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Environmental Changes in the Hindu Raj Mountains, Pakistan

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Environmental Changes in the Hindu Raj Mountains, Pakistan Environment and Natural Resources Journal 2019; 17(1): 63-77 Environmental Changes in the Hindu Raj Mountains, Pakistan Fazlul Haq1, Liaqat Ali Waseem1*, Fazlur-Rahman2, Ihsan Ullah2, Iffat Tabassum2 and Saima Siddiqui3 1Department of Geography, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab 38000, Pakistan 2Department of Geography, University of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 25000, Pakistan 3Department of Geography, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Received: 24 Jun 2018 Global Environmental Change among the world’s mountains has become a field of Received in revised: interest for researchers and this issue has been widely studied in many parts of the 5 Sep 2018 world. This exploratory research aims to study the changes that have occurred and Accepted: 7 Sep 2018 are still occurring in the Hindu Raj Mountains of northern Pakistan, which is an Published online: unexplored region with a wide potential for research. To study the changes in 8 Oct 2018 DOI: 10.32526/ennrj.17.1.2019.07 various aspects of physical and social setup, five villages/sub-valleys were selected at varying altitudes above mean sea level. Changes in the bio-physical environment Keywords: were explored using remote sensing technology. It was found that drastic changes Global environmental change/ have taken place and are still going on in the natural environment as well as the Mountain environment/ socio-economic setup of the study area since 1970. The population of the study area Resource degradation/ Natural has increased by manifold resulting in changes in the household and family resource base/ Deforestation structure. Moreover, the land use land cover of the study area has changed considerably. Forest cover has decreased drastically with an increase in both the built up and barren land areas. * Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected] 1. INTRODUCTION Rahman, 2007a; Fazlur-Rahman, 2007b; Rahman et The northern mountainous belt of Pakistan has al., 2014). witnessed substantial changes in the biophysical and However, the above mentioned changes are socio-economic setup during the last four to five not occurring independently, and neither their effects decades. Changes can be observed in every aspect of remain confined to the same setup. These anomalies the biophysical environment whether it is climatic are driven by various other factors mostly related to pattern and behavior of weather elements, human activities and in turn these changes initiate productivity and regeneration capacity of natural and drive transformations in the socio-economic resources, availability and distribution of irrigation setup of the region and the process is going on in a and domestic water, biodiversity, forest cover and cyclic manner (Jodha et al., 1992). Out-migration the intensity and frequency of flooding events. both on national and international scale is a recurrent Natural springs - the main water supplier for both phenomenon amongst several other changes in the irrigation and domestic use - have been drying out socio-economic setup. The out-migration is mainly gradually resulting into an alarming situation. In an indicator of deficient local natural resource base, many areas, the centuries’ old and productive springs high dependency on exogenous food supplies, have died out completely. In most parts of this insufficient local food supplies and declining diverse mountainous belt, irrigated agriculture has agricultural productivity (Ehlers and Kreutzmann, become a myth and the lands, once producing 2000; Grotzbach, 1984; Kreutzmann, 1992; Ehlers, paddies, are now cultivated with barley and other 1996; Ehlers, 1997). Fazlur-Rahman (2007b) argues rain-fed crops. While having a look at the history of that the traditional social setup throughout the these changes, it can be observed that these have mountainous region of Pakistan has been affected by occurred in a short period of time and governed by the ongoing process of changes. Accessibility complex natural and human factors (Flint, 1994; improvement has connected these remote Gautam et al., 2003; Ali et al., 2006; Fazlur- communities to the lowlands and plain areas. https://doi.org/10.32526/ennrj.17.1.2019.07 64 Haq F et al. / Environment and Natural Resources Journal 2019; 17(1): 63-77 Improved transportation network has become an study area ranges from 1,400 m above mean sea important factor of changes in the mountainous areas level up to around 5,000 m above mean sea level in as stated by Ali et al. (2005). This study claims that the northern and northwestern part (Figure 1). The about half of the natural vegetation cover has been physiographic setup of the area