1. 1 Introduction to Research

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ABSTRACT

This study explores level of dependency of the rural population on various sources of income (e.g. land, off-farm) and livelihood diversification patterns. The data for this study was collected in two villages; Khalangranga and Parang in district Skardu, Baltistan region, Pakistan. The area is rugged and mountainous with low vegetation cover. The primary data was collected using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods including household surveys, focus group discussions, and wealth ranking and village profiles. The findings reveal that more than 90% population in the study area depend on farming.

Farming is the main livelihood option for rural communities. However it provide insufficient farm production to meet the needs. Poor households are more dependent on farm income compare to well off. As a result of the construction of KKH, land fragmentation, low farm productivity and increased population, households are diversifying their livelihoods toward off-farm opportunities. The distribution of income and opportunities are not equal for all wealth groups. Safety nets, mainly based on religious beliefs exist in the area and provide vital support for poor especially in times of crises. The households diversify their livelihoods mainly for two reasons, to reduce vulnerability and to accumulate wealth. As a result of low production coupled with other factors off-farm diversification has increased during the last twenty years. The underdeveloped market provides unequal distribution of resources and opportunities. Livelihood diversification is higher among males compare to the females. The main constraints for women’s livelihood diversifications are cultural norms, social restrictions, and lack of education. However this trend is changing as a result of NGO interventions and male migration.

Key words: Baltistan, livelihoods, diversification, income sources

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Declaration

I, Shagufta Jeelani do here declare to senate of Norwegian University of Life Sciences that this thesis is my original work and have not been accepted or published for any degree elsewhere for any other reward.

Signed ---

Date ---

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Acknowledgement

First and foremost I would like to thank almighty my Allah for everything He has done for me throughout my life. I would like to thank my supervisor Espen Sjaastad for his time, constructive comments, sharing knowledge and encouragement throughout my research work. My special thanks for Royal Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD) whose support provided a great opportunity to learn more knowledge. I thank and appreciate the cooperation and support given by Noragric librarians Live Ellingsen and Ingeborg Brandtzæg. I am also thankful to my local supervisor Jawad Ali whose support during field made my work possible. I appreciate his support and encouragement not only in Skardu field but also throughout my academic period in As. I am very thankful to my friends and AKRSP staff members Shabana and Ghulam Muhammad who worked so hard with me in field and helped me in collecting data.

I am thankful to AKRSP staff especially MER in head office for sharing knowledge and information. I am very thankful to communities Khalangranga and Parang for their cooperation, patience and time. I am also thankful all Noragric staff and my class mates who were so kind and friendly in discussion on topic.

My special thanks to my family especially my parents Ghulam Jeelani and Abeela Khatoon for their continuing support and prayers that helped me to complete my academic period in Noragric.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Total Households and each village and sample size --- 15

Table 5.1 Share of different income sources --- 30

Table 5.2 Total Income verses farm income, distance, diversity and education of HHH --- 43

Table 5.3 Distribution of total income among various wealth groups in Baltistan Region --- 44

Table 6.1 Characteristics of various wealth groups --- 55

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Map of Study Area --- 9

Figure 2.1 Analytical Framework --- 14

Figure 4.1 Household head educational level --- 26

Figure 4.2 Wealth groups identified on land basis --- 27

Figure 4.3 Causes of vulnerable livelihood, analysed by community ---- 33

Figure 4.4 Causes of Secure Livelihood --- 34

Figure 5.1 Relative income share of different wealth groups --- 38

Figure 5.2 Absolute income share of different wealth groups --- 39

Figure 5.3 Income and Wealth Distribution --- 43

Figure 5.4 Diversification of primary and secondary occupations between male and female --- 51

Figure 6.1 Households Primary and secondary occupations--- 54

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1. 1 Introduction to Research

During 1970’s and 80’s, the livelihood analysis was dominated by theories of dependency, unequal exchange, and mode of production (De Janvry, 1981). The livelihood analysis in terms of sustainability and its implications for rural poverty provides a framework which argues that rural livelihoods need to be understood in terms of: (a) people's access to different asset; (b) the ways in which they combine and transform assets for livelihoods to meet their material and experiential needs; (c) the ways in which people are able to expand their asset bases through engaging with other actors through relationships governed by the logics of the state, market and civil society; and (d) the ways in which they are able to deploy and enhance their capabilities both to make living more meaningful and to change the dominant rules and relationships governing the ways in which resources are controlled, distributed and transformed in society (Bebbington, 1999).

Traditional crop–livestock mixed farming is the basis of livelihood of local communities and backbone of the rural economy in the mountain region of Himalaya.

(Semwal et al., 2004). National economy of Pakistan is also depending on agriculture that is contributing 32% to the total GDP (Chuadhry, 1986). In the debate of growth and economic development in rural areas, often farming used as an ability of societies to construct the right economic and institutional responses to demographic shifts (Cuffaro, 1997). On the other hand, farm activities specially on mountains require sustainable land use which is crucial not only for the sustained livelihood of 115 million mountain people but also the many more people living in the adjoining Indo- genetic plains as accelerated erosion due to inappropriate land use in the Himalayas contributes to destructive floods in the plains (Semwal et al., 2004).

Sen (1981) suggests that the poor (and the vulnerable) can be identified on the basis of shared common income claiming strategies or ‘entitlements’. His work usually

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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directs attention not just to the income, but also to the bundles of assets or endowments held by the poor; the nature of the claims attached to those assets; and the vulnerability of a particular system or group. Microeconomic forces play an important role in shaping livelihoods and creating link between endowments, income and consumption possibilities. A livelihood based description creates a connection to Sen’s ‘entitlements’ approach that analytically characterizes poverty and scarcity of resources in terms of livelihood that draw relationship of social and economic endowments into real consumption possibilities. In line with Sen’s concept of entitlement, livelihood security is also important for collective action (Shah, 1995).

The level of insecurity influences the actions of the social groups in a community.

The level of insecurity of livelihoods is determinant of the degree to which different groups will be motivated to come together for action (Shah, 1995).

