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Changing Vulnerability and Environmental Hazards in the
Karakoram Himalaya.
Authors: Nick
Cradock-Henry, Wilfrid Laurier University, Sir Sanford
Fleming College and
Shauna Flanagan, Wilfrid Laurier University, Cold Regions Research
Centre
Abstract: This paper
presents the results of research conducted in the Karakoram
Mountains, Northern Pakistan. Conventional approaches to the study
of environmental hazards have placed emphasis on the physical
parameters of geomorphic, hydrologic and climatic events without
adequately accounting for the role of human agency in averting
disaster and distributing losses. We argue instead that an
additional consideration rests with social, cultural, political
and economic factors; in short, a socially constructed condition
of vulnerability which serves to expose individuals, households
and communities to varying degrees of risk. Historically, small
agro-pastoral communities in the Karakoram have proven to be well
adapted to the risks associated with such a dynamic
environment. However, recent developments in this high mountain
region such as the steady militarization of mountain
valleys, road construction, the expansion of the market economy,
and tourism, have undermined traditional responses to risk,
coupled with a growing population, and a shortage of
readily convertible land for agricultural purposes. We
present case studies from three different communities in the
region to highlight our contention that while risks and hazards
are an inevitable part of life in this region, disaster is
not.
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