2013

HUMAN CAPITAL
Impact on Livelihoods of Hunza
In this Paper we will focus upon the significance of
human capital upon the livelihoods of Hunza.

Group Members
Noman Karim
Hassan Sabah
Sajjad Ali

12-May-13

Contents
ABSTRACT _________________________________________________ 4
BACKGROUND _____________________________________________ 5
INTRODUCTION_____________________________________________ 8
PROBLEM STATEMENT ______________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
LITERATURE REVIEW________________________________________ 9
ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ___________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
SLF: Scoones _____________________________________________ 32
CONTEXTS, CONDITIONS AND TRENDSError!
Bookmark
not
defined.
Context ____________________________________________ 33
History _____________________________________________ 34
Politics_____________________________________________ 34
Trends _____________________________________________ 35
Seasonality _________________________________________ 36
LIVELIHOOD ASSETS/RESOURCES _______________________ 39

Approaching livelihoods with a threefold focus

40

Human Capital ________________________________________

Natural Capital ____________________________________ 40
Physical capital ______________________________________ 40
Financial Capital _____________________________________ 40
Social Capital _______________________________________40
Political Capital ______________________________________ 41
LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES ______________________________ 49
Agriculture Intensification and Extensification ________________ 49
Livelihood diversification ________________________________ 50
Migration ____________________________________________ 51
CONCLUSION _____________________________________________ 53
REFERENCES _____________________________________________ 55

HUM AN CAPITAL : IMPACT OF HUMAN CAPITAL ON

LIVELIHOODS OF HUNZA-

ABSTRACT
People of Hunza Valley have faced enormous problems in pursuing their
livelihoods. From a macro-Livelihood point of view Human capital is one of
the major factors in asset building and helps to diversify the Livelihoods. In
many Developing countries, human capital improved Livelihood and it
contributed to overall development of people at large.
However, to grasp the multidimensional constituencies and impact of
Human capital on Livelihood outcomes, a deeper and more integrated
vision is required.
A community-based ontology is rooted in the broad tradition of alternative
development and can be fruitfully integrate the Human capital of Hunza
region. This study focuses on some important initiatives taken to build
human capital adopted by the people of the area which resulted in
development of the area.
In Hunza valley, Human capital is one of the significant and important
elements of Livelihood diversification. Hunza is highly diverse in terms of
physical, socioeconomic and political environments. It is a Mountainous
area and environment is highly fragile and their inhabitants are exposed to
both environmental and non-environmental stressors, which are interlinked
and have serious implications for mountain livelihoods. The combination of
multiple agricultural and non-agricultural income sources is a characteristic
of mountain peoples livelihood systems. Migration is not a recent
phenomenon, but has been a traditional source of non-farm income to
varying degrees. This review finds that migration behaviour is influenced by
3

a combination of environmental (floods, flash floods, landslides, droughts

and land degradation) and non-environmental (economic, demographic,
social and political) drivers. As the decision to migrate or not is ultimately
an individual one, it is methodologically challenging to single out any single
driver as significant a fact well reflected in the available literature. The
inter-relationship between the dynamics of the factors triggering migration
and migration dynamics has been rarely explored. In particular, studies
concentrating on migration in the mountainous regions of the developing
world are few.
Hence, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the problems faced by
people of Hunza in building human capital and diversifying livelihoods.
Moreover, this paper discuses the set of assets, organizations and
institutions available to the village, so that they can achieve certain
livelihood strategies...

Background
Hunza is a mountainous valley in the GilgitBaltistan region of Pakistan.
The Hunza is situated north/west of the Hunza River, at an elevation of
around 2,500 metres. The territory of Hunza is about 7,900 square
kilometer. Hunza is a fairy tale land and a lot of myth and reality has been
associated to it. In ancient times the people of the Hunza were subsistence
farmers. Cattle breeding and farming were popular professions in Hunza.
Sheep, goats, yak and horses are domestic animals. The people of Hunza
use sheep wool and goat hair to spin a rough cloth.

In the high-mountain periphery of Hunza, formal education has increasingly

gained importance for the peoples livelihood systems and is seen as an
indispensable key for regional development. The local livelihood systems in
both these mountain areas underwent a fundamental reorientation, from
combined mountain agriculture and animal husbandry on a subsistence
basis, to increased market-orientation, cash-crop production, and growing
importance of off-farm income and employment. Formal education, and
increasingly higher levels of education, is central keys for getting access to
much-demanded posts in regular employment in the government, NGO,
and private sectors. In most parts of these two sparsely populated regions,
the acquisition of higher education is only possible through migration in
order to enrol in educational institutions in central places of knowledge
For centuries, the Hunza Valley in the Karakoram Range was one of the
most isolated territories of the world. Hunza valley was ruled by Kings
(Thum) for centuries. The people of Hunza were dependent on agriculture
for their livelihood and whatever they cultivated a large portion of the yield
was taken by the King or Ruler of Hunza as Tax (Maliya). There were no
other sources of livelihood other than agriculture.. Hunza state survived
until 1974, when it was finally dissolved by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Even the
people were not allowed to build both Human capital and physical capital.
In 1978, however, Chinese and Pakistani workers completed construction
of the Karakoram Highway, which cut directly through the Hunza Valley,
linking up the region to commercial trade routes between Pakistan and the
5

People`s Republic of China. Very few people used various livelihood

diversification strategies. E.g. armed forces, civil services and NGO sector
etc. Only two to three generations ago, very low literacy rates and were
lagging behind compared to the developments in the rest of the country. In
only a few decades the situation has completely changed, and both the
regions mentioned above today constitute shining examples of successful
and rapid educational expansion and increasing shares of higher education
degree holders. This fundamental and rapid change was partly made
possible by the improvement and expansion of the formal education system
in the mountain region, which increased the locally available education
opportunities. But equally important, the rural high mountain households
have actively strived to get access to higher education by following
strategies of educational mobility and migration. In a context of
fundamental livelihood changes, where subsistence-oriented combined
mountain agriculture systems no longer suffice to sustain a living and offfarm income generation along with formal employment gained high
importance, formal education has become a necessity for sustaining rural
livelihoods. Higher education, an essential precondition for access to the
much demanded jobs in the government and private sectors, is in many
remote valleys unavailable, since colleges and universities are located in
central places within the mountain regions or in lowland cities. High
mountain households currently invest huge shares of their budget to enable
at least some of their children to study in the urban centers. Educational
migration has become a central component of the rural households
livelihood strategies.
The KKH was one of the main pillars of the overall development in the
Hunza valley, as many public and private organizations started many micro
and macro rural development innovations. The Government initiated
several projects in Hunza to establish a sound economic and social
infrastructure for improving social services, increasing the social contacts
within the valley and boosting economic growth on a sustainable basis.
There is also a big contribution of many public private partnership projects
in reducing the poverty and in the development of Hunza Valley. These
organizations provide grants to rural communities for undertaking initiatives
for poor people. These initiatives consist of formal and informal training
course to enhance a set of multi disciplinary skills within village
communities to use them in a variety of productive fields and activities.
These skills also played an important role in increasing the productivity of
6

existing available resources. Various internationally recognized communitybased development organizations that have been working in Hunza Valley
in the field of integrated rural development to help improve the quality of life
of the local people. They are dealing with extreme poverty through linking
small farm products with potential domestic and export markets are
interesting and identify lot of unexplored areas. Agriculture in the area has
been of subsistence level till early eighties when various organizations
started interventions to increase the productivity and decrease the
production losses and succeeded in creating marketable surpluses in few
years. Since then a number of fruits and vegetables have been developed
as cash crops and the socio-economic surveys done by different NGOs. It
has shown a growing dependence of poor rural families on agriculture
incomes to pay for the education and health. The holistic and inclusive
development efforts by many public and private organization in Hunza
Valley contributes a lot to the social development, institutional
development, institutional sustainability, capacity building and poverty
reduction
Although up to know the exact role and meaning of higher education and
their importance for sustaining rural livelihoods are still unclear and have
remained under-researched. Therefore, this study aims to explore the
importance and role of Education in the context of Human capital and
various strategies of rural high mountain households in Hunza.

