Traditional Water Management Practices in Pakistan Threatened by Environment Change and Globalization
The people of the Hunza Valley (the Hunzakutz) as soon as entirely depended on the land and its natural resources, with glacial meltwater forming a primary connection in between communities and the environment. There are, nevertheless, signs that the Indigenous customs of the Hunzakutz population will prevail regardless of the external forces of change.
A genuine chapter called Rajaki by Zainab Khalid, released in the volume Environmental Humanities in the New Himalayas, explores a community-based method to the Hunzakutz water resource management. Khalid, an ecological researcher at Lanzhou University in China, and a scientist in the Department of Development Studies at COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan, has an individual connection to these glaciated valleys– her maternal predecessors are from the Himalayan foothills of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, which borders the Hunza Valley.
Talking with GlacierHub about her fieldwork, Khalid stated, “Ive been operating in the region because 2016 and Ive had a great experience. People are very kind and inviting, they are not separated to foreign scientists and are open to sharing their lives and experiences.”
The valley was very first occupied by Hunza individuals, who settled there and ended up being an unique neighborhood through interactions with the Indigenous Himalayan individuals. Native understanding worrying the land and regional resources was main to the facility of their neighborhood and remains deeply rooted in their culture. Although the Hunzakutz were as soon as entirely self-sustained, they now depend greatly on products from other areas of Pakistan and imports from China, which has actually as a result brought difficulties from urbanization and globalization.
Landscape of the Hunza Valley, in the Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan. Credit: Imran Shah/Flickr
Water in the valley is supplied by glacial sources in the high mountains which feed streams and rivers throughout the area. Meltwater is utilized to water fields to grow wheat, millet and veggies, particularly potatoes, and orchards of almonds, walnuts and apricots. The goats and yaks that individuals raise in the mountains also need water. The rugged topography of the region indicates water is often difficult to access, making its management of main significance for the Hunzakutzs livelihoods.
Cashmere goats in Himachal Pradesh, India. Goat farming is among the main types of livestock farming in the Himalayas. Credit: Jelle Visser/Flickr
The practice through which communities build pipelines to transport water from the glaciers to their towns is called rajaki. The villagers encourage one another to get involved in rajaki due to the fact that they believe that it teaches people to form a relationship with their environment and to view resources, such as the glaciers, in a manner of commons. This belief that working cooperatively and sharing typical resources to increase the productivity of the land is main to the success of rajaki.
A pipe built to transport water from high altitude glaciers to villages in the Hunza Valley. Credit: Zainab Khalid
One of the most striking shifts underway in the Hunza valley remains in the gendering of practices and standards. Generally, rajaki mostly included men due to the fact that they were considered more matched to the difficult labor involved, however lots of young males are migrating to bigger cities searching for paid jobs, leaving a lessened population in the valley. The growing pressure to maintain rajaki in the lack of these key players has actually implied the participation of women has grown significantly. They are starting to lead in rajaki building and construction and upkeep, and play a progressively significant function in protecting the longevity of such centuries-old practices.
Khalid has shown that the position of females not just in rajaki but in numerous aspects of the Hunzakutz society is changing.,” Khalid wrote in one of her documents.
In addition, ladies in the area have actually long been subject to higher vulnerability in the face of natural disasters, such as glacial lake outburst floods, due to the fact that they are typically less educated and deal with barriers in accessing funds throughout times of crisis. Khalids interviews revealed that ladies are proactively ready to get involved in catastrophe mitigation and management choices, which they should be associated with order to lower gender inequalities. When talking to Hunzakutz men, Khalid noticed that understandings of femaless rights and responsibilities in society are shifting, although this remains at the community level and has actually not yet been acknowledged within governmental or formal companies.
Researcher Zainab Khalid (ideal) interviewing a Hunza lady (left) on her doorstep. Credit: Zainab Khalid
The isolation of the Hunzakutz villages could be seen to protect its Indigenous practices, however increasing connections to the outside world are deteriorating standard cultures, including that of rajaki. Some people have developed guest homes or hotels on their land to assist in brand-new visitors, and these individuals are less interested in taking part in rajaki due to the fact that they are abandoning agriculture for facilities advancement. The forces of globalization have actually considerably reduced poverty in the region, which as a result is another most likely factor why participation in rajaki has declined in current years, due to the fact that people are no longer as reliant on the land for their sustenance.
There is no other method for individuals to have water apart from the glaciers so they have to rely on them.”
The value of glacial meltwater in this region of the world indicates its governance is extremely researched and the subject of various global organizations. Aditi Mukherji, a researcher at the International Water Management Institute New Delhi, described to GlacierHub that “when it comes to the Indus, glacial melt accounts for a large share of the river flow since it does not receive as much monsoon rains [as basins further east, such as the Ganges. ] glacial melt is important to Pakistan.”
A big tank of water that is connected by pipes to towns. Credit: Zainab Khalid
Throughout Khalids visit in the summer season of 2019, a landslide broke some water pipelines and the community had to resort to using water from big tanks stored outside that are typically used for dishwashing and laundry. Flooding frequently disconnects the water channels so they need to be kept an eye on more frequently, a stressing issue when less individuals are interested in keeping the practice, coupled with an anticipated boost in serious flood events, including those from glacial lake outbursts.
“All of the obstacles are overlapping,” stated Khalid when asked what she feels is the biggest risk to the Hunzakutz. One can just hope that the federal government will follow suit and understand that it is a need to have female representation,” Khalid told GlacierHub.
Hamna Tariq, a Pakistani national and a college student at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, shared her understandings of the federal government with GlacierHub. Tariq felt as though a “federal government mismanagement of water resources” has worsened concerns surrounding unjust circulation of resources in between provinces.
If the practice of rajaki is deserted, the life of the Hunzakutz might be rendered unsustainable. Yet in spite of going through incredible cultural changes due to the fact that of changing gender functions, globalization and environment modification, some Hunzakutz individuals are taking ownership of their customs and adjusting their lives in a method that protects their heritage. The story of the Anthropocene threatening Indigenous communities appears all too typical across the world. But a greater acknowledgment that native knowledge and customs are important for adapting to changes may be the savior for these peoples.
Khalid has actually shown that the position of females not simply in rajaki but in numerous aspects of the Hunzakutz society is altering. Khalids interviews exposed that women are proactively prepared to participate in catastrophe mitigation and management decisions, and that they should be involved in order to minimize gender inequalities. When talking to Hunzakutz guys, Khalid noticed that perceptions of womens rights and responsibilities in society are moving, although this remains at the neighborhood level and has actually not yet been acknowledged within governmental or official companies.
During Khalids visit in the summer of 2019, a landslide broke some water pipelines and the neighborhood had to resort to utilizing water from big tanks kept outside that are generally used for dishwashing and laundry.”All of the obstacles are overlapping,” said Khalid when asked what she feels is the greatest risk to the Hunzakutz.
