Tajik Pamirs Research Articles

Viewing Change Through the Prism of Indigenous Human Ecology: Findings from the Afghan and Tajik Pamirs

The effects of socioecological transformations such as climate change, the collapse of the Soviet empire, and civil war are examined for 14 villages in the valleys of the Pamir Mountains in the historical Badakhshan region, now divided between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Preliminary findings indicate concern for food sovereignty, evidence of biocultural impacts of climate change, an increasing burden on women, debilitating opium addiction, the ecological importance of sacred sites, and other priorities related to sustainable livelihoods, such as energy needs (for fuel and lighting) and physical and social infrastructure in the form of roads and schools. In the complex setting of the Pamir Mountains, characterized by both cultural and ecological diversity and marked by artificial political boundaries, the creative and pragmatic interaction between indigenous and scientific knowledge sustains the best hope for survival. Applied research must combine communities of inquirers (research institutions) with communities of social practitioners (farmers, pastoralists, and civil society institutions) to facilitate indigenous participation in generating context-specific knowledge. The goal of such research is practical outcomes that will meet the urgent priorities of village communities. This paper establishes a baseline from which undertake applied human ecological research related to livelihood security.

中央アジア，タジク・パミールおよびパミール・アライ山脈におけるジオツーリズム開発

中央アジア，タジク・パミールおよびパミール・アライ山脈におけるジオツーリズム開発

Rural energy consumption and land degradation in a post-Soviet setting – an example from the west Pamir mountains in Tajikistan

The sustainable use of energy resources in semi-arid rural mountain areas is a common but still unresolved problem, often resulting in environmental degradation. In a post-Soviet setting the identification of possible solutions poses specific challenges. This study aimed at (1) investigating the current energy supply and consumption patterns at household and village levels in the western Tajik Pamirs, (2) analysing the implications for land degradation and natural resource management, and (3) proposing recommendations for sustainable energy use, taking into consideration the peculiarities of the Soviet heritage. For this, a participatory and multi-level stakeholder approach was applied. Data was collected through comparative in-depth case-studies at household level and through participatory land degradation assessments. The study revealed that the close interlinkage between local energy resource use and land degradation leads to a paradoxical situation in present energy consumption. The scarcer the local energy resource base, the higher the overall energy consumption at household level appears to be. It can further be concluded that since 1991 energy consumption patterns in the Tajik Pamirs have become comparable to patterns in semi-arid rural mountain regions of developing countries. Like many countries in the South, the Tajik Pamirs suffer from chronic energy scarcity, unsatisfactory supply of modern energy carriers and unsustainable use of local biomass fuels, leading to land degradation. This calls for a reassessment of the energy policy orientation for Tajikistan.

Knowledge for Sustainable Development in the Tajik Pamir Mountains

Initiating a process of informed decision-making for sustainable development requires the following: a) the values and objectives to be pursued need to be negotiated among all concerned stakeholders of a specific territorial unit; b) these stakeholders should have access to a comparable level of knowledge; and c) the decisions taken and the subsequent actions initiated should have a positive impact on all dimensions of sustainability. In the remote Tajik Pamir mountains, a special effort was made to fulfill the above 3 principles by developing and applying a new methodological approach to sustainable development.The paper presents the results of a multi-year baseline study project in which 10 sectors ranging from agriculture to natural hazards were assessed by a transdisciplinary Swiss–Tajik research team. This knowledge base was enhanced in a development strategy workshop that brought together stakeholders from the local to the international levels. The methodology applied was found appropriate to initiate a broad reflection and negotiation process among various stakeholder groups, leading to a joint identification of possible measures to be taken. Knowledge—and its enhancement through the involvement of all stakeholder levels—appeared to be an effective carrier of innovation and changes of attitudes, thus containing the potential to effectively contribute to sustainable development in marginalized and resource-poor mountain areas.

Transformation in the Tajik Pamirs: Gornyi-Badakhshan-an example of successful restructuring?

(2001). Transformation in the Tajik Pamirs: Gornyi-Badakhshan-an example of successful restructuring? Central Asian Survey: Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 367-381.