Mapping Transition in the Pamirs: Changing Human-Environmental Landscapes (Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research)

By emphasizing on the Pamir region a comprehensive overview of path-dependent and recent developments in a remote mountain region is provided in this book. Overall neglect in the mountainous periphery is contrasted by shifting the centre of attention to the Pamirs situated at the interface between South and Central Asia. From colonial times to now there has been a debate on grasping and locating the area. Here field-work based contributions are collected to provide a variety of perspectives on the Pamirs highlighting transformation and transition in Post-Soviet societies as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The similar ecological environment across borders features the common ground while analyzing development processes in a set of case studies that aim at highlighting certain aspects of regional development. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Pamirian Spaces: Mapping Process Geographies in the Mountainous Periphery....Pages 1-16 Pamir or Pamirs: Perceptions and Interpretations....Pages 17-40 Who Is Mapping the Pamirs? A Review on Plant and Vegetation Sciences....Pages 41-54 Geomorphic Features of the Eastern Pamirs, with a Focus on the Occurrence of Intermontane Basins....Pages 55-68 Water of the Pamir – Potential and Constraints....Pages 69-78 Khans, Kings, Communists, Warlords and Presidents: Afghan Kirghiz Socioeconomic Strategies for Extorting and Extracting from the State....Pages 79-93 Changes in the Relationship Between Borders and Pastoral Mobility in Mountain Regions of Central Asia....Pages 95-112 Seasonal Pasture Use and Vegetation Cover Changes in the Alai Valley, Kyrgyzstan....Pages 113-126 Diversity of Seasonal Migration of Livestock in the Eastern Alai Valley, Southern Kyrgyzstan....Pages 127-143 Kezüü and Novad: A Form of Pastoralism in the Eastern Alai Valley, Southern Kyrgyzstan....Pages 145-158 External Support and Local Agency: Uncertain Transformations of Livelihoods in the Pamirian Borderland of Tajikistan....Pages 159-179 The Current Status of Lifestyle and Occupations in the Wakhan Area of Tajikistan....Pages 181-195 Political Ecology of Human-Environment Change in Gojal, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan....Pages 197-214 The Changes in Regional Structure and Land Use Related to External Factors in Hussaini Village, Northern Pakistan....Pages 215-227 Humanitarianism Across Mountain Valleys: “Shia Aid” and Development Encounters in Northern Pakistan and Eastern Tajikistan....Pages 229-244 History of the Development of the Pamir Region of Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan)....Pages 245-265 Conclusions: Why Do We Need to Make Efforts to Map the Transition?....Pages 267-274