Livelihood analysis provides information about income generation through diversification of resources in a given area. While assessing assets of individuals or groups it is important to analyse the ways in which assets are translated into income and their impact on peoples' sense of well-being. While identifying combinations of assets that households own, the topography of the livelihood chart helps to identify the constraints that limit household’s ability to effectively utilize their assets and endowments. Poverty is a matter of not only having few assets, but also of facing capital and time constraints that limit the effectiveness with which those assets can be used. In this sense, peoples' capital assets affect poverty status and quality of life by affecting human experience as well as income.

Analysing poverty is associated with causes, impacts and consequences while livelihood analysis is a more positive way of seeing the problem as it provides insight of the problem with possible solutions. It also explains the complicated relationship of the communities with their resources and effects of their livelihoods. If this is so, it becomes important to have a clearer sense of the most important sources of livelihood for different people in different places in order to identify the most useful strategies of investment.

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The livelihood and income analysis is the main content of this thesis. Available capitals (natural, human, social, financial, and physical) in the study area are analysed according to livelihood framework. Farm and off farm income sources are analysed and discussed in relation to farm income, diversification, dependency and income distribution.

1.2 Background

Pakistan is ecologically diverse; some of the highest mountains on the earth including K2 are situated in the north, fertile lands along the Indus in the middle, Thar and Cholistan deserts in the southeast and the coastal area in the south. The area is divided into tropical, subtropical and temperate. Though Pakistan is rich in natural resources (e.g. land, water, coal and gas), it faces problems of hunger and poverty, especially in rural areas. Pakistan has not been able to explore and utilize its natural resources.

In the north of Pakistan lie the Northern Areas (NAs), a mountainous region containing some of the world’s most incredible scenery, a fascinating mixture of different ethnic populations, and some superb trekking and walking routes. The landscape here is dominated by high peaks, rivers, glaciers, plateaus and narrow valleys linked by a network of passes (Ivan and Dave, 1999). Within Pakistan however, the NAs represent a spatially peripheral and economically marginalized region. According to Dittrich (1997), the region can be defined with:

Lack of power and rights in the national political economy Deficit in the regional apparatus and social infrastructure Per capita income below the national average

Low literacy rate and low health standards

The NAs have remained isolated from the rest of the world for centuries. The most significant recent development in the history of the NAs has probably been the construction of Karakorum Highway (KKH), which runs through NAs joining Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan with China. However, although this has speeded internal communication and helped integrate the NAs with the modern state of Pakistan, it is just one of the numerous factors that have brought change. It cannot

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alone account for the socio economic development, the changes in patterns of land use, agricultural practices and settlement patterns that have occurred in recent years.

Rapid population growth, increased opportunities in education and government services, labour migration (including both work in Gulf and down country Pakistan), evolving class structures, are all amongst the dynamic processes that are changing the face of the NAs (Ivan and Dave, 1999).

The improvement in transport and communications brought by KKH has affected local livelihood strategies in different ways (Joekes, 1995). First, market has changed to wholesale. Secondly, the road has greatly increased tourism to the area. Tourism has increased income opportunities for women because the local hotels sell local products made by the women to the tourists. Improved sources of communication have resulted increase in out migration from the area. According to a recent survey, 39% of the household income is derived from off farm sources, including remittances by migrants (Bhatti, 1992). Another new element in the livelihood strategy is the strong interest of people in investment in education. Quality education enables people to join relatively higher paying jobs locally and down country (Joekes, 1995). These new improvements have also significantly changed the role of men and women in the area. For example, intensification of agriculture, improved breed of livestock and off farm jobs has increased the workload of both men and women. The workload on women has especially increased. The women however have accepted the increased workloads in exchange for the higher standard of living that communities now enjoy (Joekes, 1995). The living standards have mainly increased due to increase in cash income resulting from off farm activities undertaken by male members of the families (ibid).

In spite of the increase in off farm opportunities, the livelihood systems of the people of NAs is still mainly dependent on their natural resource base and the interactions between field and horticultural crops, agro-forestry and livestock (Bhatti, 1992). Over the centuries the farmers have adapted strategies to manage their environment for meeting household subsistence needs. Thus the high altitude natural resources are an

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decades, especially since the construction of the KKH, outside influences, goods and opportunities are impacting on farmer’s traditional productive patterns. Tourism has become the second most important source of income after agriculture, and has a significant impact in localized settings (Joekes, 1995). The livelihoods now depends on a wide range of assets, in some cases more natural resource related, in other cases more human resource related, and in most cases, social capital related. These different resources interact as people use and transform them in their livelihood strategies. On the one hand there are interactions within each type of resource: certain forms of human capital, for instance, will have more mutual synergy than others. At the same time, each asset clearly interacts with the other resources. Experience from development initiatives in the NAs has shown great diversity in the roles of women and men play in resource management and food or livelihood security (Nyborg, 1998). And the relationship between natural resource management systems and food security or livelihoods systems is more complex, and not adequately understood in these rugged and remote areas. Every area has its own portfolio, according to accessibility, natural resource endowment, migration patterns, religious sects, household composition, norms, values rules, regulations, social services such as education and health etc.

People in Baltistan region are mostly poor compared to the rest of the country.

Therefore poverty alleviation through development projects is an urgent need. Such a need was felt during the early 1980s when the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) initiated its rural development program to organize the local communities for rural development (World Bank, 2002). Since then, many other NGOs have also joined AKRSP for the development of the area. It has been very important for these NGOs to assess the available resources (resources of dependence) for formulating development and poverty reduction strategies. For these strategies, livelihood analysis can provide vital insights to determine which resources (natural, social, human, and capital) are available in the area and how these can be linked for the improvement of the livelihood of the people.

