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| Commons Becoming Non-Commons in the Efforts for Reconciliation between Conservation and Livelihoods: A Case Study of northern Pakistan |
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Reference |
| Khan, Shah Raees, and Emdad. C Haque. 2008. "Commons Becoming Non-Commons in the Efforts for Reconciliation between Conservation and Livelihoods: A Case Study of Northern Pakistan." Presented at "Governing Shared Resources: Connecting Local Experience to Global Challenges," 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons, Cheltenham, England, July 14-18, 2008. |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| the Shimshal community relies significantly on yaks for their livelihood. Shimshal yak herding predominantly follows a traditional pattern dictated by the climate and seasons, the topography of the land, and social and cultural influences. Their traditional system relies on accumulated centuries of experience, including knowledge of the pastures’ productivity, availability of water during the summer and winter, accessibility, vulnerability to predators, and religio-cultural influences embedded in their self-identity as “Shimshali,” a community that is highly devoted to maintaining their culture and hereditary resource. The Shimshali yak herding practice, the use of different pastures in different seasons and periods, the number of livestock herded in particular pastures, and the periodic movement of the animals to higher or lower elevations, are akin to and represent a "modern" rotational grazing system. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries: Shimshal, upper Hunza (Gojal), in the Gilgit district of the Northern Areas, Pakistan. Shimshal is comprised of 112 households, with a total population of approximately 1500 individuals living in five adjoining small villages. The Shimshal community in northern Pakistan, which has exclusive control over 7200 km2 of high altitude pasture land that includes Pamir, Ghujerab, Lupgar and many other pastures. Social Boundaries: Members of Shimshal community can be the part of this institution. |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| Two property systems existed throughout the region: i) Tribal (Shinaki) and ii) Principality (Rajgiri) systems. Under the Tribal system, a council of elders dealt with the issues of excludability and subtractability, whereas under the Principality system, the representatives of the Mirs decided the excludability and subtractability. However, under both systems, local communities were part of the decision-making process, and there was an arrangement to include the collective decisions of the communities regarding the extent of exclusion and subtraction (Bilal et al. 2003). The representative (Wazir) of the Mir used to convene a gathering of village elders to discuss the issues of relevance. The community would vote on each decision, and if greater than a majority was expressed, the decision was considered final. Community employs the decision making process at three levels. First, at the household level, followed by the community level, and the third, at the pasture-cycle level. The household members get together to plan how many livestock are required to send to pastures. The community level decisions ensure an equal opportunity is provided to all households in the shared resource system. It is important to note that the community’s main priority is to conserve their resources, and this is reflected in their resource-use activities. At the pasture-cycle level, herdsmen have to make conscious decisions based on their experience of weather conditions. Attention is given for the timely departure to other pastures. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| The community practices two pasturing systems one in summer and other in winter. Summer pasturing represents the combination of ecological knowledge about the climate and vegetation with the decision making process. After village level decisions are made about who would be going with the livestock, the herders have to leave the village by the first week of May to travel to Shujerab, the nearest pasture. The next move, to Shwert pasture, is determined by climatic conditions and the availability of new vegetation in the next pastures. There is also a time limit (period) set for each pasture, with a time cushion of three to four days. The pasture cycle continues, until the final destination, Pamir, is reached, where they spend two and half months. By September 10th, they have to leave Pamir. Any delay or early return would put the livestock at risk. Winter pasturing is done predominantly with yaks. It is the perception, based on experience, that if certain pastures remain untouched after grazing their livestock in the summer, then those pastures will have low productivity in the next year. Yaks are grazed during winter in those pastures. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Not mentioned |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| The establishment of protected areas has been seen as a viable solution for protecting natural ecosystems by excluding humans from those areas.However, the community practices have been disrupted as they have been forced to abandon the use of certain pastures upon which their livelihoods depend. The establishment of Khunjerab National Park by the state has led to conflicts related to the Shimshal community’s exclusive rights and their herding practices |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| In the 1970’s, Mir’s regime was abolished. The principalities were declared state property. The state passed the Forest Act 1975 and, under this act, the state then had entitlement to all the resources except the forests in a few parts of the Northern Areas, like in Darel of Diamer district, where the communities own the forest. However, with the end of the Mir’s regime and the establishment of state control, many communities in northern Pakistan continued to follow their traditional user rights to most of the common resources, specifically, on pastures. |
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Purpose |
| pastural management |
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Country |
| Pakistan |
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Region |
| Shimshal, upper Hunza (Gojal), in the Gilgit district of the Northern Areas, Pakistan. It is approximately 62 km from Pasu, located in the Central Karakuram Mountains, in northern Pakistan. This site is characterized by a dry alpine habitat comprised of juniper, shrubby vegetation, community plantations on lower lands, and permanent snowfields in the higher altitudes. Link: http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00003847/ |
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Date Of Publication |
| RS-14-18/07/2008 |
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