Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

3 Non-livestock pastoral Products <strong>and</strong> their Marketing
3.1 Pine nuts
The pine nuts (fruit of Pinus gerardiana or chilgoza) are produced in specific
forest patches primarily in the Kalasha valleys of Chitral <strong>and</strong> Diamer district in
Gilgit-Baltistan with some minor patches in Astore <strong>and</strong> Chalt-Chaprot forests
in Nagar. The harvesting period is between September <strong>and</strong> October. Women
<strong>and</strong> nomadic Gujurs play a major role in chilgoza harvesting, packing, <strong>and</strong>
marketing. In the Kalasha Valleys the local residents are the collectors, while in
Diamer the l<strong>and</strong>less pastoralists collect chilgoza.
The collection of chilgoza nuts has long been a source of additional income
for many poor families living in the area. Presently the sale price of chilgoza is
PRs 350 per kilogramme <strong>and</strong> Afghani traders from Tribal Areas <strong>and</strong> Kohistan
collect it from local markets. On an average a pastoralist or a farmer earns
PRs 20,000 to 30,000 annually from its sale. Estimated 3000 households are
involved in chilgoza collection <strong>and</strong> the annual sale turnover in Diamer district
is around PRs 69 million (IUCN 2007). The growing dem<strong>and</strong> is leading to
careless, premature <strong>and</strong> unsustainable harvesting by cutting the branches
or even whole trees or burning parts of the forests to get easier access to the
cones, thus jeopardizing the future production capacity of the trees <strong>and</strong> even
the survival of the species in certain areas. Pinus gerardiana has been listed by
the World Conservation Monitoring Center as a “lower risk, near threatened”
species. Loop holes in marketing, improper harvesting <strong>and</strong> processing, pre- <strong>and</strong>
post-harvest losses in chilgoza <strong>and</strong> sustainable management of Pinus gerardiana,
<strong>and</strong> unclear tenure are the main issue needing resolution.
3.2 Medicinal <strong>and</strong> aromatic plants
Plants are utilized as therapeutic agents since time immemorial in both organized
(Ayurveda, Unani) <strong>and</strong> unorganized (folk, tribal, native) form (Girach
et al. 2003). The healing properties of many herbal medicines have been recognized
in many ancient cultures. Early herbalists believed that the plant part
resembling any part of the human body was considered useful for the ailment
of those parts <strong>and</strong> there is no part of the body without its corresponding herb,
a hypothesis known as the “Doctrine of Signature” (Baquar 2001). Bhiksu
Atreya, a professor of the University of Taxila <strong>and</strong> his student named Jivaka
were the well-known persons with an intimate knowledge of medicinal plants
(Singh et al. 2003).
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> > > 4. Niche Production as an Additional Asset for <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>and</strong> Rangel<strong>and</strong> <strong>Management</strong>