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Keeping in view the recent changes in the area, it is important to study the possible changes in livelihood strategies. Such a study could help in formulating the poverty reduction policies in a changed environment. Such a study could also benefit NGOs, especially AKRSP which is working for poverty alleviation in the area. AKRSP’s main strength is that it promotes and builds on the existing resources for community development, through improvement in infrastructure, job creation and human resource development. AKRSP has conducted enormous surveys in the past including the Farm Household Income and Expenditure Survey (FHIES). However this data has not been used to analyse household livelihood strategies and diversification trends. Therefore there is a great need to examine the dependence of the households on different resources available in the areas and how these resources are used for diversification of livelihood strategies.

1.3 Objectives and Research Questions

The main aim of the study is to analyse the level of dependency of the rural population on various sources of income (e.g. land, off farm) and livelihood diversification patterns in Baltistan region. For this purpose factors effecting income and diversification were analysed. Methods of diversification and its contribution to insurance, gap filling and wealth accumulation were also studied. The study attempted to analyse effect of diversification on gender, age and education among different wealth groups. Different market forces and government policies that effect people’s choices of livelihood were also anlysed . The specific objectives of the study are:

• To determine factors influencing livelihood opportunities and choices

• To analyse how livelihood diversification contributes to insurance, gap-filling, and wealth accumulation

• To investigate the effect of livelihood diversification on wealth, gender, age and education.

• To develop preliminary ideas on the dynamics of livelihoods and resource management at household and village level.

To identify policies that may promote greater livelihood security and equality

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The following research questions for the study:

• What are available livelihood sources and how they affect pattern of living in rural areas?

• How livelihood diversification contributes to the household economy in rural areas?

• How livelihood diversification affects wealth accumulation of different wealth classes (wealth ranking)?

• How do different livelihood sources contribute to greater equality or inequality?

• How dependency and diversification, and the implications of these, vary across different segments of the rural community, including differences based on wealth, gender, age, and education?

• What are the different dynamics of livelihoods and resource management and how these are linked at household level and at village level?

1.4 Introduction to Study Area

The Baltistan region of the NAs of Pakistan lies at the junction of Karakorum and Himalaya mountains, and situated 34° to 45° north and 75° to 77° east, stretched on 26,000 km² of land, inhabited by almost 0.4 million people (Roohi and Jerabkova, 1997). It possesses a landscape that is as spectacular and exhilarating as it is forbidding, inhospitable and isolated. (Ivan and Dave, 1999). Baltistan is composed of enormous mountain chains or masses of mountain. Some of the important in Baltistan are Skardu, Roundo, Shigar, Khaplu and Kharmang. The Skardu valley was the bed of a glacial lake at some remote period, having been blocked by the great moraines at the point where the Gilgit road branched off. Here the three important mountain ranges of central Asia, namely north western Himalaya, the Karakorum and the Hindukush rendezvous with each other (Suleri at, al., 2002).

The features of the whole region can be described in terms of mountain specificity.

Skardu falls under the criterion of dry Continental Mediterranean climate. The area

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receives sever cold from the month of November till February, April and May are pleasant, and summer starts in June and ends in August followed by the Autumn which lasts till November. Maximum summer temperature reaches to 40 °C in mid July and the minimum reaches to -25 °C in January. Sever cold season effects on economy of the region as a whole to a great extent, because despite high poverty, people have to pay huge amount of money for buying fuel wood. Fuelwood prices in Baltistan are highest in the country (Ali and Benjaminsen, 2004). Baltistan receive very low (200 mm per year) and unreliable amount of annual rainfall. The quantity, distribution and reliability of rainfall have great effect on farm production in terms of both quantity and quality. Throughout the Baltistan, irrigation water is obtained through channel, which collect snow melted water from mountain streams. Water availability depends on the pattern and rate of melting snow and topography of the location.

Majority of the people in Baltistan are Balti speaking and belong to mixed races of Arians, Mongols and Tibetans. At present 88% people are ethnically similar to Tibetan and practice customs similar to the Tibetan (Nazir, 1996). The second group is called “Broqpa”. They are originally Arians and migrated from Diamer District of the NAs. They speak Shina language and have unique culture. Another minor group is Kashmiri who represent Kashmiri culture. About 60% of the population belongs to Shia sect., 30% are Noor Bakhsia and 10% are followers of Sunni sect (Nazir, 1996).

Majority of the people depend on agriculture, although there is scarcity of land. The other main source of living is rearing livestock. During the summer people take their livestock to summer pastures and live there for four months. However some people have given up livestock farming because of shortage of labour.

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Figure 1.1 Map of Study Area

Source; Full Moon Trekking

With the construction of KKH, some people are moving away from their farms in search of jobs in other parts of the country. Thus migration rate has increased while

Key

Skardu headquarter Study area

KKH Road --- Indus River

Glacier

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number of livestock per household has decreased. Because of the increased access, the mountain pastures, valleys, and wildlife habitats, previously valued for centuries as grasslands and woodlands, have now become the objects of desire of a number of competing interests - resort hotels, adventure tourism, big game hunting, mountaineering, conservation organizations, and the military, to name a few (Kreutzmann, 1991).

Health and education facilities are poor in Baltistan. The two district hospitals situated in Skardu and Khaplu town lacks qualified staff, equipment and necessary medicines.

It is difficult for people to reach the hospitals because of poor transportation facilities.

The basic health units situated in the villages are also poorly equipped. Mother and child health care centers do not exist. A branch of the Family Planning Association of Pakistan is working in the area. But these facilities are situated only in the bigger town. Therefore most of the rural people do not have access to these facilities.

Education facilities are also inadequate in Baltistan. Literacy rate is very low, around 8% among male and 3% for female (AKRSP, 1994). Female education was discouraged in the past because of social constraints, early marriages and religious misconceptions.

Recently, the government has initiated a number of projects for the development of the area. These projects include the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Northern Health and Education project. In addition, the government support a number of NGOs that are working for the development of the area. These include the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP). Many of the AKRSP’s projects encourage local populations to set up village organizations and identify small income generating projects. In return communities receive financial and technical assistance from AKRSP. The schemes include land reclamation, irrigation, roads and bridges and training of selected village representatives to upgrade their skills in various fields (Ivan and Dave, 1999).

