CAMAT and Kalash community members on October 24, 2009.

By Shams Uddin, Manager, CAMAT

The Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) celebrated the International Day of Climate Action on Oct 24th, 2009 in the Kalash Valley region (Rumbor, Chitral District, Pakistan) promoting actions with the motto “think globally, act locally.” The theme of the day was “The Impacts of Global Warming on the Kalash Communities,” and the CAMAT’s October 24th events gathered together local environmental groups, students, community leaders and women’s groups.

With the aim of raising awareness of the impacts of global warming on the natural environments and on communities around the world, the day was observed in over 170 countries with individuals and organizations coming together to create a powerful global call for actions to address the climate change challenges. The participants of the Klash Valley events said that they felt proud to be part of this noble cause that was celebrated around the world.

Many local participants also voiced their concerns about the threats caused by climate change affecting the natural environment of the Kalash Valley communities—Rumbor, Burmborate and Birir. These areas have experienced longer summers, shorter autumns and winters with less snowfall and the snow on the mountains starting to melt earlier and earlier each year. They have also been experiencing floods, which destroy cultivable lands, orchards, irrigation channels and the Kalash cemeteries, with greater frequency than ever before.

Mr. Saifullah, the Kalash community leader and social activist, discussed the significance of the local forest belt and alpine meadow for the traditional culture of the communities in the valleys. He demonstrated the critical links between the health of the natural environment and the well-being of local communities by pointing out the illustrative example of the decline in the local goat population. Goat is an important part of traditional Kalash family events and religious ceremonies. The decline in its population over the years is largely attributed to the declining forest belts, degrading alpine meadows and disappearance of vegetative covers, which have resulted from what we now know as global warming.

Mr. Saifullah at the International Day of Climate Action event in Kalash.

With the recognition that the core values of the Kalash culture are closely tied to healthy biodiversity and ecosystems, the participants discussed the need for a comprehensive agenda focused on effective climate actions, and produced a set of recommendations including the following:

• Initiatives by government agencies and NGOs in Chitral that address the protection of local natural forest belts must be strengthened, and reforestation efforts must be reinforced.
• Tourists visiting the Kalash region need to be properly informed about the fragility of the valleys, and the impacts of their activities in the springs, streams and nullahs. The use of non-biodegradable plastic bags, which negatively affect the productivity of cultivable lands, must be strictly regulated, with tour companies held accountable for the implementation of this policy.
• Local communities must be empowered as the real owners and guardians of the local resources. As key stakeholders, local community members should also increase awareness of their own responsibilities towards the forests, pastures and alpine meadows in the valleys.

Community members and local NGO representatives also noted that the peoples of Kalash valleys, among the least developed regions of the world, have contributed relatively little to the causes of global warming, yet they do bear the burden of the negative impacts of climate change. As concerned citizens of the world, these people request that industrial cities and countries around the world and the international community at large encourage more projects aimed at supporting sustainable development of regions such as Kalash, where strong climate actions and international support are needed.

Local kids and women participating in waste collection activities.

Related articles:

• August 18, 2009 – “Community initiatives for the sustainable development of tourism in Chitral, Northern Pakistan” by Shams Uddin
• March 2008 – ECOCLUB interview with Shams Uddin