Young academic cautions youth about neoliberal ‘development mantra Special Correspondent Professor Zaighum Abbas speaking on the proposed provisional provincial status for Gilgit-Baltistan at an interactive session with students of the GB Punjab University campus. Photo HAH LAHORE: Debate on the proposed constitutional setup for Gilgit-Baltistan reverberates in and outside the mountainous region. Youth and activists from GB in Pakistan and …

In the name of saving the climate, big technological and agriculture firms and corporations will uberise farmlands

Pakistan is pushing ahead with hydropower as a low-cost way of ‘greening’ its energy sector, but this ignores the latest research as well as the history of large dams in the country.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has told the BBC that summits will not lead to action on climate goals unless the public demand changes too. In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the COP26 climate summit, she said the public needed to “uproot the system”. “The change is going to come when people are demanding change. So we can’t expect everything to …

This year the Global UNWTO Students’ League competition focused on addressing the issue of plastics pollution within the sector, as well as maximizing tourism’s contributions to rural development.

In Hunza where people are still struggling to have access to basic needs including water, sanitation, electricity, health and education luxury and hotels with high inventory will have disastrous outcomes

By: Ashab Baig Commercial greed, unplanned construction and unregulated tourism are defacing the natural beauty of Hunza. HAH Photo My recent visit to Hunza was an eye-opener to me in various ways. Just one year ago and during the same months, I left a prettier, greener Hunza, though concrete walls and horrid structures had already started to deface its beauty. …

A 2,500-kilometer road trip by Anzor Bukharsky, one of Central Asia’s most beloved photographers and cultural commentators, offers a rare glimpse into everyday life on the backstreets and byways of Uzbekistan. Two local girls walk near a 900-year-old minaret in the southern town of Minor, near the border with Afghanistan. A man rests during a scorching-hot day in the courtyard …

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.

The mining sector of the Kyrgyz Republic has been attracting a lot of diverse investments even despite frequent conflicts and violence. Investors are advised to consider volatile politics when entering the market. But for communities living in the mining areas, these investments are “life-changing, if not life-destroying”, says researcher Beril Ocaklı, published on the Voices on Central Asia.org online magazine. …

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 …

A research paper published recently by Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI), University of Central Asia, highlights social, economic, and environmental impacts of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which follows ancient Silk Road corridors. Even short-term economic benefits promised by China carry huge risks of debt dependency, forfeiture of mining and land rights, natural resource exploitation, disruption of traditional …

Local people say they will not vacate their ancestral land without a settlement plan or resettlement by Punjab government; They demand increase in compensation rate for their land. Rawalpindi: Affected people of Dadhocha dam organised a public meeting and peaceful protest march here on Sunday against forced displacement without rehabilitation, seeking a substantial increase in compensation rate for their lands …

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 …