Baltistan consist of two districts, Skardu and Ghanche. Skardu town is the districts

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been carried out two villages of Skardu district namely Khalangranga and Parang.

Khalangranga is situated 2 kilometres from Skardu town while Parang is situated 32 km west of Skardu. The people in Both Khalangranga and Parang are Balti speaking and belongs to the Shia sect of Muslims. The population of Khalangranga and Parang is 360 and 475 respectively. Description of the villages, demography, ethnicity and socio-economic details are given under chapter 4 and 6.

1.5 Definition of Terms Used

Household: A group of people who normally live and eat together, make common provisions for food and other essential for living and they regard one person as the head of the household (CSO, 1993).

Community: Refers to a set of people with some shared element. Also, a community is a group of people or living things that live in the same area. The members of a community mainly share certain things, e.g. interest, values, traditions, resources (Ellis, 1998).

Subsistence- refers to the proportion of farm production consumed directly by the households rather than selling in the market. Subsistence income is the amount of money the household save by consuming their own subsistence production rather buying from the market.

Broqpa: ‘Broq’ means summer pasture and ‘Pa’ means belonging to. Therefore Broqpa means people belonging to or living in summer pastures. However in Baltistan all Shina speaking population is called Broqpa whether they live in town or in pasture.

Noor Bakhsi: A sect of Muslims follow the teaching of religious scholars who travelled from Iran through Kashmir to Baltistan centuries ago.

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1.6 Structure of the Thesis

The thesis is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter, the introduction includes background information about the topic, justification of the study, objectives, research questions and definitions of terms. The second chapter deals with the methodology of the study. It describes the analytical framework used for the study, sampling and data collection methods and data analysis techniques. The third chapter consists of literature review. Chapter four describes demography, off-farm and on-farm activities, institutional arrangement and factors affecting livelihood options of the rural people.

Chapter five deals with main findings and discussion. It includes land use and income dependence on natural resources (for different groups, rich, poor, men and women), livelihood diversification and distributional issues. Chapter six describes occupational trends in the area, local perception about livelihood, solidarity networks (safety nets) and role of women in household livelihood. Chapter seven includes conclusion and recommendations.

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2.1 A

NALYTICAL

F

RAMEWORK

U

SED

(S

USTAINABLE

L

IVELIHOOD

)

A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, while not undermining its natural resource base (Scoone, 1998). Following Scoone’s definition and framework, livelihood of rural communities in the mountains areas of Baltistan was analysed. The study deals with identification of different assets that household own and their utilization through adopting different livelihood strategies to achieve livelihood outcomes.

In this study the primary focus is on; the livelihood strategies that people adopt, contribution of the assets to the livelihoods, and factors (institutional, social, cultural, market) effecting on livelihood strategies. Following Scoone’s (1998) interpretation, livelihood strategies can categorized into three broad groups:

i) Agricultural intensification refers to the strategies based on exploitation of natural resources (e.g. food crops, cash crops, livestock). It also includes income from agriculture.

ii) Livelihood diversification occurs when rural households construct a diverse portfolio of activities and social support capabilities for survival in order to improve standard of living (Ellis, 1998). It includes expansion of share of income from different sources (farm or off farm).

iii) Migration: when one or few family members leave and earn money somewhere else and contribute in the household economy. Migration can be seasonal, circular and permanent.

On the basis of study findings, the focus of discussion remained on the trends of livelihood diversification towards off farm activities and the subsistence farming which was the main livelihood strategy. The concept of livelihood analysis provides useful guideline for understanding survival strategies that household and

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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individual adopt. The study findings conform to livelihood definition given by Ellis (1998).

“ A livelihood comprises assets (natural, physical, human, social and financial capital), the activities and access to these (mediated by institutions and social relations) that together determine the living gained by the individual or household”. The livelihoods concept brings together the critical factors that affect the vulnerability of households (Husum, 2004). Furthermore, Sustainable Livelihood framework (SL) encourages searching the contextual constraints and opportunities prevailing in a particular setting rather than simply taking a stated priority at its face value (Ellis, 1998).

Figure 2.1

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2.2 Sampling and Data Collection (Quantitative and Qualitative)

This study is based on the methodology adopted for collection of data for the Household Income and Expenditures Survey conducted by the AKRSP an NGO working with the financial support of a consortium of donors in the NAs of Pakistan.

AKRSP has conducted survey in many villages taking ten percent household sample.

For this study two villages were selected taking 33% sample size. The household studied was randomly selected. Details are shown in Table 1.

Table 2.1. Total households in each villages and sample size Total HHs

in Village

Sample size No. of respondents

Percentage

Khalangranga 40 15 30 38

Parang 52 15 30 29

Total 92 30 60 33

Two different questionnaires were developed including open ended and closed ended questions to collect data from different segments of population. Based on the gender

Skardu district

Ganche district

2 villages based on NACHIS survey

Sample:

15 households from each village:

Total 30 households and 60 respondents

Baltistan Region

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roles defined in this particular society, one questionnaire was developed for men to collect data on farm and off farm income sources. The questionnaire developed for males also contained questions regarding household demography, educational level of households’ members, household’s assets, market situation, credit facilities, project interventions, trainings, and political issues in the study area. The questionnaire developed for females was used to collect information on activities where women were directly involved. For example, vegetable growing and fruit drying is exclusively women’s activities. Primary data was collected through household surveys, key informant interviews, filling village profiles and focus group discussion.

The key informants were either head of households, or elderly men who had an important role in household affairs. In case of females, preference was given to educated females who could speak Urdu and had knowledge about women’s activities regarding both farm and off farm activities. Mostly young women responded, however elderly women were present and contributed towards discussions particularly on farm activities.

In addition to the questionnaire survey, qualitative information was collected through focus group discussions and direct observation. A checklist (interview guide) was developed to collect information regarding division of labour among men and women, factors effecting livelihood diversification, occupations, impact of major changes (e.g.

road construction, NGO interventions) on rural peoples livelihoods, role of safety nets, perception of local people about their livelihood, participation in decision making process and control on resources. A village profile developed to collect the information about location, demography, number of households, resource allocation, available facilities and social and cultural dynamics of the study area.