Introduction
This paper reviews and extends the literature on human capital to pursue
multiple livelihoods, with particular emphasis on the social returns to
education. In other words, we study the problem of human capital
externalitiesdoes an individuals private decision to accumulate human
capital confer external benefits or costs on others?
The objective of this research is to use data from evaluations of
interventions designed to increase human capital to understand the
policies, interventions, and other factors that lead to sustainable poverty
reduction and nutritional improvements. Further, the research aims to find
the factors that facilitated development of policies and interventions for
sustainable poverty reduction and nutrition improvement in Hunza.
7

Hunza high mountainous region in the periphery have often been

considered backward regions, lagging behind the progress of socioeconomic development in the lowlands and urban centres. This is
especially the case with respect to the process of formal educational
expansion, which first and predominantly is expected to spread in the
economic centres and cities in the lowlands and shuns comparatively poor,
rural, sparsely populated and difficult to access high mountain peripheries.
Having these widely accepted assumptions in mind, one is surprised to find
high shares of university graduates in some remote high mountain
communities, like in Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Only two to three
generations ago, these regions would have fit into the assumptions of
modernization theories, since at that time they showed very low literacy
rates and were lagging behind compared to the developments in the rest
of the country. In only a few decades the situation has completely changed,
and the Hunza mentioned above today constitute shining example of
successful and rapid educational expansion and increasing shares of
higher education degree holders which is boosting livelihoods of local
people.
But equally important, the rural high mountain households have actively
strived to get access to higher education by following strategies of
educational mobility and migration. In a context of fundamental livelihood
changes, where subsistence-oriented combined mountain agriculture
systems no longer suffice to sustain a living and off-farm income generation
along with formal employment gained high importance, formal education
has become a necessity for sustaining rural livelihoods specially in this
region. Higher education, an essential precondition for access to the much
demanded jobs in the government and private sectors, is in many remote
valleys unavailable, since colleges and universities are located in central
places within the mountain regions or in lowland cities.

Problem Statement
Do people of Hunza have access to their basic needs? What livelihood
strategies they followed and what are the factors that helped to build to
Human Capital which helps to pursue livelihood. Do people achieve
sustainable livelihood through Human Capital? What were the hurdles in
building Human Capital?
8

Impact of Human capital on Livelihoods of Hunza: A literature

reviewterature Review
The concept of human capital has been familiar in economics for at least
the past thirty years (e.g. Schultz, 1961; Becker, 1964); some trace it back
to the work of Adam Smith in the 18th century.
Human capital can be defined in many ways, but this report adopts the
following meaning:
The knowledge, skills, competences and other attributes embodied in
individuals that are relevant to economic activity.
Recent interest among macroeconomists in the possibility of human capital
externalities follows the revival of growth theory, which is built on the idea
that human capital is central to growth. Following Lucas (1988),
neoclassical models of growth treat human capital as a produced input to a
standard constant returns technology, so that growth of human capital and
growth of output are nearly synonymous.
To appreciate the special place of human capital in modern growth models,
we begin with two key facts. First, as noted by Kaldor (1961), most
countries have experienced sustained growth over very long periods of
time.
In general, people with low educational attainment, low income and who
live in deprived neighborhoods are more likely to suffer from mental health
problems than the general population, although the socio-economic
gradient in the prevalence of mental illness varies greatly by condition (see
Yu and Williams, 1999; lorant et al., 2003a; and muntaner et al., 2004; for
reviews on the different associations between socio-economic status and
various mental health conditions). Other studies also have made similar
findings on this topic (marmot, 2005; Wilkinson et al., 2003). The literature
indicates that education and mental distress are negatively related; higher
education is in general associated with a lower prevalence of mental health
problems (see Ross and van Willigen, 1997 for a review; also chevalier and
Feinstein, 2007), although the relationship appears to be less strong than in
the case of physical health. Overall, however, education does not appear to
be a major determinant of other indicators of well-being, such as life
satisfaction and happiness (Witter et al., 1984; veenhoven, 1996; Hartog
and oosterbeek, 1998; gerdtham and Johannesson, 2001).
One of the pathways through which education may promote good mental
health is by enhancing individual and area-level social capital. Individuals
9

with more education may be more likely than less educated individuals to
be socially integrated, and to have opportunities to meet socially within their
communities, factors that promote social capital accumulation at the
individual level.
They may also be more likely to receive adequate emotional support;
because of homophily, educated individuals are more likely to have
meaningful social contacts with individuals who also possess a high level of
education (mcpherson et al., 2001). Given that most individuals rely on the
support of those around them to deal with mental distress, if greater
education translates into higher quality psychological support, homophily
will mean that educated individuals will receive better support than those
with low levels of education (angermeyer et al., 1999). Individuals who live
in communities where the average educational attainment is high also are
more likely to enjoy better mental health than individuals in communities
with lower education levels. Communities where the average educational
attainment is higher may in fact be more inclusive and less stigmatizing
towards individuals who have mental health problems, and provide greater
practical and emotional support to all their citizens.
As previously highlighted, evidence is emerging on the role of education in
promoting a long and healthy life. New evidence also suggests that
educational attainment plays an important role in influencing health-related
behaviors. However, the relationship is complicated between education
and specific behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, poor nutrition and
lack of physical activity. Better educated individuals appear to be somewhat
more likely to engage in some forms of risky behaviors, such as consuming
alcohol and drugs (cutler and lleras-muney,
2007), but they are also somewhat better at managing their behaviors, by
keeping consumption.
Knowledge management in Hunza:
As Francis Bacon said, Knowledge is power. The power of knowledge is
very important resource for preserving valuable heritage, learning new
things, solving problems, creating core competences, and initiating new
situations for both individual and communities now and in the future which
will surely sustain and enhance human capital. (Liao, 2003).

10

.The concept of ICT use in the region of Hunza was considered as

supporting tool for creating a knowledge repository and it will be a way of
communication between the stakeholders of the region to build Human
Capital. The concept of ICT as a proxy will be the mean for further creating
knowledge among the stakeholders by sharing information on development
activities and utilizing the knowledge repository. And will be useful for
building Human Capital. The main stakeholders are Government, LSO
(local support organization) of the region Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan,
local community and the Aga Khan Rural support program (AKRSP). The
knowledge repository will be the result of sharing information on
development activities among the stakeholders.
Knowledge management (KM) includes activities and process. It consists of
activities which are intended to discover knowledge, capture existing
knowledge, share knowledge and apply knowledge. Knowledge
management can be defined as performing the activities involved in
discovering capturing sharing and applying knowledge (Fernandez et al
2004). Knowledge management pretends to maximize knowledge and
transport it elsewhere in order to be used most effectively (Victoria and
Valencia, 2008).
People and Biodiversity:
Biological diversity is an important natural resource base for the people of
Gilgit Baltistan. For centuries, plant and animal communities supported
the development of early inhabitants of this region, providing the basis for
the evolution from hunting and gathering to agriculture, animal husbandry,
forestry and now trade and tourism. People have domesticated wild
species e.g. wheat, bare l y, buckwheat, yak and wild goats and many
other species and have depended on natural resources for survival and to
meet their basic needs. Majority of the people in Gilgit Baltistan are
engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and forest re l a t e d works.
Continuing use and maintenance of biological diversity are, therefore,
particularly important to the people of Gilgit Baltistan. Economic
development of Gilgit Baltistan will depend on sustainable use of
biological resources, maintaining high diversity of crops, management of
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high pastures, raising fodder trees in diverse mountain environment, and

development of medicinal plants and livestock biodiversity.
These will be the viable options for ensuring food security and generating
cash income by the people of Gilgit Baltistan. The high mountains and
narrow valleys kept Gilgit Baltistan physically isolated until quite recently.
It forced people to rely on local biodiversity for food and other essential
needs. Indeed, plants and animal diversity has served as the food security
for the mountain dwellers and supported the development of early
societies, providing the basis for the evolution from hunting gathering to
agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and now to tourism industry. There
are many historic sites in Gilgit Baltistan where rock carving by the early
inhabitants shows that these people were mainly hunter gathers, and they
had strong affiliation with wild animals and plants. Many of these carvings
are of mountain mammals and trees, for example ibex, snow leopard,
markhor and pine trees are the main figures depicted in these carvings.
Hunters are shown pursuing ibex with bow and arrows and many figures
depict snow leopard chasing ibex. Besides hunting for meat, people
benefited from wild species to meet their basic needs; for example ibex and
makhor skins were used for making winter.
The high altitudes are a special world. Born of the Pleistocene, at home
among pulsating glaciers and wind-flayed rocks, the animals have thrived,
the harshness of the environment breeding a strength and resilience which
the lowland animals often lack. At these heights, in this remote universe of
stone and sky, the fauna and flora of the Pleistocene have endured while
many species of the lower reams have vanished in the uproar of the
elements. Just as we become aware of this hidden splendor of the past, we
are in danger of denying it to the future. As we reach for the stars we
neglect flowers at our feet. But the great age of mammals in the Himalaya
need not be over unless we permit it to be. For epochs to come the peaks
will still pierce the lonely vistas, but when the last snow leopard has staked
among the crags and the last markhor has stood on a promontory, his ruff
waving in the breeze, a spark of life will have gone, turning the mountains
into stones of silence."
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George B. Schaller. Mountain Monarchs coats for men, shoes, caps, grain
storage sacs, and to collect wool for making ropes, rugs, and vests. Ibex
horns were used for plugging and excavating soil for constructing irrigation
channels (Kreutzmann 1992, Virk 1999). During the early days people
entirely depended on traditional medicine and wild plant species were
major medicinal source to cure common diseases.
Historically, human has played a major role in shaping biodiversity of our
planet and the ways in which biodiversity is perceived, maintained,
conserved, used, and appreciated. It has been documented that in the past
high level of cultural diversity have been dependent on high level of
biological diversity, which supported them (UNEP 1995). Therefore,
understanding of the many aspects of human influences on biodiversity and
the underlying driving forces is of crucial importance for setting priorities
and directing conservation and sustainable use of components of
biodiversity. It is important to recognize that how people have used and
valued biodiversity and the resources they obtained from it (UNEP 1995).
Since majority of the people in Gilgit Baltistan are engaged in agriculture,
animal husbandry, and forest related activities, continuing use and
maintenance of biodiversity will be important to them. This will provide
basis for the long-term sustainable development of the region. However,
this will depend on sustainable use of components of biodiversity and
maintaining high diversity of mountain ecosystems, crop farming systems,
viable populations of wild species, and managing high pastures efficiently.

