Little Dua and her friends have frolicked across the Latobo meadows at the foothills of the towering Nanga Parbat all summer. While their elders grazed cattle, churned milk into butter, and collected firewood, they chased playful lambs and skipped over freshwater streams, with the mountain ever ready to showcase its snowy white face above the grassy meadows.

But now, the time is approaching for Dua’s elders to pack their meagre belongings, prepare their herd of cows and goats, load the donkey with firewood, and trundle up and down the narrow mountain pathways to Rupal, a village in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Astore region, where the winter is usually gentler for them.

“We usually arrive with families and cattle in Latobo from Rupal in June and return by mid-September,” Kalbe Ali, a local shepherd, tells Eos.

Latobo is the summer home to about 12 to 15 families. This sprawling meadow in Astore sits around 3,500 metres above sea level, overlooked by the mighty, 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat. Famously known as the ‘Killer Mountain’, it is the second-highest peak in Pakistan and part of the Himalayan range.

The shepherds of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Latobo meadows migrate to gentler climes during winters. But this migration is preceded by a frenzy to collect firewood, resulting in deforestation…

BRACING FOR WINTERS

As the summer season is about to draw to a close in Latobo and its surrounding valleys and mountains, a palpable frenzy to collect firewood for the winter has gripped the villagers. Here, men are seen lugging heavy loads of wood, their backs bent under the weight, and donkeys loaded with wood picked from the adjoining areas.

The sheer size of the wood load collected in the open yard of the village is reflective of the massive amount needed to see them through the entire winter. “The wood will be used as fuel during the winter months, to light fires for cooking and keeping warm,” says Mohammad Ibrahim, who represents the police force in Astore and is responsible for the security in Latobo.

Over the years, Latobo has become a popular destination among mountaineers as well as trekkers. Many mountaineers aspiring to summit Nanga Parba camp in Latobo before making the daring attempt to reach its peak.

Few make it to the top, most return without reaching the summit, and some never make it back at all. “This year two foreign expeditions crossed Latobo to reach the top of Nanga Parbat, both teams returned unaccomplished,” Ibrahim tells Eos.

It is also a popular meadow among trekkers, both local and international. “Some visit Latobo for a day trip, while others camp for several days,” he adds.

However, the expanding population and the increased frequency of mountain expeditions has denuded some of the slopes and valleys, says Muhammad Ilyas, a tour operator, who has been organising visits to Latobo and other districts of GB for mountaineers and trekkers for “the past twenty years, if not more.” He recalls that during his initial visits, the area had many more trees.

THE FIREWOOD FRENZY

Astore is one of the 14 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in Pakistan, where the landscape is primarily covered by dry temperate plantations, including fir, blue pine, betula, juniper and other sub-alpine species.

This is also where people’s reliance on firewood can be as high as 86 percent, according to a 2019 World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) report. The rest of the need is met through the hydel and thermal energy mix. This high dependence on firewood for cooking and heating is creating a burden on the environment of GB.

The rising population — from roughly 1.249 million people in 2013 to 2.1 million in 2024, with 50.8 percent being male and 49 percent being female — is burdening the natural forest with more firewood required for more people. “The expanding communities have no option but to cut down trees due to the lack of viable alternatives for firewood,” says Ali, the shepherd.

The low level of awareness among local communities about protecting forests is also a problem, says Zakir Hussain, a former chief conservator of the Forest and Parks department in GB. “They are poor and focused on their immediate needs, not on adopting a collective approach to protect the surrounding natural forests,” Hussain tells Eos.

GB comprises large swathes of land that are state-owned protected forests, with the local communities enjoying certain rights as well as concessions over forests.

Mehmood Ghaznavi, who is the current chief conservator of the Forest and Parks department in GB, says the locals are permitted to gather firewood from September to November in preparation for the harsh winter. “They are only allowed to collect a mix of dead wood,” he tells Eos.

Despite the difficult terrain and vast expanse of the area, the department monitors the process effectively, Ghaznavi informs. “At check-posts, their loads are inspected, and no green wood is allowed to pass,” he adds.

But, Zakir Hussain says, the people frequently abuse these rights and concessions, which is made worse by the state’s weak writ. “The total strength of the forest and wildlife department in GB is 1,085, with 400 positions currently vacant due to government policy,” he points out. “Given the tough terrain and vast distances, the number of employed staff is insufficient.”

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

To discourage deforestation in GB, the WWF-Pakistan, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the government of Italy, introduced fuel-efficient stoves (FES) in 10 selected villages in seven districts in GB. Separately, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations also launched a similar initiative in GB.

In both cases, the aim was to significantly reduce the amount of firewood required for cooking, to reduce the time families, particularly women, spend collecting firewood, and to ensure their health and safety,

with reduced exposure to harmful smoke in enclosed cooking spaces.

In the case of the WWF-Pakistan-provided FES, the response from the households remained mixed. While 28 percent of beneficiaries noted a decrease in deforestation, 62 percent were uncertain about the stoves’ effects on the forest. Notably, “10 percent believed deforestation had increased due to the large size of the FES fuel drum, which they felt required more wood,” the report stated.

Regarding the easy accessibility of alternative firewood sources, Hussain notes that no long-term schemes or initiatives have been designed. “Even projects like FES have been short-term. The people are poor, options are limited, so they continue using traditional methods, which rely on natural forest wood.”

However, observers are noting a slight shift away from the use of firewood as fuel. The demand for firewood is declining among middle-class households — who are increasingly turning to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for cooking — the reliance on wood for heating remains prevalent across all income groups. Low-income households, in particular, still depend heavily on firewood for their basic needs.

At one point, the government considered subsidising LPG cylinders for local communities. However, “due to limited resources, it couldn’t cover the entire area. Those left out protested, and the idea was shelved,” says Hussain.

He believes that only a multi-pronged strategy will bring about a change, including population control and greater awareness of natural forestation. “Tourism could also help, as people are realising that travellers come to appreciate nature, so it should be protected.”

The writer is a journalist based in Lahore

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 15th, 2024