is modified into cleared during the last thirty years, mainly as a result deeply cut valleys by River Panjkora and its major of the development of transportation network and and minor tributaries originating from mountains all improved accessibility to the natural forests. around. These valleys provide flat surface for the The coupling effects of the biophysical and construction of dwellings as well as agriculture. The socio-economic changes result into the relatively gentler slopes, alluvial fans and terraces transformation of the traditional and historical near the valley bottom up to an altitude of 3,000 m natural resource management systems and affected above mean sea level are used for the construction of the performance of local social institutions such as permanent human dwellings. On the other hand, reciprocal activities and collective actions (Jodha, temporary seasonal summer houses and animal huts 2007). Continuously growing population, changes in can be found in the mountains above 3,000 m household and family systems, economic elevation. The summer houses are constructed for transformations and changes in livelihood strategies pastoralism and seasonal movements in the summer are among the major factors of increase in stress on months. the fragile environment and diverse mountains’ The study area is inhabited by the Yousafzai resources (Rahman et al., 2014). As a result, the Pathan Tribe with some other small tribes and non- natural resources are degraded and the sustainability bona-fide migrated people. All the natural resources of the fragile mountain environment is threatened. In in the jurisdiction of the valley are owned by the this situation, the traditional and historical bona-fide inhabitants, managed and utilized under an indigenous social institutions and mechanisms for indigenously devised land tenure system. Up to natural resource management are losing their 1969, the study area was a princely state ruled by effectiveness and going through the process of various dynasties and feudal rulers. In 1970, it was transformation (Somanathan, 1991). The key given the status of settled district and in 1996; it was question addressed in this study is: What factors divided into two districts, i.e., Dir Upper and Dir drive the current and unprecedented changes in Lower. The merger of the State in Pakistan and its every aspect of the natural and social environment declaration as a settled district was the arrival of a and effects do these changes have on the natural new era in the dark feudal history of the valley. This resource base of the mountainous areas? This administrative shift triggered changes in every aspect research is basically exploratory in nature with the of the socio-economic environment of the valley. main goal to explore the process of change and the governing factors in the northern mountainous belt 2.2 Methods and sources of data collection of Pakistan. Moreover, the study aims to establish a 2.2.1 Timeframe link between the changes in the biophysical This research is mostly based on primary environment and socio-economic setup. information collected through field survey. To have an insight into the ongoing process of change and 2. METHODOLOGY transformation, five villages were selected for the 2.1 Characteristics of the study area study from different sub-valleys with varying The present study has been conducted in the elevation above mean sea level. Khall was selected Dir Valley (Dir Valley refers to the entire valley from the lowermost altitudinal zone which is the formed by River Panjkora covering the Upper and most easily accessible area. Three villages, namely the Lower Dir districts), which is located in the Balkore, Daskore and Jabar were selected from northwestern frontier region of the Khyber intermediate altitudinal zones, while Thal was Pakhtunkhwa province between Latitude 34o45′ N to selected from the Kohistan Sub-valley with an 35o45′ N and Longitude 71o30′ E to 72o30′ E. altitude above 3,000 m above mean sea level (Figure Geographically, the study area is an intermountain 1). These villages are characterized by diverse valley of the Hindu Raj spurs of the great Hindukush physical socio-economic conditions. To discover Mountain Ranges of Pakistan. The elevation of the temporal variations in environmental and socio- Haq F et al. / Environment and Natural Resources Journal 2019; 17(1): 63-77 65 economic setup, two data points were selected. The area, while 2014 was taken as the last data point on first data point was 1970, which can be termed as the the basis of data availability. beginning of a new era in the history of the study Figure 1. Study area: location, drainage pattern and physiography 2.2.2 Questionnaire survey and sampling of 500 respondents were interviewed from the Questionnaire survey and geographical selected villages. The respondents were selected
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