Agriculture
Speeding (1988) defined Agriculture as "Agriculture is an activity (of man)
carried out primarily to produce food, feed and fibber (and fuel, as well as
many other materials) by the deliberate and controlled use of (mainly
terrestrial) plants and animals".
This would exclude gardening and landscaping unless products could be
described for them (such as money), but forestry, fish farming and a
number of industrial processes would be included. The word "primarily"
implies that there are other important products and this is indeed so. Since
13

definitions are never as permanent as they sound, new dimensions have

also been added to agriculture, especially when farming is becoming
integrated with non-farming enterprises.
However, when one looks at the Northern Areas, agriculture is not a factory
or industry. It is not merely a sector of production. Agriculture is a way of
life, a cultural practice with all the implications of the word culture. They
comprise growing crops with local seeds, caring animals that have adapted
to the environment, relishing vegetables and fruits of their own kind and
quality. There exists a system of self-reliance and sustainability. It is an
ecological agriculture in its true sense.
The importance of agriculture to the economy can be identified in three
ways: first, it provides food for consumers and fibber for industry; second it
is a source of foreign exchange earnings; and third, it provides markets for
the industrial growth.

Food Security:
It is not only a question of a sufficient amount of foodstuff in quantitative
terms as it is often expressed in official documents. The quality of food
available for the masses is important as well. Thus, apart from safety of
food, the question of food security also means diverse and quality food for
healthy lives. Green revolution is known to be the crop production boosts,
although productions are very low even though hazardous fertilizer,
weedicide and pesticide-use have increased manifold.
Thus, it was both ecologically and economically unsustainable.
Conventional intensive agricultural practices cause severe effect on
nutrition and welfare of people and cause severe health hazards. In
comparison, sustainable ecological agriculture has the potential to provide
cheap, safe and healthy food to the communities in a sustainable way. It is
a safe way of producing that ensures cheap and easily available food. This
is rich in nutrients and taste and best for human health as well. If this sort of
system is revived, majority of the population residing in rural areas will be
able to fulfill all their basic needs, "Health, Education, Clothes, Shelter,
Food, Money etc" through this approach.
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With regards to food security, there are some other traditional lifestyles,
which are important but have become extinct these days. Few of these are:
1. Use of uncultivated food by the communities: If old villagers are
interviewed, they will disclose that almost 50 percent of their food was
obtained from uncultivated plants, weeds etc., then, in fact, overall
food was a mix of cultivated/uncultivated food plants and
domesticated/wild animals meat. In the conventional modern
agriculture, uncultivated plants are considered weeds and are
eradicated through weedicides. The remaining uncultivated plants are
mostly not fit for health due to indiscriminately used agro-chemicals.
In comparison, sustainable ecological agriculture protects the
uncultivated plants as they play an important role in the ecosystem
and if used for food, they are healthy too.
2. Food diversity in the routine life: At this time, our food has become
limited to only a few easily available and mostly industrialized items. In
comparison, a few decades ago food was simple, diverse and rich in
quality. There are several advantages of diverse food. For instance, it
provides diverse important nutrients to the human body needed for a
healthy life. Similarly, growing diverse food crops, coupled with on-farm
livestock, poultry and fishponds, is also best to maintain soil fertility, avoid
severe pest attacks, offer hundreds of uncultivated food plants and present
a healthy environment. As discussed above, in conventional agriculture
only a few cash crops are preferred which leads to a monoculture. In
comparison, sustainable ecological agriculture ensures hetero-culture
comprised of a mix of diverse crops, vegetables, fruit, livestock, poultry and
fish farm on the same farm resulting in good food diversity.

3. Urban agriculture: Under the concept of sustainable agriculture, it is

believed that urban dwellers should also be involved in food production.
This was, in fact, another important factor in the traditional lifestyle a few
decades ago.
15

Urban dwellers were not totally dependent on villagers and used to produce
vegetables, milk, eggs and poultry, etc within homes and in urban
peripheral areas. Although, there are still examples of urban agriculture in a
few urban centers in Pakistan, but due to weak policies, over time, these
are getting rare. The sense of deprivation is the highest among rural poor
especially in female headed households and children. In NA almost 70
percent of population resides in scattered places and villages. Agriculture is
their main occupation. Most of the rural poor are small and marginalized
farmers, landless folk, artisans, female-headed households, aged persons
and children. By and large, small farmers are engaged in subsistence
agriculture where their basic concern is survival and getting ahead of life
with farming. This is why the dimensions of their farms are (most often)
more or less than 0.079 ha/farm and they usually grow multiple crops
associated to their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. To satisfy
other needs (education, health, clothes, money etc) farmers market the
surplus of their crop yield. This clearly shows that agriculture for farmers is
a way of life, rather than just an economic activity. As compared to the
concept of yield in the modern agricultural system that this much inputs will
result into that much yields, many farmers do not own it. According to them
the yield of an agricultural activity can only be concluded seeing how better
their level of subsistence is being satisfied. Hence, their social and cultural
values are emotionally involved with agriculture. The way modern
technologies are growing and agriculture is being commercialized, rural
communities are gradually going down the poverty line and losing their
subsistence agriculture as well as their social and cultural values. It is also
widely recognized that these technologies have benefited few of the giant
landlords and, particularly, corporation involved in agriculture. As a result,
most of the farmers are gradually losing their hold on agriculture due to the
fact that they cannot afford the increasing costs of modern inputs to
compete. Consequently, a constantly alarming number of villagers are
leaving their agricultural activities and migrating to and settling down in
urban centers. Perhaps due to these circumstances, we are not able to
achieve self-sufficiency and sustainable development. Through its basic
shift in values and priorities from a narrow focus on production and
productivity to a broader emphasis on healthy systems which nurture over
16

the generations, sustainable food systems approaches can contribute in

two fundamental ways towards sustainable development. First, it can be an
important part of reducing global warming, pollution, the loss of biodiversity,
and social and economic inequities. This is because they use much less
fossil fuel and have less environmental impact than conventional
approaches. They also encourage the maintenance and enhancement of
both bio-and cultural diversity (Dahlberg, 1996) second, by pursuing
sustainable approaches which are more environmentally and socially
efficient-as well as more economically sustainable they make sustainable
development more likely. Pursuing the new frontier of sustainable and
regenerative food systems at all levels can thus help avoid the high risk ,
while facilitating the development of healthier citizens, more sustainable
economics, increased equity, and healthier natural systems.
The present status paper attempts to look forward to food security options
and opportunities in view of the available background information for major
grain, horticultural and fodder crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries. NA
having no education and research system in agriculture but survives only
on rudimentary extension service. The meager manpower, limited
resources and little access to modern training and literature all push NA,
agriculture to a lower ebb. Until strenuous efforts are made expected
improved situation may not be possible.
Liberty has been taken to interwove in the paper some of the latest
approaches such as biotechnology to help bring revolution in the thinking
process, without losing sight of conserving the existing traditional land
races of crops, vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants and livestock and the
various genes that have bestowed perpetual continuation of these
organisms for centuries.

Cash Crops
For improving the economic conditions of farmers, promotion of cash crops
is very essential. However, some of the serious constraints are, frequent
occurrence of pests and diseases, remoteness and scatter of the
17

plantations, scarcity of quality germplasm, unplanned and non-systematic

orchards, absence of quarantine, poor knowledge about economic side of
cash crops, no training in farm management, etc. However, there are
ample opportunities to promote these crops because of unique climate and
existence of natural physical barriers which can help protect crops from
invasion of pests and diseases, promote biological agents and cut-down
use of pesticides. Cultivation of multipurpose crops/trees like olive,
pistachio, pine, with kernels can be promoted. Indigenous germplasm
which has adapted itself to the environment can be conserved. Where
possible integrated agriculture can be practiced. Systematic orchards +
vegetables for seed production + bee-keeping, etc. The crops which are
considered as cash crops are listed below. These have been ranked
according to their existing and future potential:
Production System:
There are four types of livestock production system, i.e., pastoralist,
transhumant, sedentary and commercial.
Pastoral system:
The true pastoralist, who have ownership over the livestock. According to
1986 livestock census 250 households were known to graze their sheep
and goats round the year. The nomadic system is characterized by years
round continuous movement of goats and sheep herds along the fixed
routes in search of pastures. True pastoralists do not own any land neither
do any farming activities. The movement of livestock is between alpine and
sub-alpine pastures situated in the upper and lower elevation of subtropical rangelands, they spend about 4-5 months in the alpine pastures
and rest of the period in the lower ranges in winter.
The non local pastoralists have to pay to the communal landowners for
grazing their animals for specific period.
Transhumant system:
18

