs in or near protected areas (Ni-
etschmann, 1984; 1995; Stevens, 1997 as in Zimmerer, 2006).
These issues of political ecology as related to natural resource controlare intricately linked to the issues
of the environmental degradation and resource conflict in mountain regions worldwide. previous studies
in mountain geography continues to offer truly important scientific and critical perspectives of mountain
activities and its effect on the environment. Consequently, such studies have helped to promote more
responsible decisions by policy-makers (Price and Funnel, 2003).
The biogeography of the mountain region is different from that of the plains. According to Singh (2006),
Himalayan development must take a different approach given the areas fragility, vulnerability, and
uniqueness.
As the discourse of political ecology is centered on appeals to ethical values, solidarity, autonomy, eco-
logical responsibility and democracy (Becker and Raza, 1999), it can occupy broader space in issues of
conservation and development of the biogeography of such regions.
With the increasing realization that mountain-based natural resources are vital for both highland and
lowland people, the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development has brought these areas into sharp
focus. The complexity of such issues continues to receive considerable attention at global forums like
the World Summit on Sustainable Development-WSSD, Johannesburg, August 2002) and Bishkek Glo-
bal Mountain Summit (October 2002). Such gatherings have concluded that special approaches and

resources are required to maintain livelihoods and improve the quality of life in mountain regions. This
requires an integrated approach that gives due consideration to the close relationship between human
socio-cultural/socioeconomic systems and the natural ecosystem components/processes (Singh 2006).
Regarding the tourism interventions in fragile mountain ecosystems, the recent research of Awang et al.
(2009) has suggested that the nature of tourism development is highly contested and is susceptible to
influence from the surrounding factors such as politics, economics, culture and the environment.
Speaking on the complexity of the global-local nexus and the complicated interactions between eco-
nomic, cultural and environmental elements to create local development outcomes, Milne and Ateljevic
(2001) strongly asserted that we cannot understand the context of local tourism development unless we
grapple with this intricacy. Furthermore, we must better understand how key stakeholders (government,
industry, community, tourists) interact within and between multiple nested scales.
Addressing the conflict of interests on the conservation of parks and protected areas, Adams and Hutton
(2007) said that the political ecology of conservation is highly complex and diverse. Ideas of nature are
laid out on the ground in Protected Aeras, and the needs, rights and interests of people are bent to fit the
resulting conservation landscape. All this takes place against the backdrop of a wider social assault on
nature through processes of industrialization, urbanization, pollution, and ecosystem-to-industry conver-
sion. This assertion is applicable to the environmental degradation of mountain regions due to tourism
pressure and overwhelming conflict of interests between different classes and park administration.
Regarding the same issue, Rogers (2007) inferred that the impact of tourism on resulting from conflicting
interests has led to considerable social and environmental problems for indigenous groups.
After considering this literature, it is important to view mountain tourism development through political
ecology discourse in an analytical framework as presented in this paper and address major issues like:
1. Marginalization of low income groups and threats to indigenous cultures
2. Ecological changes and pollution problems
3. Conflicts of interest among tourism stakeholders
4. Discussions
Socioeconomic marginalization and underdevelopment of mountain regions and their inhabitants is a glo-
bal issue. Inequitable access to resources and inequitable income distribution are two major challenges
to sustainable and equitable development of mountain communities. The complexities of mountain de-
velopment also lie within socioeconomic power relations among different stakeholders of tourism devel-
opment. In mountainous areas, tourism is a major development intervention, and it is still not equitable
across economic classes. Acting in terms of equity and fairness, the majority of benefits should go to the

