South
Asia has been recognized as one of the hotspots of climate change, and mountain
ecosystems and communities in the region are considered to be the most
vulnerable to climate change. They heavily depend on natural resources for
their livelihoods, are more prone to extreme events and natural disasters, and
suffer from widespread poverty, marginalization, and, often, from
socio-political unrest.
Evidences of global warming induced changes in mountainous areas (such as
change in temperatures and precipitation patterns, increased frequency and
intensity of extreme events, and glacier recession) have been collected and
studied by the scientific community.
The village of Hundur has almost
totally depleted its forest to meet its energy need
Such
variations have major impacts both locally, in the mountain community in
Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as on the larger scale on the entire country. The
high mountains of Pakistan supply water to the Indus river basin through local
precipitation and glacier melting. Water availability for the communities
depends critically on how the climate changes locally in the mountain regions.
How do communities in Northern Pakistan cope with climate change and
environmental pressure? What is their perception of change and which adaptation
mechanism have they developed? A new joint project between the University of
Hamburg (Germany), and the Islamabad-based think-thank Sustainable Development
Policy Institute (SDPI), has explored the socio-economic impact of environmental
pressure and climate change and variability in the Yasin valley in Ghizer
District (Hundur and Darkut villages), and in lower Hunza (Hussainabad),
central Hunza (Altit), and Upper Hunza (Gulmit and Shiskat).
The fragile environment of Northern Pakistan has been deeply affected and the
local communities have been noticing climate change impacts. Natural disasters,
such as floods, landslides and lake formation, have deeply transformed their
environment and their primary sources of livelihood, agriculture and livestock.
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After the Attabad lake submerged the
Karakoram Highway - the only road in the area - there have been cases of
women delivering their babies on the boat on their way to hospital
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In
the Yasin valley of Ghizer district (Hundur and Darkut village) a substantial
chunk of agricultural land and many houses were washed away by the flash flood
of August 2010. Agricultural production was significantly reduced by the lack
of land, which was further increased by the necessity of using the remaining
land for the construction of new houses. Growing population and its increasing
demands for housing and livelihood resources, and particularly energy
requirements, have further degraded the fragile environment. The village of
Hundur has almost totally depleted its forest to meet its energy requirements
for cooking and heating, which still rely entirely on firewood.
The degradation of forests, which were functioning as slope stabilizers and
preventing soil erosion, made the village more vulnerable to potential
disasters such as flash floods, as well as to financial stress. Currently, the
community spends more on firewood for heating and cooking than on any other
household requirements.
Economic shocks induced by environmental degradation and climate change are
particularly affecting the agricultural sector, and are visible in both the
Ghizer and the Hunza-Nagar District. But there is a difference between these
areas. Upper Hunza has been severely impacted by the formation of the Attabad
lake, as a result of the massive landslide occurred in 2010. The lake submerged
agricultural land and houses, and pasture areas were also affected by the
slide. The community reported significant changes in the weather and
precipitation patterns after the formation of the lake. All these factors are
affecting the productivity of agriculture and orchards substantially. According
to the local community, the scale of production and the quality of fruits have
decreased, and new crop and plant diseases have emerged.
A change in temperature has been perceived in both the research areas. The
month of June has been colder in the last two to five years, causing the
failure of wheat, a crucial mono-crop in these regions.
In Upper Hunza, the availability and the cost of transportation is causing
additional economic shocks to the community. The only way of communication, the
Karakoram Highway, has been submerged by the Attabad lake. The only way to
cross it is through a precarious boat service. The villages of Gulmit and
Shiskat were famous for potatoes and fruits, but the high cost of
transportation made the production unprofitable. The community, which benefited
incredibly in terms of development by the introduction of potato as a cash crop
over the last 20 years, has virtually lost its most important source of income.
On top of that, the disaster also affected other major local businesses,
tourism, and blocked the trade route with China.
Besides the economic shocks, the disaster also triggered psycho-social problems
in the affected communities. The submergence of their agricultural lands and
housing forced the victims to move to other areas, which has led to the
disruption of their social fabric. The lack of access to social services, and
particularly to health facilities (there are neither hospitals nor doctors in
the villages, but only two dispensaries) further jeopardizes the lives of the
population, especially women, who have been the principal victims of this
situation. Cases have been reported of women delivering their babies on the
boat on their way to hospital, and related fatalities have been registered.
After these accidents, pregnant women are shifted to Karimabad about a month
before expected delivery.
In the face of climate change and environmental pressure, labour migration,
sided by relief by the government, the Chinese government, and (I)NGOs, is the
major coping mechanism adopted by the communities. Virtually every household in
these villages has resorted to labour migration in order to cope with the
decreased agricultural productivity and a lack of jobs. Environmental pressure
is certainly one of the factors triggering migration, which is mostly internal
or seasonal, and rarely international. Remittances are now one of the major
sources of income for mountain communities.
Migration is not a gender-neutral phenomenon. Only adult males are opting for
this livelihood strategy. Traditionally in these areas, as well as in most of
South Asia, women carry out the lion's share of agricultural work. Migration
and environmental pressure are increasing the drudgery for mountain women. Most
of the local women have experienced increased workload during the migration of
male members of their households, and some of them have also denounced
decreased mobility, difficult access to health facilities, as well as decreased
economic security. If other male members are not present in the household,
women are also taking care of the financial management of the household, and
they are entitled to directly manage the remittances. In such cases, male
outmigration could lead to women's empowerment. Male outmigration is also
leading to a decrease of livestock, as fewer men are available to go to high
altitude pastures. This factor, coupled with the loss of pastures due to
environmental degradation, is tremendously reducing what was before one of the
most important livelihood source in both Ghizer and Hunza-Nagar.
Impacts of climate changes are range from individual to the community,
national, regional and international levels. Individuals and communities have
lost their livelihood sources and also face threats to their physical security
in case of extreme climatic events and natural disasters. The impact is also
very alarming on the national and international levels. The fragile environment
of these areas can affect the environmental services, particularly provision of
water to canal systems of Pakistan and India, that can jeopardize the food
security of the whole South Asia.
Therefore, strong policy actions need to be taken to address this situation.
The 2005 formation of a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is a
welcome move, but Pakistan is still lagging behind. We need a National
Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) and a comprehensive national climate
policy.
The article is based on the preliminary findings and observations of the Gender
and Environmental Migration project. Dr Giovanna Gioli is a research fellow
at the Climate Change and Security Research Group at the University of Hamburg
in Germany. Talimand Khan is a survey specialist at the Sustainable Development
Policy Institute in Islamabad
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