Most of the households (80-90%) are reported to have adopted the

transhumant system of animal husbandry. Farmers live at lower altitudes
for about 7 months where the main house is located. In the cold winter the
animals are kept in the houses in the valley where they are fed maize
Stover, wheat straw and hay. In the summer months the animals are taken
up into the mountains to graze on the subalpine and finally the alpine
pastures. Late April or early May part of the households start trekking
through the mountains. First they move to the edge of the conifer forests
where a second house is located. Here they stay 3-4 weeks and then they
move up to a third house situated in the middle of the forest staying up to 34 weeks, and finally they move to the alpine pastures high up in the
mountains. They stay there for about 6-8 weeks before trekking back to the
valley with the first snow fall in late September following the same routine.
They return to the main house in the valley in October. The flock consists of
a few cows, goats, sheep along with two pack and riding animals. The
transhumant production system has a variant whereby the owner stays in
the village. But during the summer months he hires a shepherd to send
flocks at the mountain pastures. Each herdsman keeps 15-40 cattle or 100200 goats/sheeps or a mixture of both cattle and sheep/goat.
Sedentary system:
In this system the animals are kept in the farm, about one third of the
households are reported to stall feed part of their cattle and to graze part of
their small ruminants in the gentle topography and in the field after
harvesting season is over.
Animals are also grazed in community lands on grasses and weeds of
lands lying fallow. Maize Stover and some hay and grasses collected are
the main feed of the stall fed large animals. In some villages maize stoves,
green grass, wheat straw are sold/ exchanged among the farmers.
Commercial production system:
Commercial and sedentary large dairy farms are virtually nonexistent.
There are semi-intensive poultry farms with 50-75 birds. Only a few non19

farm households keep 1-5 cows in the towns to supply fresh milk to
residents and tea-shops.
Micro-credit
Considerable work has been done at governmental and NGO level to
enhance accessibility of easy and cheap institutional credit to women.
Since women lack in assets ownership, there was the need for a
specialized financial institution which could cater to credit needs of micro
business owners without asking for conventional tangible collaterals First
step in this regard was the establishment of
First Women Bank which from its very inception has been launching microcredit schemes for women from low income groups both in urban and rural
sectors. Apart from disbursing credit, for developing and updating
entrepreneurial skills among women, the bank conducts entrepreneurial
skill development training programs all over the country. How did the Gilgit
Baltistan benefit from it is not known?
Agriculture Development Bank has also come forward to finance micro
businesses of women and for that they have set up special windows in their
designated branches to look into credit needs of women. Some major
NGOs like Orangi Pilot
Project and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme apart from doing
community development work in the areas of education; health and
population planning have major focus on economic empowerment of
women. They have their own credit disbursement programmes. The
establishment of the Khushhali Bank is a major breakthrough in this regard
as it is exclusively meant for financing micro businesses through loans of
very small magnitude secured against communal guarantee only. Apart
from above notable NGOs, a large number of NGOs are doing good work
in other provinces, these are National Rural Support Programme and
Sarhad Rural Support Programme that are associated in credit
disbursement programmes of Nationalised Commercial Banks as self-help
groups and facilitators. Similar arrangements could be made/initiated in GB. The banks in order to cut down the transaction cost of micro loans and
for making credit available at the doorstep of small borrowers induct such
NGOs as an intermediary between bank and clusters of communities.
20

These steps on the part of financial institutions, related government

departments and of course motivational role of NGOs have enabled the
women to go into business and contribute towards growth of the economy.
The economic empowerment thus created has given women selfconfidence and a sense of achievement.
The country now being signatory to CEDAW (Convention on the elimination
of
Discrimination against Women) is gradually taking all affirmative steps to
eliminate gender disparity and to enhance womens participation in all
walks of life. Things are likely to change in G-B, as well.
Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan
(ADBP) in G-B
Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan has been playing a very
significant role in the development of agriculture and socio-economic
conditions of rural poor and neglected farming community of Gilgit
Baltistan since 1970. It has a set up of 5 branches, at Gilgit, Aliabad,
Gahkuch, Chilas and Skardu, 4 field offices at Astore, Gupis, Gojal and
Khaplu besides 24 Mobile Credit officers. In the mean time ADBP provides
loans in 220 Loanable schemes on off as well as on farm activities. It
provides loans on short, medium and long term bases, with 14% and 16%
mark up. Apart from the above ADBP has also taken up the responsibility
and introduced micro credit scheme under poverty alleviation programme
for landless skilled female and male of the area. So far bank has been able
to disburse an amount of Rs.160.000 million under micro credit scheme,
which certainly provided tremendous self employment opportunities to both
the rural and urban population.
The existing levels of loans for the development of uncultivated land are
insufficient to meet the expenses even for one kanal. Thus it is suggested
that at least Rs. 100000/= be fixed for G-B farmers community. G-B has a
great potential for food, fruits and other high value cash crops, medicinal
plants, etc.
But the farmers are very poor to adopt new options and technologies due to
lack of financial resources. Thus majority of the farmers are reluctant to
21

obtain the loans due to high interest rate. Keeping in view the
backwardness, remoteness and potential of the area special concession in
the interest rate may be granted to the progressive farmers of the G-B for
prosperity of the nation. The existing credit ceiling for establishment of fish
farms, etc is Rs. 50000/- per acre, while the land holdings in G-B are only
1-2 kanals, which does not make the most people eligible for grant of loan.
The amount of loan does not fulfill the requirement for the establishment of
fish farm. Thus it is suggested that Rs.40000/- per kanal may be fixed for
granting loan. Strong linkages are needed between key stakeholders,
registered progressive farmers, and association for utilization of credit
facility for commercial farming.
There is a strong need for strengthening existing capacity of the bank by
inducting agricultural graduates as MCOs, etc.
Post Harvesting, Storage and Marketing
Marketing of fruits and vegetable is highly inefficient. Small volumes are
sold to itinerant dealers, assemblers and retailers through personal
contacts and negotiations, evidently at low prices, in the absence of proper
marketing system.
The aggregated volumes are transported to down country markets notably
Islamabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad and Swat.
Aga Khan Rural support Program
Transformation of the Backward Gilgit-Baltistan Areas through village
organizations.
Indicators of success
Overall improvements, both in quantity and quality, of the natural resources
base (e.g. cultivated land through increasing the area under irrigation,
forests through a forestation/reforestation, rangeland through plantation of
forage grasses, etc) improvement in the living conditions of the people,
minimization of food shortages, reduced dependence on food grains from
outside and greater and more diverse employment opportunities both in the
farm and off-farm sectors. Besides these the biggest success of the
AKRSP is in the level of mass participation (73% of the total rural
22

population are actively engaged in the AKRSP programmes) and in local,

financial resources mobilization (more than 118 million rupees have been
deposited through the rural saving programme)
Central focus and underlying processes
Institutional reforms have been introduced by establishing village
organizations and enabling them to develop managerial and technical skill
to identify, plan, implement, and maintain rural development programmes in
a sustainable, equitable and productive manner,. One of the central and
unique focuses of the AKRSP has been on the effective mobilization of half
of the total population i.e. women in development activities through the
establishment of womens organizations.
The development process begins with the introduction of productive
physical infrastructure e.g. link roads, trails, bridges, irrigation, land
development, etc. This is following by the
implementation of various productive farming activities e.g. crops, livestock,
forestry and other sideline activities based on the suitability of different
areas such as crop development in the valley and on gentler sloppy lands,
livestock at higher altitudes, orchards, pasture development of steep
slopes, etc
Individual components of the strategy
Diversification
Emphasis has been placed on improved livestock farming through
improved forage and fodder production and breeding. This system has
improved both the animal feed situation and soil fertility. Cultivation of cash
crops e.g. vegetables, dry fruits and cereal crops including potatoes have
been emphasized based on their comparative advantages. Potato seeds
produced in such a cool and pristine environment fetch a premium price in
the market. Agro-forestry and timber production are other important
activities. In forestry development, fodder tree plantation receives prime
consideration.
Intensification
Areas under double cropping are increased because of the introduction of
short maturity crops and an increase in areas under irrigation. Because of
the adoption of crops with high ratio of grains and crop residue, animal
23