destination and host community. Hence, this implies the need of using a comprehensive analytical model
to assess the status of mountain tourism. This analysis helps to develop effective, sustainable policies.
Here, the case of Everest tourism is reviewed to address the multilayered complex issues related to the
tourism interventions. This framework can be contextualized in different cases. It can be used to analyze
the political ecology of the tourist industry in different mountain communities.
5. Conclusion
This research forms an analytical base within the framework of political ecology of mountain tourism
for the development of sustainable mountain tourism in Nepal and abroad by linking the reviews on is-
sues of Everest tourism to the Sustainable Mountain Development policies. It has suggested a compre-
hensive methodological guide to assess the socioeconomic and environmental consequences of tourism
interventions; in doing so, it has provided a solid base to develop effective and responsible mountain
development policies.
6. References
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Conservation and Society, pp 147-183, volume 5, No. 2.
Adhikari, R. (2006), Building confidence in tourism through crisis management, Economic Policy Net-
work, Policy Paper 9.
Awang et al. (2009), Tourism Development: A Geographical Perspective, Asian Social Science, Vol. 5,
No.5, May 2009.
Becker and Raza, 1999) Theory of regulation and political ecology - Ambiente & Sociedade - Ano II - No
5 - 2o Semestre de 1999.
Bloomer(2009), Using a political ecology framework to examine extra-legal livelihood strategies: a Le-
sotho-based case study, Journal of Political Ecology Vol. 16, 2009
Escobar, (1999a). Whose Knowledge, Whose Nature? Biodiversity Conservation and Social Movements
Political Ecology. Journal of Political Ecology.
Forsyth, (2008), Political Ecology and the Epistemology of Social Justice, Geoforum, 39.
Greenberg and Park (1994) , Political Ecology; Journal of Political Ecology Vol.1 1994
Johnsen, Bieger and Scherer, (2008), Indicator-based Strategies for Sustainable Tourism Development,
Mountain Research and Development Vol 28 No 2 May 2008: 116121 doi:10.1659/mrd.0973.
Juganaru et al. (2008), Sustainable tourism types, Annals of University of Craiova- Economic Sciences
Series, 2008, Vol. 2, Issue 36.
Kepe et al (2008), Environment and planning a commentary, Pion Ltd and its Licensors , 2008, volume
40
Little (2007), Political ecology as ethnography: a theoretical and methodological guide. Horiz. antropol.
vol.3 no.se Porto Alegre 2007.
Little (2007), Political ecology as ethnography: a theoretical and methodological guide, Horiz. antropol.
vol.3 no.se Porto Alegre 2007
Milne and Ateljevic, (2001), Tourism, economic development and the global-local nexus: theory embrac-
ing complexity; Tourism Geographies 3(4), 369-393.
Nightingale, 2002), Can Social Theory Adequately Address Nature-Society Issues? Do political ecology
and science studies in Geography incorporate ecological change? Institute of Geography Online Paper
Series: GEO-027.
Patterson et.al(2004), Integrating environmental , Social and Economic Systems: a dynamic model of

tourism in Dominica, Ecological modeling 175(2004) 121-136
Price and Funnel (2003), Mountain Geography: a review, the geographical journal, vol.169, No. 3, pp.
183-190.
Schubert, Jon (2005). Political Ecology in Development Research. An Introductory Overview and Anno-
tated Bibliography. Bern, NCCR North-South.
Sharma (2009), Sustainable tourism Development in Everest Region, Mountain forum-resources and
services Available at: Mountain Forum Online Library.
Sharma and Maharjan (2009), Climate Change and Tourism: Aggravating water issues in the Everest
region, Mountain forum-resources and services, available at: Mountain Forum Online Library.
Singh (2006), Sustainable development of the Indian Himalayan region: Linking ecological and economic
concerns, CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 90, NO. 6.
Singh (2006), Sustainable Development of the Indian Himalayan Region: Linking ecological and eco-
nomic concerns, current science, vol.90, No. 6.
Stainer and Lopez (eds) (2001), After Postmodernism: Critical realism?,pp. 146-154; London: Athlone Press.
TED case studies, (2005), Everest Tourism, Case Number: 252.
Walker (2005), Political ecology: where is the ecology? Progress in Human Geography 29, 1 (2005) pp. 7382
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ronmental conservation and globalization; progress in Human Geography 30,1 pp.63-78.
The Author is research fellow in School of Arts, Kathmandu University. This research theme is
developed by consultations with senior researchers and scholars in the field of mountain tourism
(Prof. Stan Stevens, Dr. Sanjaya K. Nepal); Development Experts and Instructors ( Dr. Prabin
Manadhar, Prof. R. Baumgartner), Academicians (Prof. Mahesh Banskota,Mr. Samesh Adhikari).

History of Formal Education
in Hunza Valley
KARIM DAD
Hunza Valley in not only renowned for its natural beauty, unique history, and extended life of its inhabit-
ants; the region is also celebrated for its high literacy rate as compared to other underdeveloped regions.
Today thousands of male and female students assemble in reputed universities throughout Pakistan, and
many have even been successful enough to get entry into world-class, international universities. At home in
the valley, there are few cases of out-of-school children and only a minute ratio of drop-outs while in many
other parts in Gilgit-Baltistan a great number of children are left uneducated. In some cases, a matriculate
female is even not available to initiate a school or carry-out basic health activities among the population
of thousands of people in many parts. I was absolutely astonished upon observing an isolated valley in the
region where only one primary school for girls, exists. Introduced some six years back, this single institution
is supposed to serve approximately eleven-hundred households!
Government-based, Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan (AKES, P), NGO and private schools have been
established that are presently catering to thousands of students from the level of early childhood education
and development to upper-level degrees. Education is truly bearing fruit in the valley, mainly in the forms of
socio-economic development and attitudinal change.
The history of formal education in the region stems from the initiation of the first primary school in Baltit,
Hunza in 1913. Established by the then British India, the school is said to been given its first teacher from
Punjab. The subsequent departure of the teacher after a single year of instruction fueled contradictory views
about the reasoning behind his leaving. Some opine that the ruling class was not in favor of educating ordi-
nary people. Others state that the instructor could not adjust himself to the lack of facilities. Nevertheless,
he was succeeded by Wazir Inayat Ullah Baig who had passed middle level school in Gilgit. He, too, left the
school in order to contnue further his studies in Kashmir. Having completed his mid-level studies in Gilgit,
Raja Ghani Khan (also known as Raja Gari Khan) joined the school in around 1915.
The school was closed for some time because of Raja Ghani Khans untimely death in 1929. Meanwhile a
British delegation led by Major Gillan visited the valley and inquired about the closure of the school. The
delegation was informed about the unavailability of teachers. In response, Major Brown recruited the late
Mr. Muhammad Najat of Ganish. Major Brown had been acquainted with Mr. Najat since the day the lat-
ter had served him in Kashghar while working with him in the British Consulate. Having completed middle
school in Gilgit, Mr. Muhammad Najat was appointed as the schools teacher where he carried out the task
until his death in 1940. He was then accompanied by another teacher, the late Mr. Afiat Khan of Baltit. After
Mr. Muhammad Najats death, the deceased Mr. Sikandar Khan of Ganish (who had completed his primary
education from this school) was appointed.

