Global community unites to celebrate “tourism and rural development” High Asia Herald Report The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day, with the theme of “Tourism and Rural Development”, celebrates the unique role that tourism plays in providing opportunities outside of big cities and preserving cultural and natural heritage all around the world.  The aim of the day is to raise awareness …

News Desk Dr Pema Gyamtsho has been elected new director-general of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). “He will succeed Dr David Molden at his retirement from his current position as director-general in which he served for nearly a decade with his depth and breadth of intelligence, wisdom, and gracious people-oriented leadership,” ICIMOD board of governors announced the …

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 …

The reconstruction work started after almost one year since it was damaged by floods in July last year By Gul Hamaad Farooqi CHITRAL: Rehabilitation work on Golen Gol Water Supply Project that was destroyed by glacier lake outburst floods (GLOF) on July 8, 2019, started on Monday. The project remained dysfunctional for one year depriving 40,000 residents of Chitral Town …

    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 …

A comparative study of farming sectors of China and Pakistan   By Samiullah Najeeb   Agriculture is the most sensitive sector to climate change. The impacts of climate change and abnormal events such as rise in temperatures, extreme weather, drought, levels of carbon dioxide and sea result in a decrease in the quantity and the quality of food supplies. Climate …

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 …

  By Karim Muhammad Khan Parents’ role is significant in shaping, grooming and nurturing their children’s physical, intellectual, social, psychological, spiritual and aesthetical dimensions so as to make them a diligent and decent members of society. However, not all children are lucky enough to receive the desired parental care and guidance to be nurtured ideally as it varies depending upon …

Scorching heat will envelop 185m people in Pakistan; human cost of the climate crisis will hit harder and sooner than previously believed, research reveals The human cost of the climate crisis will hit harder, wider and sooner than previously believed, according to a study that shows a billion people will either be displaced or forced to endure insufferable heat for every additional 1C rise in the …

News Desk Earth Day was first organized in 1970 to remember and appreciate the environment, and our responsibilities and roles within it. On April 22, 2020, we observe the 50th Earth Day, and though many improvements have been made, environmental challenges remain. In the past five decades, the population of the Earth has more than doubled—more than 75 per cent …

By Mesum Qasmi Insistence on offering prayers in mosques during the pandemic, knowing you can contract a virus and spread around is something very dangerous expression on irresponsible behaviour. Does it make one non-religious or infidel if he stays at home and thinks about others who can fall prey to the virus because of him? Is a very pertinent question …

GlacierHub celebrated five stories of women in the cryosphere as part of the celebrations of ‘Women’s History Month’   Junko Tabei, Japanese climber On May 16, 1975, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain at 8,848 m. Tabei is also the first woman to climb the Seven Summits, the …

by Peter Deneen. Less than one percent of the world’s glaciers are characterized as “surge-type” glaciers. The Karakoram in High Asia – the world’s second-highest mountain range – has one of the planet’s densest concentration of surging glaciers, where the Shishpar Glacier in northern Pakistan is moving at a rate of five to seven meters per day and is threatening …

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, …

  Organisers of the ITB travel trade fair in Berlin, billed as the world’s biggest, said Friday they were cancelling the event over coronavirus fears. High Asia Herald Report   The annual international tourism fair, or ITB, the world’s largest event held in Berlin, has been cancelled, media reports said. The organisers’ of the ITB trade show have been forced …