production is also intensified. Degraded land and other unutilized/or

abandoned lands are now being used for pasture and orchard.
ISSUES AND TRENDS
The stakeholders in their meeting desired that the background paper on
Agriculture and Food Security beside s covering the stipulated objectives of
NACS should also serve as a reference for them. They desired an up to
date statistics, constraints that have hampered progress in their discipline
and re l e v a n t researchable themes to put them on the right track of
thinking for future progress. They wanted to use this opportunity for
administrative reforms and as a tool for the advancement of their career as
well. An isolated, neglected, suppressed and oppressed community of
scientists, researchers and field workers desired that their
accomplishments should also be reflected in the paper. Consequently while
focusing on sustainable development of NA, conservation of bio diversity
and protection of environment paper was forced to digress and serve much
broader spectrum of interests than an ordinary background paper would do.
It surfaced that in the conservation strategy of NA perhaps human
happiness under the fast changing environment resource poor, unskilled,
uneducated, highly conservative society may be the most wanted element.
IUCN deserves credit for taking a note of it, although AKRSP has been in
the system for a long time.
Endangered Species
The human population explosion has led to unwise use of natural
resources at a rate much faster than their regeneration. Hilton Taylor
(2000) listed several threatened species on account of depletion of natural
resources that also occur in
Pakistan. Some of these also inhabit NA. These are(a) Mammals-snow
leopard, flare-horned markhor, Marco Polo sheep, Ladakh urial, musk deer,
brown bear, woolly flying squirrel, blue sheep, Hima layan bex(b) Birdssnow cock, monal pheasant. Medicinal plants like kuth (Saussria lappa )
and Karru (Picrorhliza kurroa) are near extinction due to over harvest in
Astore, s alpine meadows.
Some areas of Gilgit and Diamir district are subject to heavy grazing and
fuel wood collection. These two activities pose a threat to many of the rare
24

plant and animal species that inhabit places at different altitudes in these
two districts.
Degradation of Agra-ecosystems Homeostasis
In our efforts for enhancing agricultural production, we have introduced
high yielding crop, vegetable and fruit varieties, stepped up use of
fertilizers, pesticides, water regimes, intensive agriculture, etc. Agriecosystem homeostasis is faced with degradative trends in the form of the
following:
Loss of topsoil
Loss of local crop varieties.
Loss of indigenous knowledge
Climatic change
Loss of soil's water holding, micro organisms and productivity capacity
Loss of floral and faunal genetic diversity
Loss of adaptive capacity of mono cultural crops to changed environmental
conditions such as water stress, extreme temperature fluctuations,
changed intensity of sun light. Due to pollution, contamination and changed
food chain, fisheries are at risk.
Unplanned and over grazing has led to degraded pastures and breakdown
of sustained traditional grazing system.
The homeostasis of crop-human/animal- posture is at risk.
Lack of Awareness
Large numbers of development projects have been going on in G-B f o r
transformation of communities, improvement of agriculture and economic
conditions of population. Although people like the change for betterment of
their life, can identify plants and animals, they deal with, are aware of
habitat and seasonal history of many organisms in the villages and
accessible mountains, however, most of the people are unaware of the
value of these resources, and the consequences of their loss in terms of
biodiversity, environmental degradation and aesthetics. Unless and until
they are knowledgeable about the general fauna and flora the questions of
sustainability and conservation remain unattended. The possible
contribution of conserving biodiversity for economic development and
25

poverty alleviation at the community level needs to be attended by

planners, policy makers, educationists, etc in the G-B.
Several NGOs, like World Wide Fund and IUCN have initiated awareness
campaigns, but these are limited in coverage vis--vis the task in the G-B.

Lack of Biodiversity Inventories and Monitoring Systems

Historically some information about wildlife, forests, fisheries and
agriculture has been collected by the concerned departments in G-B. Even
this is not readily available to everyone. There is no regular agency or
department to prepare inventories of flora, fauna and micro-organisms
occurring in G-B and to monitor the trends or displacement of the various
species. Because of difficulties in accessibility to rugged mountains, very
little quantitative and even qualitative information about animals, plants,
arthropods, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and soil micro organisms is available in
published or even unpublished form. Therefore the genetic richness,
resource sharing ability in diverse ecological habitats and impact of human
activities and interventions has remained and is still a neglected aspect.
Therefore, whatever efforts are made for natural resources conservation
will lead to partial achievements. Likewise without a regular monitoring
system, proper assessment of trends becomes impossible. Only guest
mates come to our rescues.
Institutional Capability, Capacity and Resources
The departments of agriculture, fisheries, forestry and livestock are
responsible for sustainability, conservation and management of
components of biodiversity in G-B. However, by nature of their training
there is generally a lack of conservation attitude. The employees of these
departments mostly adhere to concepts of exploitation of resources for
economic benefits and satisfying human needs. It is also partly true that
funds, transport for mobility, equipment and on the job training for
enhancing their capability and capacity to meet the challenges under the
changing environment is lacking. To most employees, concepts of
conservation biology, carrying capacity of different habitats, sustainable
26

productivity, species displacement, etc are not known. Perhaps roster of

their duties needs redefinition to suit the modern requirements.
Another setback in the G-B is, there is no researches as for as most
departments are concerned. They consider policing the resources their
prime job and are least bothered even if the entire resource is eroded.
Agencies such as IUCN, WWF,
AKRSP and Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (HWF) have taken up steps to
promote concepts of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. This
will change the style of management of natural resources and lead to
critical assessment of trends, which are virtually non-existent now.
Gaps in Knowledge
The biological, ecological, physical and even cultural diversity of NA has
remained un-mapped. Sporadic, site specific and development oriented
efforts have provided us with only check lists. Many of these are just
extrapolations by knowledgeable persons. Some of the taxonomic and biogeographic information about mammals and birds are available in the
works of Schaller (1977), Robberts (1991, 1992 and 1997) and a recently
published report (2000) of floral and faunal joint expedition of the Oxford
Univ. Museum and Pakistan Museum for Natural History. Very little is
known about amphibians, reptiles and fishes. The role of many of these
taxa in the sustainability and productivity of agriculture and food security
remains obscure. Even the existing associations between various biological
taxa and the benefits of their interactions in terms of pollination of crops,
changes in the soil texture, recycling of organic matter to enrich the soil
fertility, are as less known as are the indigenous races of crops, fruits and
vegetables.
Laws in Gilgit-Baltistan
In general there are various acts and rules in G-B to protect and safeguard
the diversity of wildlife, fisheries and forests. This is however not linked to
quarantine laws but is done through policing. There are limited staffing and
resources available to departments in G-b. These short comings have led
to inadequate protection of species, in sufficient safeguarding against
degradation and destruction of habitat, weaken forcemeat of laws, low
public awareness, lack of coordination between various agencies, lack of
27

involvement of local communities in migrating threats to these resources.

Most new initiatives diverge from traditional approach of policing natural
resources and alienating local communities who traditionally depend on
these resources to meet their subsistence needs
A number of organizations have been active in promoting participatory
conservation and sustainable development in G-B. The organizations
include Aga
Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) IUCN, WWF and Himalayan
Wildlife Foundation (HWF).
Side Effects of NGOs Activities
The primary objective of AKRSP is to improve the lives of mountain people
by mobilizing local communities and implementing sustainable
development agenda.
AKRSP covers almost entire NA and operates through 1592 Village
Organizations (VOs) and 930 Women's Organizations (WOs) for continuity
of their program. Its programs /projects/ initiatives have also contributed to
raising environmental conservation awareness among the masses. Its
activities like development of land for agriculture, forest plantation,
collaborative management of fisheries, and irrigation system at a level
lower than the irrigation channels have provided new niches and added
advantage to several faunal taxa. Shifting of agricultural associated seed
and foliage eating insects, birds and small animals to abodes has been
made possible by such activities Likewise the infrastructure established by
AKRSP has also helped in operations of other NGOS, like IUCN, WWF &
AWP. AKRSPs initiative to establish Women's Organizations is a step
towards gender integration.

Case Study:
We have taken some similar case studies from Africa and South Asia were
they have focused more on Human capital which resulted in Economic
development and it helped them in diversifying their livelihoods. Health and
education are both components of human capital and contributors to
human welfare. One index of human welfare, which incorporates income,
28

education and health, shows that Africas level of human development is

the lowest of any region in the world. In this paper we will frequently
compare Africa with South Asia so we can clearly understand the role of
Human capital in economic development. . While Africas level of human
development is lower than that of South Asia, its per capita income is
higher. Africas poor economic performance has been most marked in its
growth rate which has been half that of South Asia. As Africa has found
since 1980, slow economic growth severely limits the ability of
governments and households to fund further investments in health and
education. Low investments in human capital may impinge on already low
growth rates of income. Such interrelations might be thought to imply a
vicious circle of development, but this should not be overstated. Poor
countries have considerable discretion over how much to invest in health
and education. Since Independence, Africa has achieved a rapid growth of
some aspects of human capital - particularly in the expansion of education despite starting from a low level of income. The expansion of the human
capital stock has not been matched by a commensurate rise in physical
capital. The result has been low growth of incomes and low returns to the
educational investment. This paper provides an overview of Africas
achievements in the formation of human capital, and its impact on
economic growth and welfare. Human capital, economic growth and
welfare are closely interrelated.
Education, good health and longevity are intrinsically valuable outputs. In
conventional measures of economic output, health and educations
contribution is measured essentially by the costs of producing the
outcomes, ie expenditures on schools and medical facilities. Such a
procedure identifies inputs rather than outputs. The valuation of both health
and education is difficult as both are goods with attributes different from
most types of goods produced in an economy. Whilst high incomes may be
conducive to health, health cannot be directly purchased like material
goods and services. Health and education are often subsidized by the state
and in some countries education is compulsory for certain minimum length
of times. Many, if not most, health and education services are produced by
the public sector. Governments play a direct part in providing services very
directly linked to human welfare.
The UNDP has developed a composite indicator, the human development
index (HDI), which gives equal weight to three indicators: real GDP per
capita (measured at purchasing power parity in constant prices); life
29