The communities in the study area follow local units of measurement for farm production. To keep consistency in the data, a price list was developed based on the nearest market. The local units were then converted into standard units. Households in the study area are depending on subsistence farm production. The household subsistence farm consumption was converted into cash on market prices. Income was

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saving money by using subsistence produce. Data collected from multiple sources were crosschecked for reliability and validity. During the fieldwork, notes were taken to record information/observation that was not included in the questionnaire.

2.3 Secondary Data

Before staring the fieldwork, literature was reviewed particularly on livelihood issues and study area. For this purpose literature available at Noragric library and on Internet was reviewed. During the field research secondary data was collected from reports, annual reviews and other publication available at AKRSP library. These publications helped in understanding socio economic, religious and political context of the area.

Data collected from the field was punched using Microsoft excel sheets. The data was than analysed using the same programme. Various income groups were divided into quintiles, relative share of income sources and percentages were calculated. Tables and graphs were also generated by excel programme. To analyse the relationship of total income verses different variables, regression analysis was run using Minitab programme. The qualitative analysis was based on the livelihood frame used as an analytical framework for the study.

2.4 Limitations of the Study

The results of this study cannot be generalised for entire Baltistan due to relatively small sample size taken for data collection. However this study shows some general trends i.e. the improved communication facilities (roads) have made an impact on livelihood. Villages close to market have shown more diversification than remoter area.

Livelihood it self is a broad subject; therefore it was not possible to study all aspects of livelihood in short period of time. The study was aimed at studying general aspects of the livelihood of the rural people in Baltistan; therefore it lacks thorough investigation of the subject. Measuring farm household incomes was difficult because farms of great heterogeneity.

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3. 1 Vulnerability, The Context

Various authors have defined vulnerability slightly differently. Some focus more on trends in physical environment while others stress institutions and policies. In general, vulnerability refers to the trends, cycles and unexpected shocks over which people have little or no control but which can negatively influence people’s ability to use livelihoods assets (Blaikie, 1994, DFID, 2004; Government of Pakistan, 2003).

The Livelihood framework suggested by DFID (2004) explains that people’s livelihoods and the wider availability of assets are fundamentally affected by three critical factors, i.e. trends (e.g. population, resource, economic and technological), shocks (e.g. human health, natural, economic, conflict, crops/livestock health) and seasonality (e.g. prices, production, health and employment opportunities) over which people have limited or no control. Furthermore, vulnerability, especially in rural areas, is impacted by the extents to which different groups are exposed to particular trends, shocks, and seasonality and the sensitivity (resilience) of their livelihoods to these factors. In addition, weak institutions, policies and a lack of assets increase the vulnerability of the people and decrease resilience. Chambers et. al., (1989), explained vulnerability in the context of variable capacity of individuals or groups of people to respond to sudden shocks, for example, diseases, price fluctuations and drought.

Ellis (2003), defines vulnerability as the characteristics of a person or a group and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of natural hazards. Blaikie (1994) distinguishes two conditions of vulnerability, transitory or chronic. Transitory vulnerability is temporarily while chronic vulnerability persists and is more serious. Vulnerable households characterized by properties of low resilience and high sensitivity, thus find it hard to cope when natural disaster strikes. Ellis (2003) further explains that if people are

CHAPTER 3 ---- LITERATURE REVIEW

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adaptive strategies rather than coping strategies while seeking all available options by utilizing those for increasing resilience and reducing sensitivity because of their adoptive strategy towards the natural hazards. In addition to loss of livelihoods and assets described above vulnerability may cause increased conflict over resources as the households try to adapt to the changed livelihood portfolio (Homer-Dixson and Blitt, 1998).

The World Bank (2004) defined vulnerability as “the probability or risk today of being in poverty or to fall into deeper poverty in the future”. It is a key dimension of welfare since a risk of large changes in income may constrain households to lower investments in productive assets and hold some reserves in liquid assets and in human capital. Furthermore, high risk can also force households to diversify their income sources, perhaps at the cost of lower returns. Vulnerability may influence household behaviour and coping strategies and is thus an important consideration for poverty reduction policies (ibid).

A key issue related to vulnerability is dependency of the household or individual on various supporting systems that exist in a particular society. According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary, being dependent is “relying on someone or something for financial or other support; unable to do without,” and a household’s level of wealth must necessarily influence its ability to do without. In the context of third world countries where rural communities are overall considered poor, the concept of dependency is linked with poverty. Household with few livelihood options or few income sources could be vulnerable as a result of even loss of one income source.

Contrary to this, households with many options of income and livelihood sources could survive losing one or some of the income sources. It implies that households with many choices are less dependent on a particular source of income. Dependence on a given resource must clearly be affected by the contribution to absolute household income attributable to that resource. For example if one household derives 85% its income from one source X and 15% from Y, while the other earns almost equal percentage from both, then the former household would be depending on resource X than the latter.

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The livelihood security is also linked with dependence on diversification of different income sources. Household’s diversification as a livelihood strategy can be based on two considerations, necessity or choice (Ellis, 1998), between survival and choice (Davies, 1996) and between survival and accumulation (Hart, 1994). Necessity refers to involuntary response or forced diversification while choice refers to voluntary or proactive reasons of diversification. Diversification based on necessity could be a result of different factors, for example, land fragmentation, environmental deterioration, natural disasters and loss of ability to work (illness or accident). On the other hand, choice diversification could be as a result of seasonal wage earning opportunities, educating children to prepare for good jobs in future and saving money to invest in businesses (Ellis, 1998).

3. 2 Agriculture

Agriculture in the world is mainly carried out for three reasons; food production, fibre production and bio fuel production. Agriculture is defined as a process in which food, bio fuel, fiber and other desired products are produced through cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (Holmes, 1998). Agriculture is also referred as farming. The most important element in farming is production of food for human beings. In the tropical countries, farming is mostly undertaken by smallholders who may grow some cash crops, they mainly practice subsistence farming. While in most of the temperate country faming is based on commercial production.

