Abstract
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.
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For the purpose of this paper, “indigenous knowledge” and “local knowledge” are used synonymously.
Border crossings from Tajikistan to Afghanistan took place at four locations. The first two, at Khorog and Ishkashim, were across bridges. Special permission was required to cross by Zodiak raft at Shidz and on horseback in the eastern Pamirs, along the Chinese border.
The Aga Khan, Imam or religious leader of the Ismaili Muslims, took responsibility for Russians, Sunnis and Shias alike, and the diverse ethnic groups in Badakhshan by providing emergency aid and establishing development organizations (Bliss 2006).
In 1992, following the collapse of the Soviet economic system, there were serious food and energy shortages in Gorno Badakhshan. In late 1993, when self-sufficiency in GBAO was just 15%, the local government distributed unused or under-utilized farm land to villagers who wished to become private farmers. Village by village, the lands of the former sovkhozes were distributed equally to every household in the GBAO, but many often lacked traditional and comprehensive farming knowledge because of division of labour in the previous agricultural system. However, farming households were given support by the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP), and received improved seed and fertilizers on credit. Like the land, livestock was privatized and distributed equally among the population, except for yaks, which are threatened by a serious loss of breeds (Breu and Hurni 2003a, b).
My research findings related to climate change and food security from 2006 have been reported by Nabhan (2009: 58–61).
Established science does tend to be less controversial in practice, but in this paper the contrast with emergent science is heuristic: it is intended to illustrate how indigenous knowledge complements scientific knowledge.
The bridges were built jointly by the governments of Afghanistan and Tajikistan with the support of the Aga Khan Development Network.
Villagers reported there was no snow in Badakhshan in 1997. They explained that it was a particularly warm year. In Ghudara the water level reached the height necessary for farmers to irrigate their land on April 6, 1997. Normally they have to wait until May 10 to irrigate because of the high elevation of their village.
The important advice provided in 2008 by Ms. Karamkhudoeva, who is training to be an entomologist, is an example of the value that communities of inquirers bring to communities of social practice.
Farmers explained that potato production was largely introduced under Communist collective farming.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by a grant from the Christensen Fund. The University of Central Asia was a base of operations and provided logistical support. Research activities were facilitated by the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP) in Tajikistan, and with the assistance of Aga Khan Foundation in Afghanistan. Safe passages across several unofficial border crossings into Afghanistan were facilitated by the significant on-the-ground organization of FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance. Valuable advice was provided by various members of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan. I am grateful to my research assistants—Mr. Hokimsho Zulfiqorov in 2006, Ms. Maryam Alidustova in 2007, and Mr. Bulbulshoev and Ms. Karamkhudoeva in 2008—for their courage and commitment. I was protected, fed, and given access to people’s homes in the villages of Basid, Ghudara, Savnob, Kala-i Bar Panja, Dishor, Pul-i Zirabon, Pojwar, Chowid, Chasnud, Sarhad-i Broghil, Wuzd, Kala-i Panja, Tashbulaq, and Shaymak. I am deeply indebted to all these people for their knowledge, kindness, and generosity. Keith Jenkins helped develop the map of the research area (Figs. 1 and 2) for the purposes of this publication. I am grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments.
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Kassam, KA. Viewing Change Through the Prism of Indigenous Human Ecology: Findings from the Afghan and Tajik Pamirs. Hum Ecol 37, 677–690 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-009-9284-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-009-9284-8