expectancy at birth; and educational attainment, measured by adult literacy

(two-thirds weight) and combined primary, secondary and tertiary
enrolment ratios (one third weight) (see UNDP, 1997, p122 for details). The
index is valuable in extending the economic concept of welfare, but for
many purposes it is more useful to focus on the individual components of
the index than the index itself. Africa has performed very differently in each
of the three dimensions of the welfare and the dimensions are not
independent.
The most recent UNDP Human Development Report shows that Africa has
the lowest level of human development of any region but its income per
capita is higher than that of South Asia.
In what follows, we often compare Africa with South Asia. This comparison
provides a useful benchmark, since South Asia is the region most similar to
Africa in terms of income and overall development. For example, it is
instructive to consider why Africa has a lower HDI than South Asia despite
having higher income. The proximate cause is the relatively low life
expectancy at birth of Africans.
Effects of education upon health and nutrition
One indirect effect of expenditure on education may be its effects on
health. Within developing countries, the children of educated parents face
lower risks of premature death. This is apparent from analysis of both the
World Fertility Surveys and the subsequent Demographic and Health
Surveys (Hob craft, 1993). Parental education is also associated with better
child anthropometric status (weight and height), although the association is
less marked than that with mortality. However, in socio-economic surveys,
educated parents are often more likely to report that their children have
been ill. This suggests that educated parents are better at recognizing
medical problems in their children.
Part of the association between parental education and child mortality may
work via household income. However, the independent impact of education
in models which carefully control for income shows this cannot be the only
transmission mechanism. Indeed, many studies have found education to
have a stronger direct effect on child health than income. The direct effect
of education may be informational. In Uganda, recent work found educated
mothers to be better informed about various diseases and that such
information was strongly associated with lower child mortality
(Mackinnon,1995).Similarly, in Morocco, mothers education appears to
improve child anthropometric status by providing cognitive skills which
30

increase knowledge about health (Glewwe, 1997). In Cte dIvoire and

Kenya, educated mothers are more likely to send sick children for
treatment (Appleton, 1992).
Effects of education upon fertility
Whether and how government policy should affect fertility is a controversial
ethical issue. However, the UN International Conference on Population and
Development in Cairo in September 1994 highlighted the importance of
enhancing female education as part of a successful population policy. More
educated women commonly tend to have smaller families, although this is
less marked in Africa than elsewhere.
Perhaps the best evidence on the relationship between fertility and female
education in Africa is that provided by the Demographic and Health
Surveys (DHS) carried out in the late 1980s. Women with primary
education tend to have fewer children in most countries, but the
relationship is weak. By contrast, women with post-primary education have
markedly fewer children. These associations persist even after controlling
for other variables (Ainsworth, Beegle and Nyamete, 1995)9. In half of the
countries, there was no significant association between primary education
and fertility after controlling for income, age and a few other variables. For
the other half of the countries, there was a significant negative relationship
but it was less strong than with secondary schooling. By contrast, there
was a universally negative relationship between fertility and female
secondary schooling.
The effects of higher secondary schooling (11 years of schooling or more)
were 2-4 as large as those of lower secondary schooling. Husbands
education also had a negative effect on fertility where it was significant,
although the effect was weaker than that of wives education. Education
appears to reduce fertility more in the DHS data than in the earlier World
Fertility Surveys carried out in the late 1970s (see UN, 1987). Although this
may partly be accounted for by methodological differences in the data
analysis, this seems to reflect a genuine change over time. In particular,
amongst women in the older cohort (aged 35 and over) of the DHS,
schooling of less than eleven years was seldom associated with lower
fertility.
The associations between female education and fertility are likely to be, at
least partly, causal. Educated women may be able to obtain higher wages,
increasing the opportunity cost of time spent rearing children. They may
also have a preference for more educated children, making it more
31

expensive to have large families. Education may also change knowledge of

and attitudes towards the use of modern contraception. However, there is
simultaneity between female education and fertility. In most countries,
child-bearing and school attendance are incompatible, so girls face a
choice between staying on at school and marrying young. This may partly
explain why higher secondary schooling has such a large impact on fertility,
since the age of students often coincides with the typical age at marriage in
many African countries.
Poverty and Human Resources
Poverty can prevent households from making high return investments in
the human capital of their children. The poor may not be able to spare their
children - particularly their girls - from household work in order to go to
school. A study of gender differences in performance in the primary-leaving
examination in the Cote dIvoire found that the difference arose due to the
under-performance of girls from poor households. This may reflect the
demands on the time of girls in poor households. In their last two years of
primary school, girls from the poorest 25% of households reported
spending 16 hours a week in school and 15 hours on housework; in the
most affluent 25% of households, the figures were 27 hours and 7 hours
respectively (Appleton, 1995a). Poor households may also not be able to
afford the monetary costs of health care and education. These costs may
help explain why the benefits of post primary schooling accrue mainly to
the non-poor. A beneficiary assessment of social sector spending in
Tanzania found the poorest and most affluent quintiles received 19% and
18% respectively of expenditure on primary schooling; but for secondary
schooling, the poorest received only 8% and the most affluent received
36%. All university expenditure was estimated to accrue to the richest 20%
of the population (World Bank, 1995). However, non-monetary factors are
also important: lack of parental education is often found to be more critical
than a lack of income per se in determining child health, performance at
school and eligibility for post-primary education.
Household surveys provide useful evidence on the distribution of
investments in human capital. For example, survey data for Cote dIvoire in
1985 showed net primary school enrolment rates for boys to be 32%
amongst the poorest 10% of the population but 66% amongst the non-poor
(defined as the top 70% of the population. For girls, the corresponding
figures were 22% and 54%. Interestingly, girls from poor households
appear to have suffered more from the countrys economic decline in the
1980s: by 1988, net primary school enrolments for girls in very poor
32

households had declined to 17% whilst amongst the non-poor they had
risen to 57%. Male primary school enrolments rose in non-poor households
and remained constant in very poor ones. Poverty was also strongly
correlated with use of curative and preventive health care, although here
gender differences were less marked. In 1985, 31% of very poor males
consulted a doctor or nurse when sick; amongst the non-poor the figure
was 51% (Grootaert, 1994). By 1988, the inequalities had widened, with the
corresponding proportions being 19% and 53%.
Poverty profiles of African countries invariably find rates of poverty decline
sharply with the education of the household head. For example, in Nigeria
in 1992, 39.5% of people in households with uneducated heads were poor;
for those living in households with secondary school educated heads; the
poverty rate was only 23% (World Bank, 1996). Education reduces poverty
partly by giving access to high return formal sector employment and to
higher wages within such employment. However, there is evidence that
education and nutrition also raise productivity in farm and non-farm selfemployment, activities in which the poor are concentrated.
Effects of education upon child schooling and cognitive development
Children are typically more likely to go to school if their parents are
educated. They also tend to perform better in school and in some cases
may earn higher incomes in adulthood. For example, a study of Kenya and
Tanzania compared the probability of manufacturing workers having
completed lower secondary schooling as a function of the education of their
parents. In Kenya those entering school around 1960 were predicted to
have a 21% chance of completing lower secondary if both their parents
were uneducated and an 83% chance if one of their parent had at least
secondary education and the other at least primary education. The figures
were similar Tanzania. Since most secondary schools at that time were
state schools, where access was rationed by performance in the primary-

33

Sustainable Livelihood Framework of Hunza

34

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD APPROACH (SLA)

CONTEXT

LIVELIHOOD
RESOURCES

Natural
Capital:
Exploration
of the policy Natural capital
is the term
context and
used for the
the way
natural
policies are
implemented resource
is crucial and stocks from
which
highly
resources
livelihood
flows and
specific.
services (such
Are we
inquiring into as land, water,
the effects of forests, air
quality) useful
an
for livelihoods
overarching
are derived.
policy, such
People of
as pro poor
growth, or of Hunza have
inherited land
measures
from their
targeting
poverty more forefathers
directly, e.g., and on this
services like land they
cultivate
ration
schemes? It different kinds
of crops which
can be
beneficial to they sell
domestically
review both
and also at
supporting
national level.
and
constraining It especially is
important for
policies.
those who
History: derive all or
Hunza is one part of their
of the most
livelihoods
beautiful
from natural
areas of the

Policy:

INSTITUTIONAL
PROCESSES &
ORGANIZATIONA
L STRUCTURES
In livelihood
frameworks
"institutions"
embrace two
important elements:
on one hand, the
rules and normative
frame conditions
that govern social
interactions; on the
other hand, the way
that organizations
operate in both the
public and private
sector, on the
background of
explicit and implicit
values. Political
participation,
market systems,
concepts of social
orders (such as
castes, clans, etc.)
belong to this field
of investigation.
In Hunza still there
are not strong
institutions that
would govern their
lives and regulate
their development.
Hence, the process
of development so
far is haphazard,
uncontrolled at best
and directionless at
worst.
NGOs played vital