Three of the above teachersRaja Ghani Khan, Muhammad Najat, and Aafiat khan acquired their education
from the Government School-Gilgit (presently Govt. High School # 1). The school was established in 1893 as a
primary school and was later upgraded to a middle school. The Government School Gilgit set aside five seats
for students from each valley in Gilgit-Baltistan. However, these places were reserved for the Mirs family or, in
some cases, the Mirs influential courtiers. Hence, if one examines history of the schools first three teachers
one notes that Raja Ghani Khan was the son of Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan while Muhammad Najat and Aafiat
Khan belonged to influential families and were the then Mirs close courtiers.
Raja Muhammad Ghani Khan (1899 1929)
Legendary stories abound regarding this renowned personalitys bravery, humanity and athletic ability. He was
quite fond of music, a fact made even apparent by his close friendship with the famous musician Huku. Raja
Khan was born to Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan, the first ruler under British India. Upon the recommendations
of the British Officials in Gilgit, he was sent to Gilgit for schooling. It was there that Raja Khan studied math-
ematics, Urdu and Persian. His fluency in English, however, came as a result of private, evening lessons from
the areas British agent and other officials. Raja Khan continued as a teacher until his untimely death in 1929
at the age of 30.
Muhammad Najat (unknown - 1940)
Son of Wazir Zawara Baig of Ganish, Mr. Muhammad Najat also obtained his Middle-level schooling education
from the Government School Gilgit. He purportedly attained the highest score in the middle-level examination
under the Jammu Board and subsequently attained his certificate. He also served under British officer Major Gil-
lan during the latters employment with the British Consulate in Kashghar. Because of this familiarity, Mr. Gillan

selected Mr. Najat as Raja Ghani Khans replacement. He served the school till his last in 1940.
Afiat Khan (1916 2003)
Aafiat Khan was among those few pioneers whose tirelessness and devotion had a tremendous impact in
spreading education in the valley. He was born on 25th January, 1916 to Akber Khan who served as Yarpa
(the custodian of the Mirs revenues) in upper Hunza. He completed his initial education at the Batit Primary
School and traveled to Gilgit to complete his middle-school education. In Gilgit boarding facilities were avail-
able with conveniences like lanterns, hot water in winter, and good food. Competent and devoted teachers
were there teaching different subjects, Aafiat Khan commented during a interview with this writer of the
school. Aafiat Khan asserted his zeal for sports, especially polo and football. Later, he hoped to join the mili-
tary or some other profession, but his teacher Mr. Muhammad Najat suggested that he appeal to Mir Nazim
Khan to appoint him as teacher in the same school. He continued instructing Urdu, Persian), geography, and
mathematics even after the institution was upgraded to a middle-school in 1958; he retired in 1969.
Sikandar Khan (1921-2005)
Sikandar Khan was born on 5th May, 1921. He received his primary education from the only primary school
in Baltit. He began teaching after death of Muhammad Najat, his uncle, in 1940. He was later transferred to
the Government Primary School Ganish where he retired in 1975.
Establishment of the Diamond Jubilee Schools
The Diamond Jubilee of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III was celebrated on March, 10 1946 in
Bombay. Ismaili delegates from distant regions (including Badakhshan, the Northern Areas, Iran, Syria, and
Africa) attended the festivities in Bombay. The then Mir of Hunza, Mir Muhammad Jamal Khan, designated
Haji Qudratullah Baig to lead the areas delegation which ultimately reached the Indian city on December,
29 1946. The Kashmir-based route and severe winter weather made for an especially grueling journey. The
delegation appeared before Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah and presented application explaining Hunza val-
leys educational condition along with some recommendations to better education. In response, Sir Sultan
Muhammad Shah granted Rs.12,000/ and suggestions to the Mir of Hunza on how best to utilize the grant
for educational activities. Haji Qudratullah Baig has cited this letter in his book Tarikh -e- Tammeer Markazi
Jamat Khana-Gilgit.
On their return from Bombay, the delegation outlined and executed a plan to establish a middle-school in
Baltit and a network of primary schools in Hunza Valley by August, 1946. The first teachers of the DJ School
Baltit included:
1. Raja Sultan Ali for English
2. Wazir Muhammad Dara Baig for Persian and Deniyat
3. Tranghfa Sangi Khan
Hiji Qadratullah Baig asserts that these teachers utilized their full potential with absolute devotion, which
enabled a number of students to later obtain distinction in the Gilgit School. The sacrifices of Late Sultan Ali is
worth mentioning at this juncture. He had a bright career in Gilgit Scouts where he excelled as an extremely
History of Formal Education in Hunza Valley -79-

