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

along the riverbeds of the Indus <strong>and</strong> its tributaries in the Himalayas, Karakoram,
Hindukush <strong>and</strong> Pamirs.
Major gemstone mining areas include: Chumar Bakhoor in Sumayar Nagar,
Hasanabad, Doorkhan, Ganish <strong>and</strong> Ahmedabad in Hunza, Haramosh in
Gilgit <strong>and</strong> Stak Nala, Shengus, Braldu <strong>and</strong> Basha <strong>and</strong> Shigar valleys in Skardu
district, Baltistan region. However there are potential deposits in other areas
like Ghizer district <strong>and</strong> upper Hunza (Chupursan valley) for various kinds of
minerals where currently Chinese entrepreneurs are involved in exploration.
As of May 2008, the government has issued 53 mining leases <strong>and</strong> 64 exploration
licenses to private parties in Gilgit-Baltistan (former Northern Areas). Out
of the 64 exploration license holders, eleven have been served with show-cause
notices <strong>and</strong> notices for payment of dead rent. Out of the 53 mining leases ten
parties received notices to increase production, while 33 parties were served
show cause notice for cancellation of mining leases (Rupani Foundation
2008). It is estimated that there is a great potential for producing gemstones
<strong>and</strong> mineral specimens for many years to come, even though in some areas
mining is taking place for the last 20 years, more or new deposits are being
discovered today. An estimated 40,000 miners, mostly pastoral communities
<strong>and</strong> farmers are currently involved in mining in the Gilgit-Baltistan. Other
key challenge faced by the mineral <strong>and</strong> gemstone sector is lack of value addition
<strong>and</strong> income generation opportunities at local levels, especially for women
<strong>and</strong> the productive poor. In Gilgit Baltistan <strong>and</strong> Chitral there were small gems
cutting <strong>and</strong> polishing centres’ started recently through support from Rupani
Foundation <strong>and</strong> Karakoram International University with support from Italian
government. The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) <strong>and</strong> Karakoram
Area Development Organization (KADO) established gems cutting <strong>and</strong>
polishing centres in Hunza <strong>and</strong> other districts of Gilgit-Baltistan <strong>and</strong> Chitral
involving women in production during the last four years.
Major issues are community ownership rights a lack of tangible benefits to gain
as private miners extract the gem <strong>and</strong> minerals <strong>and</strong> make the value addition
at cutting <strong>and</strong> polishing centres in the south <strong>and</strong>/ or directly export the raw
material. Due to unscientific mining the mines <strong>and</strong> pastures are over exploited
<strong>and</strong> destroyed <strong>and</strong> on the other h<strong>and</strong> due to lack of proper safety measures
miners suffer from various kind of skin <strong>and</strong> eye diseases. The link between
rights to pasture use, <strong>and</strong> leasing out mining rights in pastures to parties from
outside the mountain regions is creating dual problems; the local people lose
ownership rights in their traditional pastures <strong>and</strong> mountain resources, <strong>and</strong> the
government <strong>and</strong> non-local parties getting licenses destroy the pastures through
over exploitation.
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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>