Climate Change And Government Mismanagement Threaten Gilgit-Baltistan's Future

The dawn of globalisation in the mid-twentieth century has reduced the scope of traditional international and transnational barriers of territoriality to almost naught. The ensuing unprecedented interconnectedness has ushered in an era of frequent mobility of ideas, concepts and people. Transnational and cross-border tourism makes up a major part of the total mobility of people. Bestowed with natural and scenic beauty, Pakistan’s tourism industry has great potential if tapped on an environmentally sustainable basis. However, as a newcomer, Pakistan lacks far behind in the industry’s managerial and environmental fronts. The death-toll from last year’s Murree tragedy had exposed the epic mismanagement and state’s apathy. More worrying, however, are the environmental concerns and cost of the mismanaged tourism industry. This is reflected in the state’s lack of insight, assessment and the feasibility studies of the environmental liability of the industry.
In other words, the country’s tourism sector is unregulated. This anarchy has raised incalculable environmental costs and concerns.
Romanticisation of tourism has led to an influx of tourists – both domestic and international – towards Gilgit-Baltistan in recent times. Enchanting and enthralling beauty notwithstanding, glacial melting has been putting at stake the environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of the region. Climate change has been adding to poverty by displacement, choking mobility and putting economic activities to halt. This is reflected among other instances in recent incident in Gilgit- Baltistan.
The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Hunza district’s Hassanabad village and the subsequent destruction of bridge that connects Gilgit city with the Hunza Valley has shocked environmentalists and residents alike. The immediate reason behind this is the abrupt melting of Shisper glacier, that is currently discharging 5,000 cusecs of water. This water outflow is reportedly 40 percent higher than previous flows from the glacier. This catastrophe is alarming and reflects the impending impacts of climate change in the area.
Courtesy of steep cliffs and the inclined topography of the region, the violent noise of water gushing down from mountainous terrain is threateningly nightmarish for the residents of the area.
Though climate change lies at the heart of most of the disasters, the case of GB is typically one of epic mismanagement. Reports suggest that 700,000 tourists travelled across the length and breadth of the region in the summer last year. This unregulated influx of tourists has choked traffic for days and resulted in the disruption of the lives of natives of Hunza, Gilgit and other adjacent areas. With a no-holds-barred approach to tourism for the sake of short-term economic activity, the government of GB and federal authorities alike have deliberately put the region at the mercy of potential anthropogenic and climatic disasters.
As a part of CPEC, the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), massive construction is underway in GB. A lethal mix of the construction of dams and other infrastructure without taking into consideration their environmental implications is but a recipe for disaster in the region.
Another factor posing climatically induced threats is the cutting of trees on a massive scale in winter. In the absence of natural gas, not all can afford LPG cylinders for cooking and heating purposes. The ensuing massive cutting down of trees results in deforestation across the mountainous terrain and subsequent ravages of flash floods, disastrous landsliding and avalanches.
Amidst growing climatic and anthropogenic concerns and threats in GB, all stakeholders are busy with political point-scoring and mudslinging. The collapse of a bridge in GB should be taken as a wake-up call and the needful must be done in order avert untoward incidents. Lethally disastrous landslides –that do not appear as distant realities – could cause considerable human and economic losses.
The federal authorities need to reflect and think beyond merely ruthless exploitation of the region’s beauty. A Well-thought-out climate policy for the GB region needs to be framed and promulgated. For tourism at the disregard of socio-economic health and wellbeing of the natives would lead to catastrophic consequences in the longer run. Hence, instead of putting the region’s resources under the monopoly of capitalistic companies, the government needs to consider the people’s interests and facilitate them with basic amenities and utilities.
In short, the state of Pakistan should act in the region's interest and its people by providing them with a safety plan and effectively regulating the tourist flow in the region. A pragmatic tourism approach would protect the greenery, check greenhouse gases emissions from massive tourist traffic inflows and help rid the region of tonnes of litter and trash.
Apathy on this would put the region and its people at the mercy of frequent flash floods, glacial outbursts, extensive soil erosion, avalanches and disastrous landslides. The ball is in the government’s court and the need for action is most urgent.