educated and athletically inclined gentleman. He was approached by school representatives to teach at the
school. He accepted the request and gave up his service in the Gilgit Scouts, adding that it was an honor for
him to serve his own community. Primary schools were also established in other areas at that time, including
the regions of Aliabad, Hassanabad, Murtazaabad, Altit, Hyderabad, Nasirabad, Mayon, Gulmit, Passu, Chipur-
son and Sost.
This short story clearly indicates that education has advanced rapidly across the valley after the
Diamond Jubille initiatives of Sir sultan Muhammad Shah in 1946 and the subsequent efforts and
sacrifices of the earlier teachers.
The author is presently the Principal of Hunza Educator Higher Secondary School
Aliabad, Hunza. He has a vast working experience with Aga Khan Education Serv-
ice, Pakistan. This paper is a summary of the research work undertaken for the
fulfillment of B. Ed course.

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Whistling with Knowledge

Volume 1, Issue 3 , July - September 2009

Rupani Foundation ventures into Production Phase

Rupani Foundation, a global leader in sustainable development of mountain communities is

You are encouraged to get services at our production centers in

For more details, please contact:

GHULAM AMIN BEG

KADO PHOTO CREDITS

1 Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction 9

MUHAMMAD ZAFAR KHAN

2 Melting Glaciers and Agriculture in Pakistan 27

SYED MUJAHID ALI SHAH

Societal Development and Change in Hunza Valley: A Study of

FAZAL AMIN BEG

4 Geographic Comparison of Pasture Land Use Patterns in the Pamirs 37

[Lessons from Himalaya]:Analytical Framework for Equitable

SUNDAR KUMAR SHARMA 57

6 History of Formal Education in Hunza Valley

We welcome your comments and especially your submissions for publication.

Topography, Climate and Ecological Zones

-10- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)

1.2 Significance of Biodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan

Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction -11-

2.1 Importance of Agrobiodiversity

2.2 Crop Diversity

-12- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)

Common Name Scientific Name Distribution in GB

Hordeum bogdanii Karakoram mountains

Cicer microphylum Sub-alpine slopes of the Karakoram and Himalaya

Pyrus pashia Temperate Himalaya

Wild relatives of grape Vitis jacquemontii Skardu region of the Himalaya

Aegilops squarossus Mountain valleys

Aegilops triuncials Mountain valleys

Elymus russelii Endemic to the Karakoram

Source: Nasir and Ali, 1970.

2.3. Fruit Diversity

Grape 8 Gilgit-Baltistan , and many of the regions fruit species were

Sources: Doolan, 1993; GB Department of Agriculture.

Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction -13-

2.4. Livestock Diversity

ies) breeds include the Baltistani, Gojali and Kohai- Chicken 3 1

Ghizar varieties. Goat (Capra hircus) breeds include Donkeys 4 1

3. Causes of Agrobiodiversity Loss in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan

3.2. Agriculture Intensification and Introduction of Alien-Invasive Species

-14- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)

Box 1: Crossbreeding Between local Cattle and Yaks

Male Yak X Female Cow

F2 Gar Garmo x Yak

F3 Gir Girmo x Yak

F4 Bre Bremo x Yak

F5 Luk Lukmo x Yak

Source: Seim, 1999.

Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction -15-

4. Effects of Agrobiodiversity Loss

4.2. Effects on Poultry

-16- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)

4.3 Effects on Endemic Fish Populations

Hansen_Friss, E. 1994. Conceptualizing In situ Conservation of Landscapes. Cited in Widening Prospec-

Agrobiodiversity in Gilgit-Baltistan on the Verge of Extinction -17-

The author is associated with WWF-Pakistan as Manager of Communications and Environmen-

-18- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)

Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH) -19-

-20- Karakoram Knowledge Highways (KKH)