The world population statistics indicate that rural communities support a large number of populations living in difficult and fragile areas. Therefore the focus should remain on sustainable livelihood based on sustainable agriculture practices to feed the present population and the millions that will be added to the present population in future (Chambers et. al, 1989). To fulfil the need of increasing population of the world, traditional agricultural practices were altered to bring new technologies. The green revolution was a major step in this direction. The Brundtland Commission identified

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includes Industrial Agriculture, Green Revolution Agriculture, and Resource Poor Agriculture. Industrial agriculture is found mainly in industrialised and developed countries and in some specialised fields in third world countries. The characteristics of this agriculture consist of large farming units with high capital and inputs required for high production of food and fibre. The green revolution agriculture lies in third world countries in irrigated or good rainfall areas. It includes large and small farms and harvest high yielding varieties with complementary use of inputs. The third type of agriculture described as low input agriculture is practiced in areas with unfavourable and difficult environmental and physical conditions. These include farmland of different type: highland, dry lands, mountains, hills, savannas, near desert and swamps (Chambers et. al, 1989). This type of farming is still largely carried out by traditional methods which employ hand, or ox drawn, implement, makes little or no use of fertilisers and other agrochemicals and give relatively low yields per hectare (Holmes, 1998). Chambers et. al., (1989) stated that 1.4 billion people are dependant on this form of agriculture for their livelihoods. Comprising approximately 1 billion in Asia, 300 million in sub Saharan Africa and 100 million in Latin America.

3. 3 Natural Resource Management (NRM)

“Natural Resource Management (NRM) refers to the turning of the landscape into natural resources and the decision to manage the landscape according to the needs of a particular resource” (Chambers et. al., 1989). According to land tenure, NRM is divided into two types, public and private. Public resource management refers particularly to government management, usually by state-run bureaucracies and private resource management refers particularly to corporate management, for profit- making purposes (ibid). There is also a growing concept of community based natural resource management (CBNRM), which is based on the principle of participation in natural resources or biodiversity protection by, for, and with local communities (Western et al., 1994). The CBNRM concept applies to the previously public managed resources, for example forest, fisheries and rangelands. The CBNRM concept argues that community involvement in resource management is important for sustainability (Ribot, 1999). CBNRM stresses that in order to manage resources

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sustainably, the communities should be given the responsibility with the right of exercising the power and accumulating benefits from use and management of these resources. But different studies in decentralization and participatory natural resources management disclose that issue of power sharing and right to accumulate benefits from management of these resources by local communities is complex (Agarwal and Ribot, 1999).

There are serious and growing problems of natural-resource depletion and degradation in many parts of the developing world, which seriously impacts the livelihoods of majority of world population. Most of the rural poor derive a significant amount of their livelihoods directly from legally or socially constituted claims on natural resources, or from the application of their labour in activities that directly or indirectly affect the environment.

3.4 Adaptation Strategies

Adaptive strategies are the conventional practices and informal or formal rules pursued by households and communities to secure their livelihoods and minimize risk in their lives (Sinclair, 2000). Livelihood adaptation is a dynamic process of constant changes to livelihoods, which either enhances existing security and wealth or tries to reduce vulnerability and poverty. Positive adaptation is by choice and it increase the security and wealth while the negative adaptation is by necessity, which contributes to reduction of vulnerability (Davies and Hussein, 1997).

Insurance is interpreted as a deliberate household strategy to anticipate failures in individual income streams by maintaining a spread of activities (Wlaker and Jodha, 1986), while coping is the response to disaster or unanticipated failure in major sources of survival. A complementary way that insurance and coping have been distinguished is to interpret risk as ex-ante income management and coping as ex-post consumption management in the wake of crises (Carter, 1997).

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3. 5 Livelihood Diversification

Livelihood diversification can be defined as the process by which rural families construct a diverse portfolio of activities and social support capabilities in their struggle for survival and in order to improve their standard of living. Livelihood diversification is viewed as a phenomenon that characterizes the survival and income strategies of individuals and families in rural areas in face of vulnerability in developing countries. Diversification is an infinitely heterogeneous social and economic phenomenon. It is differentiated in its causes and effects by location, demography, vulnerability, income level, and education and many other factors (Ellis, 1998).

Livelihood diversification refers to attempts by individuals or households to find new ways to insurance through raising incomes and reducing environmental risks, which differ sharply by the degree of freedom of choice (to diversify or not). Livelihood diversification includes both on farm and off farm activities, which are undertaken to generate income additional to that from the main household agricultural activities (Hussein and Nelson, 1998).

Rural Livelihood diversification cuts across a number of typically self bounded arenas of policy discussion in development studies including rural poverty (Jazairy et al., 1992), household risk strategies (Carter, 1997), household coping strategies (Devies, 1996); intra household relations (Hart, 1995), rural growth linkages (Hazell and Haggblade, 1993), rural non farm activity (Fisher et. al., 1997) and rural-urban migration (Stark, 1991).

One view is that diversification has a broadly equalizing effect on rural incomes (Haggblade and Hazell, 1989), and this is supported by studies suggesting that it raises the incomes of the poor relative to the rich (Adams, 1994). It could be a contextual condition in different parts of the rural communities. There is another opposing view that diversification has a dis-equalising effect on the rural income or it

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differentiates. The richer households derive a higher proportion of their incomes from non-farm sources than poorer households (Collier, 1988; Evans and Ngau, 1991).