LIVELIHOOD
STRATEGIES

SUSTAINABLE
LIVELIHOOD
OUTCOMES

Agriculture
Extensificat
ion &
Intensificati
on

Livelihood:

Some NGOs
Worked on
irrigation
system and
also on
Agriculture
extensification
and
intensification.
in Hunza. The
intervention
improved
levels of
productivity,
employment
and income
Resulting from
irrigation is
widespread.
irrigation
development
alone, confirm
that higher
value crops,
higher yields
and the more
intensive
cultivation
techniques
lead to higher,
less risky and
more
continuous

Achievements
(results) of
livelihood
strategies
Outcome
categories
More
income
Increased
well-being
Reduced
vulnerability
Improved
food security
More
sustainable
use of the
natural
resource base
Conflict
between
livelihood
outcomes
When
increased
income for
particular
groups is
obtained
through
practices that
35

world with
fertile land,
orchards,
forests and
livestock and
a great
culture.
People of
Hunza have
historically
been
marginalized
politically,
socially and
economically
by the
dominant
powers of
Federal. As
a result they
have had
little
involvement
with, or
control over,
national-level
decisions.

resource
based
activities, and
particularly for
poor farmers
and herders.
In more
general terms,
good air and
water quantity
and quality
represent a
basis for good
health and
other aspects
of livelihood.
Natural assets
such as
climate and
ecosystems,
largely
determine the
vulnerability
context of poor
men and
women. The
vulnerability
context is
shaped by
trends (think of
Macroeconomic population
conditions increase),
shocks (like
: In most
droughts,
mountain
floods and
communities,
disease) and
traditional
seasonality
forms of
(dry and wet
bartering
season).
have given
Water is the
way to
key natural
monetary
resource in
exchange.
livestock
production. It
Much of a
is consumed
person's
directly as
economic

role in Social
Mobilization.
There is much that
can be done. In
modern societies
higher education
and skill-based
trainings has
become an
inevitable
prerequisite for
economic growth
and development.

levels of
Rural
employment
and income,
for both farm
families and
landless labor.
Livelihood
diversification

Migration
Migration
forms a
central
component of
livelihood
diversification.
In Hunza for
example,
migration is
widespread
and it is linked
to income
generation
Strategies. It
has been seen
how migrant
remittances
may relieve
rural credit
constraints,
the particular
importance of
migration to
those living
in poor agro
climatic
conditions. In
the past some
researchers
have pointed
out the
importance of
migration in
providing

are
detrimental to
the natural
resource base
Close
relationship
between
livelihood
outcomes and
Assets, with
these linked
through
livelihood
strategies.
The capacity of
the national and
regional
stakeholders in
dealing with
livelihood
development
and the
protection of the
environment in
Hunza it
enhanced.
Income
generation and
resilience of
people in Hunza
is improved
through capacity
building, the
unlocking of
new livelihood
opportunities
and by
promoting more
equitable
approaches in
the
Institutional setups.

36

value to a
household is
increasingly
defined by
the amount
of cash that
he or she
can bring in.

drinking water
and indirectly
through feed.
The natural
resource
stocks (soil,
water, air,
genetic
resources,
Climate: etc.) and
environmental
In the riskservices
prone
environment (hydrological
cycle, pollution
of the
sinks, etc.)
mountains,
from which
full of
resource flows
uncertainty
and services
and diverse
useful for
agrolivelihoods are
ecological
derived.
conditions,
farmers must Hunza is rich
in natural
maintain a
resources like
careful
precious gems
selection of
crops, plants and someone
and livestock of the people
varieties that sell rely on
these
are well
resources for
adapted to
livelihood and
their harsh
environment they some
merchants
s, demand
also export
few
these gems
resources
and earn high
and provide
profits which
security
against risks. helps them to
build their
assets and or
Livelihood
to diversify
strategies
their livelihood
depend
strategies.
largely on
the wise
management
Economic
and use of

much needed
resources for
investment in
rural
production.

Sustainability:
Sustainable
Livelihoods
approaches
provide a
framework for
addressing
poverty and
Vulnerability in
both
development
and
humanitarian
contexts. They
have emerged
from the
growing
realization of the
need to put the
poor and all
aspects of their
lives and means
of
living at the
centre of
development
and
humanitarian
work, while
maintaining the
Sustainability of
natural
resources for
present and
future
generations.
This will
result in the
implementation
of adequate
policies and
practices related
to sustainable
development
and
37

diverse
genetic
resources.

or
financial
capital:

Social
differenti
ation:

An average
Hunzukutz,
whether he
works or earns
from any other
source, is rich
because of the
value of his
property like
house,
orchard and
livestock. If
calculated, the
average worth
of such
commodities
reaches the
million figures.
The availability
of cash or
equivalent that
enables
people to
adopt different
livelihood
strategies is
financial
capital. Two
main sources
of financial
capital can be
identified as:

the relatively
egalitarian
examples of
gender
relations in
some
traditional
mountain
societies
with
Buddhist or
animist
beliefs are
being
transformed
by the
prevailing
values
belonging to
lowland
religious,
nationalistic
and cultural
paradigms.
Some of
these new
values come
from
Western
influences,
some from
regional panSouth Asian
influences
and some
from
development

conservation of
the environment
in the context of
socioeconomic
and climate
change.
Sustained
management of
Ecosystem
assets, including
biodiversity,
land and water
resources,
forests,
rangelands, and
the related
services,
notably by
closely involving
local
communities.

- Available
stocks
comprising
cash, bank
deposits or
liquid assets
such as
livestock and
jewellery, not
38

paradigms
themselves.
The marginal
status of
most
mountain
societies
makes
resistance to
more
powerful
forces
difficult, and
the process
of
mainstreami
ng mountain
cultures into
national
identities
may negate
the stronger
positions of
women from
these
traditional
communities.

having
liabilities
attached and
usually
independent
on third
parties.
- Regular
inflow of
money
(conventional
poverty
indicator of
less than one
dollar a day)
comprising
labour income,
pensions, or
other transfers
from the state,
and
remittances,
which are
mostly
dependent on
others and
need to be
reliable.

Human
capital:
Human capital
in Hunza
represents the
skill,
knowledge,
ability to
labour and
they have their
own farms and
eat healthy
food and
environment is
clean and
39

friendly so the
enjoy good
health that
together
enables
people to
pursue
different
livelihood
strategies and
achieve their
livelihood
objectives.
At the
household
level it varies
according to
gender, age,
household
size, skill
levels,
leadership
potential,
health status,
etc. and
appears to be
a crucial factor
in order to
make use of
any other type
of assets.

Social
capital:
The social
resources
(networks,
social claims,
social
relations,
affiliations,
associations)
upon which
people draw
when pursuing
40

different
livelihood
strategies
requiring
coordinated
actions.
In Hunza there
is only one
community
living they
have their own
community
centers where
they gather for
mutual
benefits.

Physical
capital:
An average
Hunzukutz,
whether he
works or earns
from any other
source, is rich
because of the
value of his
property like
house,
orchard and
livestock. If
calculated, the
average worth
of such
commodities
reaches the
million figures.

41

APPROACHING LIVELIHOODS WITH A

THREEFOLD FOCUS

42

HUMAN CAPITAL
Human capital in Hunza represents the skills like hand weaving,
embroidery, carpet and rug making, gems cutting, handicrafts and so
on. Knowledge includes traditional farming techniques and as well as
modern farming techniques. Human capital in Hunza represents the
skill, knowledge, ability to labour and they have their own farms and
eat healthy food and environment is clean and friendly so the enjoy
good health that together enables people to pursue different livelihood
strategies and achieve their livelihood objectives.
At the household level it varies according to gender, age, household
size, skill levels, leadership potential, health status, etc. and appears
to be a crucial factor in order to make use of any other type of assets.
As they live in capacity to work and good health that together enable
people to pursue different livelihood strategies and achieve their
livelihood outcomes. Human capital is important in its own right;
health, knowledge and skills help create sustainable livelihoods.
Human capital is also necessary to be able to make use of the other
five types of assets.

SOCIAL CAPITAL
The social resources (networks, social claims, social relations,
affiliations, associations) upon which people draw when pursuing
different livelihood strategies requiring coordinated actions.
In Hunza there is only one community living they have their own
community centers where they gather for mutual benefits.
Social capital in Hunza is defined as the social resources upon
which people draw in pursuit of their livelihood objectives. These
social resources are developed through (1) interactions that
increase people's ability to work together, (2) membership of
more formalized groups governed by accepted rules and norms,
43

(3) relationships of trust that facilitate co-operation, reduce

transaction costs and can provide informal safety nets.
Social Organisation & Collective Action
As the building blocks for development in Hunza, AKRSP
provided the quintessential model for social mobilisation and
community participation. AKRSP and KIDP helped create grass
root institutions called Village Organisations (VOs) that became
the vehicle for development at the village and valley levels

44

NATURAL CAPITAL
Natural capital is defined as the term used for the natural resource
stocks (e.g., land, water, forests, clean air, and mineral resources)
upon which people rely. The benefits of these stocks can be direct and
and/or indirect, and they are tightly linked with property and user
regimes.

