Since a decade the Hindukush Himalaya region has come into the limelight for its climate change adverse situations. As it is a fact that the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region is one of the most ecologically sensitive and fragile areas in the world. This mountain system is also geographically, geologically, and culturally unique. It features immense mountains and extraordinary landscapes which are the source of livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people.
Being a mountain person, I have seen my area and other 200 million people who live in the HKH region being destroyed and depleted by the climate change occurrences. The HKH region is undergoing dramatic change. Flooding, land sliding, river cutting, snow avalanches and other natural calamities have been part of the mountain people lives in the last two decades. In 2015 in my hometown of Chitral we experienced the worst flooding in our history. Fertile lands were washed away, people lost their houses, sources of livelihoods even some lost their lives. People are worried about their lives as well as their livelihoods as most of the people in these regions depend on subsistent agriculture for their day to day survival. If necessary steps are not taken time for climate change adaptations, there’s a likelihood that the situation will get worse in future.
Climate change is a problem which needs to be solved and it needs our help. It is an issue which we cannot ignore more.
By Shumaila Mansoor
July 25, 2018