The nature of diversification for livelihood depends on the contexts in which it takes place. For example, it could enable people to accumulate wealth both for consumption and investment. In another context diversification could help spread risk or to cope with temporary crises by smoothing income generation however resulting in lower incomes in longer run. It could be an adaptive response resulting decline in income or entitlement as a result of economic or environmental changes (Hussein and Nelson, 1998). Some livelihood diversification is closely linked with development and implementation of other livelihood strategies, especially agriculture intensification and migration. In short, livelihood diversification is pursued as a result of mixture of motivations, and these vary according to context: from a desire to accumulate to invest, to a need to spread risk or maintain incomes, to a requirement to adapt to survive in eroding circumstances, or some combination of these. The character of livelihood diversification is dependant primarily upon the context within which it is occurring – this includes the differential access to diversification activities and the distribution of the benefits of diversification (ibid).

Taking gender mean the socially defined roles of men and women, gender will often be found to constrain the patterns of income diversification pursued by the household (Davies and Hussein, 1997). It is found that many livelihood diversification strategies are gender specific. Literature available supports the fact that women may undertake a wide range of similar income generating activities like men (Chen, 1989) but in most of the cases men are able avail the opportunities to diversify, while the women left behind as result of social constraints (Hussein and Nelson, 1998).

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4.1 Demographic Situation

The study area has basic infrastructure including road, electricity, high schools for boys and girls and dispensary. The road from study area to Skardu town is in good conditions but main road remain block often because of the precipitation nature of Himalaya and Krakoram through which it passes 728 km from Rawalpindi/Islamabad to Skardu. The hospital is situated at a distance of 7 Km from Kalang Ranga and 39 km from Parang. Kalang Ranga is connected with Skardu; the main town by 2 km paved link road while Parang is 32 km away from Skardu on the KKH. Public transport is very poor. Therefore the people in Parang, especially the poor, find it difficult to travel to Skardu where the main market, hospital, colleges for boys and girls, the government and NGOs offices are situated.

The average household size in the study area is 9.2 and the average age of the household head is estimated 47 years. The reason for the big family size is the joint family system practiced in 17 households out of 30 sampled for this study. The average household size in nuclear families is 7.7 members while in joint families 11.2.

On an average 45 % members of the households are male and 55% are female. All sampled households have male household head. In joint families, in the absence of the husband, the father in law would be the head.

Around 26% households heads are illiterate, 13% have primary education (5^th grade), 39% have high school education (10^th grade), and 13% have degree level education.

All the degree holders belong to village Kalang Ranga, which is situated near Skardu town where education facilities are better, compared to the rest of Baltistan. Only one household head was formally educated in religious schools. However all the children get some basic religious education at home.

The age composition data for the household’s reveals that majority of the population is under 15 years of age. Around 40.4% population was less than 14 years of age,

Chapter IV: Institutional, Political, and Environmental Issues

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51.2% are between 15-60 years and 7.9% were more than 60 years old. The people fall in age class 15-60 are considered as working age group. The average dependency ration in the study area is calculated as 0.93. However young girls and boys also participate in both household and agricultural activities, for example, taking care of children when parents are at work, weeding, and herding grazing animals near the village. The study area is dominated by Muslims belonging to Shia sect (98%), the rest 2% belongs to Noor Bakhshi and Sunni sects.

Figure 4.1: Household head educational level

Illetrate 26%

Primary High School 13%

39%

Graduated 13%

Religious 9%

Land holding is considered the most important livelihood and wealth indicator. Land, livestock, trees, savings, and houses constitute the main household assets. The community members, during the group discussions identified these indicators. On the basis of these discussions four categories of wealth groups were identified. The respondents placed 10% households in well-off category having an average 6.5 acre land holding, 43.3% better off with 3.45 acre, 40% poor with 1.2 acre land holding and 6.7% poorest with no land.

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Figure 4.2: Wealth group identified on land holding by the community

10 6.5

43.3 3.45

40 1.2

6.7 0

Well off Average Poor Poorest

% Land holding

4.2 Off-farm and On-farm Activities

Men and women in Baltistan depend on farming for their livelihood. Over 93%

households in the study area had agricultural land. They grow one major and one transitional crop. The transitional crop is either vegetables or a crop for example maize, to be harvested premature for fodder. Cereals, vegetables, fodder, fruit and forest trees are grown on farmland. Major cereal crops include wheat and barley.

Potato is the main cash crop. Grasses including alfalfa is grown in irrigated pasture areas for fodder. In order to meet household consumption, vegetables including spinach, cabbage, onion, tomato and turnip are cultivated. There is an increasing trend of growing vegetables for household consumption. This is a specific activity for women who are involved from decision making (for example, which type and how much vegetables to grow) to harvest. In the absence of natural forest, timber and firewood are harvested from farm plantations where different tree species including willow, poplar and robinia are grown. Apricot wood is considered the best firewood therefore fetches the highest prices compared to fuelwood procured from other trees species.

Fruits are another important source of livelihood. People plant apricot, mulberry, walnut, apple and almond in their farms. They use fresh fruits during the summer.

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Fresh fruits are an important part of daily diet especially for the poor who cannot afford to buy cereals from the market. Surplus fruits are dried for consumption during the winter. Some quantity, both fresh and dried fruits are sold in the local market for cash income. However income from fruit sale is nominal. Some households in Khalangranga are taking part in a project aimed at improving fruit drying and packaging for commercial sale both in the national and international markets.

Livestock farming is another important mean of local livelihood. Households keep livestock for subsistence use. Livestock species include cattle, goats, sheep, zo and zomo (yak and cow cross breeds). Milk is used for daily consumption in addition to making butter. Butter is either used fresh or stored underground for important ceremonies. Old butter is considered better in quality than fresh. Five years old butter could be found in villages, especially in remote villages. Other important products from livestock are hides, hair and wool. Hides are used for making ropes, bags and mats. Wool is used for making yarn to stitch sweaters, socks, blankets, caps and other handicrafts.

Where on farm activities contribute to the subsistence economy, off farm activities diversify livelihood sources to reduce vulnerability. Off farm jobs were not very common in the past. With the construction of KKH) which is the main link of Baltistan region with the rest of the county, off farm opportunities emerged. In addition NGOs provided new opportunities of off farm employment. The most important NGO, the AKRSP introduced improved crop and livestock breeds, and provided opportunities for human resource development. The AKRSP offered training opportunities in marketing, managerial skills, nursery raising, veterinary and poultry farming.