PHYSICAL CAPITAL
Physical capital in Hunza comprises the basic infrastructure and
physical goods that support livelihoods. Infrastructure consists of
changes made to the physical environment that help people to meet
their basic needs and to be more productive. An average Hunzukutz,
whether he works or earns from any other source, is rich because of
the value of his property like house, orchard and livestock. If
calculated, the average worth of such commodities reaches the million
figures.

FINANCIAL CAPITAL
An average Hunzukutz, whether he works or earns from any other
source, is rich because of the value of his property like house, orchard
and livestock. If calculated, the average worth of such commodities
reaches the million figures. Financial capital is defined as the financial
resources that people use to achieve their livelihood outcomes. Most
of the people in rely on agriculture and services for their livelihood and
they save the surplus liquid cash in bank for future shocks. These are
resources in the form of available stocks and regular inflows of money
(for example, livestock and the related flow of income).

POLITICAL CAPITAL
Political capital is the power and capacity to influence political
decision-making through formal and informal participation and/or
45

access to political processes. It therefore includes the ability to

represent oneself or others, the freedom and capacity to become
collectively organised to claim rights and to negotiate access to
resources and services. It also extends to the right to hold
government and service providers accountable for quality and
access.

APPROACHING LIVELIHOODS WITH A

THREEFOLD FOCUS
Focus I is on the four key elements in the context of a livelihood
system. Focus II and III concentrate on the core of a livelihood
system. While focus II is on the asset portfolio, focus III
concentrates on the decision making space in which people
develops and/or adapt their livelihood strategies and strive for
outcomes with their own perception of inner and outer realities of
their livelihoods. External support becomes meaningful, if they
succeed in improving their livelihood strategies towards more
sustainability.

46

FOCUS I: ANALYSING THE CONTEXT OF A LIVELIHOOD

SYSTEM
47

Focus I, represented graphically above, invites exploration of four

crucial dimensions of the context of a livelihood system. Four key
questions are used to address these dimensions.
48

RISKS AND VULNERABILITY: WHAT RENDERS

PEOPLE'S LIVELIHOODS VULNERABLE?
Risks and shocks, adverse trends and seasonality have a bearing
on people's livelihood. Yet, a livelihood becomes truly vulnerable
when it lacks adequate coping or adapting capacities on the
micro-level of livelihood. The level of these capacities is explored
with Focus II (asset portfolio) and Focus III (livelihood strategies).
These two focuses help to clarify the following question: "Should
the poverty reduction measures tackle an observed risk and
reduce an assessed vulnerability in the context of poor people's
livelihood, or should they target the core of livelihood and aim to
increase people's coping capacity?"

LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES
Agriculture Extensification & Intensification

Some NGOs worked on irrigation system and also on Agriculture

extensification and intensification in Hunza. The intervention
improved levels of productivity, employment and income.
Resulting from irrigation is widespread irrigation development
alone, confirm that higher value crops, higher yields and the more
intensive cultivation techniques lead to higher, less risky and
more continuous levels of rural employment and income, for both
farm families and landless labor.

49

Livelihood diversification
Livelihood diversification in Hunza is diverse but emphasis has
been placed on improved livestock farming through improved
forage and fodder production and breeding, mainly improvised by
NGOs and Government facilities. This system has improved both
the animal feed situation and soil fertility. Cultivation of cash
crops e.g. vegetables, dry fruits (apricots, nuts, mulberry) and
cereal crops including potatoes have been emphasized based on
their comparative advantages. Potato seeds produced in such a
cool and pristine environment fetch a premium price in the market
such as in markets of overall Pakistan. Agro-forestry and timber
production are other important activities. In forestry development,
fodder tree plantation receives prime consideration.
According to the survey crops and vegetables contributes about
91% of the Gross Household Farm Income. The share of fruits is
8% while livestock contributes 1%.

Income from different farm-sources

Fruits

Crops &
Vegetables
Income 1,994,755 21,621,450
%
8%
91%

Poultry & Total

Livestock
23,750,229
134,024
1%
100%

With the farm incomes people pursue other non farm incomes in
cottage industries or technical skill requiring jobs within their
locality or nearby towns or taking part in other farms on daily
wages in off seasons.
Although livelihood diversification is an important strategy by
which rural people may work to achieve sustainable livelihoods, it
is one that generally operates in conjunction with other strategies
which also contribute to the formation of sustainable livelihoods.
50

Two of the strategies which complement livelihood diversification,

and which are being considered as a part of this study, are
migration (often in itself a part of livelihood diversification) and
agricultural intensification.
Migration
Migration forms a central component of livelihood diversification.
In Hunza for example, migration is widespread and it is linked to
income generation strategies. It has been seen how migrant
remittances may relieve rural credit constraints, the particular
importance of migration to those living in poor agro climatic
conditions. In the past some researchers have pointed out the
importance of migration in providing much needed resources for
investment in rural production.
SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD OUTCOMES
Sustainable livelihoods approaches are based upon evolving
thinking about poverty reduction, the way the poor live their lives,
and the importance of structural and institutional issues. They
draw on three decades of changing views of poverty.
This extensive study on the achievements in livelihoods shows
that considerable changes have taken place in the living standard,
day to day activities and the various aspects of the livelihoods of
the local inhabitants of the Hunza Bottleneck area. As changes in
the livelihoods most of them appear positive, but from the point of
view of biodiversity some of these changes appear negative also.
These changes can be attributed to various factors like the past
political atmosphere; exercises at the professional, commercial,
community-based, cultural, political and organizational levels for
social security; along with the changing economic and political
values and people's thoughts and behaviors; struggle for the
resources for livelihoods and search for the wish to live;
development of novel ideas; strategies for livelihoods;
51

opportunities for livelihoods based on resources, mainly

community forests; expansion of groups and organizations;
professional, commercial and community service-oriented
organizations and establishments started in the private sector;
transport; market; privatization; extensive changes in
communication; and so on. Therefore taking the resources of one
and only one community forest and the ongoing involvements in
that as the basis cannot be universally acceptable. Similarly as
the external motivating factors like different programs, projects,
social mobilization at the government and non-government levels,
the value of authority-oriented concepts, rapid political awakening
and soon have been equally contributive.
Conclusively, the two main dimensions of the changes that have
taken place in the livelihoods of the inhabitants of this area are
the
i) Changes in institutional management capacity and
ii) Changes in people's wellbeing status.
These can be outlined in the following points:
Diversity in the Living Standards
Employment Opportunities and Means of Cash Earnings
Integrated Family Support and Social Harmony
Enhanced Social Prestige
Desired Outputs from Minimum Investment
Social Inclusion
Reduce Poverty.

52

Conclusion
This research focused on the few crucial initiatives taken by NGO, s, CBO,
s, VC, s, Government institutions and so on. Throughout past two to three
decades among the all capitals, Human capital is one of the major factors
and positive feature which helped to diversify the Livelihoods of people of
Hunza. Migration is one of most dominant phenomenon, played very
dominant role in enhancement of livelihoods of local people, but has been a
common source of non-farm income to varying degrees. Hunza high
mountainous region in the outside edge have often been considered
backward regions, lagging behind the progress of socio-economic
development in the lowlands and urban centres. So, the basic cause of
influential interventions was to reduction of poverty and sustainability of all
five capitals. Education was centred focus in Hunza Valley to bring people
forward and to connect them with rest of the World. .The concept of ICT
use in the region of Hunza was considered as supporting tool for creating a
knowledge repository and it will be a way of communication between the
stakeholders of the region to build Human Capital. For centuries,
traditionally communities supported the development of early inhabitants of
this region, providing the basis for the evolution from hunting and gathering
to agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and now trade and tourism, which
indicates the change in the pattern of living of people of Hunza and the
diversification of livelihood strategies due to increase in the livelihood
opportunities. The importance of agriculture to the people of Hunza can be
identified in three ways: first, it provides food for local people and ensures
the sustainability of livestock; second it is a source of internal exchange
earnings (within country); and third, it provides market for the growth of
local small business holders. Since women lack in assets ownership so,
Considerable work has been done at governmental and NGO level to
enhance accessibility of easy and cheap institutional credit to women and
Men as well, to enhance and build their Human Capital. Agricultural
Development Bank of Pakistan is one of the most significant examples.
Large numbers of development projects have been going on in G-B for
transformation of communities, improvement of agriculture and economic
53

conditions of population. Several NGOs, like World Wide Fund AKRSP and
IUCN have initiated awareness campaigns, for future concerns and to
stabilization of area for upcoming challenges in the Hunza, as well as the
whole region Gilgit-Baltistan.

54

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