The UNWTO initiative to search for 'Best Tourist Village' aims at making tourism a positive force for transformation, rural development and community well-being, and to maximise the contribution of the sector to reducing regional inequalities and fighting against rural depopulation.

F. Ali Syed Yahya Shah Al-Hussaini, a noted religious scholar, political leader, social reformer, nature conservationist, folklorist and award-winning writer passed away in Gilgit on Sunday, (April 11, 2021) at the age of 85 after a brief illness. He was elected a member of the Gilgit–Baltistan Advisory Council after the abolition of Nagar State in 1975. He was re-elected a …

Calls for community-driven and managed approach in Gilgit-Baltistan By: Anmol, Shams Uddin & Anayat Baig Karachi: The neoliberal development and conservation have failed to achieve the objectives of protecting endangered species rather endangered the indigenous communities and nature. The market-driven model of conservation is aimed at colonization and securitization of people living in peripheries through the occupation of their common …

PEMA GYAMTSHO Mountains are a barometer of the planet’s health – changes in these lofty parts of the world dictate how rivers flow and crops grow and livelihoods endure elsewhere. And yet, global recognition of these vital regions has been rather underwhelming, in contrast, to say the Amazon or the polar regions. International Mountain Day (IMD), celebrated on this very day …

Two persons were sentenced to two years imprisonment and Rs5 million fine each for poaching of the endangered animal. Two other persons were given one year jail term and fine. GILGIT: Five people have been convicted of poaching in Hopar, Nager and sent to jail, said a press statement issued by the WildLife and Forest Department, Gilgit-Baltistan on Wednesday. High …

Agricultural village in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Photo by Christopher Wilton-Steer/UCA Herald Report In Pamir mountains of High Asia region with limited agricultural lands, rugged topography, and large gradients, the preservation of agrobiodiversity and an appreciation of traditional knowledge about food systems are essential ingredients of a sustainable future. Hence the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) has begun …

    M Ajmal K Masood   While travelling to the north, most of the youth make their travelling statuses as ‘mountains are calling’. This phrase is not merely a social media buzzword but resonates the social, cultural and spiritual relations between the people and the mountains. In the primitive age, human being living in mountainous regions such as High …

Global leaders call for awareness about the importance of biodiversity, promotion of ecosystem-based solutions to build a future in harmony with nature    Herald Report   Islamabad: As the world is reeling from the devastating impact of coronavirus, world leaders have called on the global community to “re-examine our relationship to the natural world, create knowledge and awareness about the …

Universities closed. The global death toll is approaching 230,000 with more than 3.2 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions. Tajikistan on Saturday reported first two deaths from the coronavirus. The state television confirmed the deaths and reported that the number of COVID-19 cases had risen to 76 from 44. Around 2,800 people have been quarantined in hospitals, it also said. …

  High Asia Herald Report The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Wildlife Department team and a WWF-Pakistan’s filmmaker captured a Himalayan lynx hunting a markhor on the steep, rocky cliffs of Chitral valley. According to an official statement, this is for the first time that a nocturnal hunter and highly elusive animal has been filmed in the area. The lynx, locally considered …

Herald Report In 2012, a team of archaeologists discovered ancient artifects on the Naryn campus of the University of Central Asia (UCA), says a report published in the newsletter of the university recently. The University mission to help the people of Central Asia preserve and draw upon their rich cultural traditions and heritages as assets for the future came to …

Running only on fast-moving water, the pumps are cheap and easy to maintain, enabling farmers to grow fruit and vegetables By Syed Muhammad Abubakar GOJAL VALLEY: Shovel in hand, Naila Shah regularly walks two miles from her home to a newly planted apple orchard, high in the mountains of Khyber village in northern Pakistan. Only two years ago, it would …

by Fatehul Mulk Ali Nasir   Prior to Aman-ul-Mulk’s ascension to the throne of Chitral in 1858 the fortunes of this deep valley set amongst the heights of the Hindu Kush were very different. Chitral has long had a tradition of kingship, and indeed the early signs of nationhood, since at least the days of the Chinese Book of Tang, …

High Asia Herald Report  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani banned the hunting of rare birds and animals two years ago, but hunting continues across the country and the hides of rare animals can be bought in markets in the capital, Kabul. Two years ago Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had banned the hunting of rare birds and animals, but hunting continues across …

Situated in the center of Kazakhstan, ALZHIR (Акмолинский лагерь жен изменников родины, “the Akmola camp of wives of traitors to the homeland”) was a notorious prison for thousands of women during its nearly two decades of operation. Behind the barbed wire, the women had to renounce their family and loved ones in order to submit to the will of the “leader of all nations.” …