4.3 Institutional Arrangement

Sociologists and Anthropologists see institutions as “ regularized practices (or patterns of behaviour) structured by rules and norms of society which have persistent and widespread use” (Giddens, 1979). Following this definition institutions may be

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formal or informal, fluid and ambiguous and usually interpreted in multiple ways. In Baltistan the following formal and informal institutions exists.

4.3.1. Formal Institutions – Government Institutions

For centuries the five valleys of Baltistan was ruled by local rulers called Rajas till 1973. The first elected government in 1973 abolished the Rajas and introduced reforms. Greater role was given to the government institutions. New colleges, schools and hospitals were established. Local educated people were recruited to fill the newly created vacancies as a result of reforms. Local people perceived this change a positive step that could reduce their vulnerability caused by a long history of oppressive rule. After the reforms various government and non-government institutions were introduced in the area. According to respondents, this process has improved the access to social services and economic opportunities. This also eliminated the heavy taxes imposed by the Rajas.

Baltistan region a part of the NAs is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.

The people of the NAs have no right to vote for the parliament, and provincial assemblies, therefore they have no representation in the parliament and central government and have no elected provincial government. Elections are however held for the NAs council which functions according to rules and regulation framed by the central government in Islamabad. The central government also provides a specified budget for annual expenditure for the NAs to be spent through the NA council. The NA council is headed by the Minister for Kashmir and NAs affairs (Chief Executive for the NAs), a member of the parliament belonging to areas other then the NAs. The Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary (a bureaucrat also not from the NAs), the Deputy Chief Executive and the advisors form the government of the NAs. The Deputy Chief Executive is elected from the members of the NA council and the advisors (nominated by the Chief Executive from among the member of the NA council) assist the Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary on governance issues. The Chief Secretary is assisted by the secretaries responsible for the government department assigned to them. The government departments include, education, health,

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public works department (PWD) (responsible for roads and electricity), agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and local bodies and rural development (LBRD). In addition to the NA council, members for district and union councils are also elected through direct election. The development budget for NAs is at the disposal of the members of NA, district and union council. The allocated budget is distributed equally among the members to be spent on the development of the areas from where the members have been elected. The district and union councils are responsible for rural development.

They are allocated annual funds to be used for rural development. The members decide allocation of funds. Usually the villages voted for the members get more funds.

The NA council has control on the main budget. The main budget is also distributed according to the wishes of the council members. Therefore in district and unions councils, the villages that voted for the successful candidate of the NA council get more resources. The district and union council provides funds for smaller projects based at village level while the NA council for larger projects at valley level or for cluster of villages. However the NA council members influence the district and union council members to allocate resources for areas of their choice. There is no system and control for equitable distribution of resources. Examples of miss-appropriation and distribution of resources are wide spread.

Some services are improving in the areas. However, middle and high schools and hospitals are distant from most of the villages. Primary schools especially for boys and first aid centers are situated in most of the villages. For example the student from Khalangranga have easy access to schools being near to Skardu town while the students from Parang have to walk for miles to reach a high school. In both villages basic health dispensaries are accessible. However, there is shortage of medicines and the staff is also not regular. Since medicines have to be purchased, most of the people especially the poor cannot afford to buy. Therefore people seldom take a full course of medicines, especially antibiotics that need a full course but are expensive to buy.

Services of the government department are not available at village level. Most of the departmental offices including the agriculture, livestock, forest department and banks

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However, very few practically benefit from these departments. For example in Parang majority of the people are not aware of the services available with these departments.

Interestingly, majority has never heard about the Micro Finance Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank. The Agricultural Development Bank is a government bank supposed to provide loans to farmer for agricultural inputs.

4.3.2 Informal Institutions

Apart from government institutions many NGOs are also working in Baltistan.

However few have their services in the studies area. These include Baidar, the Aga Khan Education Services Programme (AKESP), and AKRSP. AKESP and AKRSP are branches of Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) working for development in NAs.

Baidar is a local NGO established with the support from AKRSP, mainly involved in solving education problems, social issues, and micro enterprise. Baidar works in Khalangranga, its services are not available to Parang. Baidar mainly facilitates linkages between other NGOs and government institutions with the communities in its area of operation. The AKESP is working for improvement in education facilities through establishment of community schools and teachers training. Some teachers in the study area have benefited from the services of AKESP. However the services of AKESP are very limited in Baltistan compared to demand. AKESP provides more services in other regions of the NAs where followers of Prince Karim Aga Khan are in majority. These followers called Ismailis another sec of Muslims, and they are in minority (less than 0.5%) in Baltistan.

AKRSP is working in Baltistan region since 1984. AKRSP is involved in rural development through the formation of community organizations and encouraging savings. Other major components are infrastructure development, micro finance, agriculture and livestock development, and afforestation and gender development.

AKRSP has introduced improved cereal varieties and improved livestock breeds in addition to basic training in all above-mentioned sectors. The AKRSP interventions have significant impact on development in the study area. Respondents specifically mentioned the AKRSP’s active role of increasing the social capital of the community

1. 1 Introduction to Research

ABSTRACT

Declaration

Acknowledgement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 1 Introduction to Research

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.2 Background

1.3 Objectives and Research Questions

1.4 Introduction to Study Area

Key

1.5 Definition of Terms Used

1.6 Structure of the Thesis

2.1

A

F

U

(S

L

)

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.2 Sampling and Data Collection (Quantitative and Qualitative)

2.3 Secondary Data

2.4 Limitations of the Study

3. 1 Vulnerability, The Context

3. 2 Agriculture

3. 3 Natural Resource Management (NRM)

3.4 Adaptation Strategies

3. 5 Livelihood Diversification

4.1 Demographic Situation

Chapter IV: Institutional, Political, and Environmental Issues

4.2 Off-farm and On-farm Activities

4.3 Institutional Arrangement

4.3.1. Formal Institutions – Government Institutions

4.3.2 Informal Institutions