Climate change is a horrible reality looming large on a vast swathe of our planet, marked by unlivable temperatures, droughts, floods, and wildfires, endangering the existence of numerous species and the destruction of human life.
Now winter plunges commercial cities in smog and summer is characterized by flash floods turning infrastructures upside down, inflicting inestimable loss of life and property, and droughts fatal for agriculture. This climate-borne destruction is not confined to a specific region or country, but it has held sway over major inhabitant parts of the world. Mitigating measures have long been pursued by governments, NGOs and other environmentalists with curtailing greenhouse emissions, forestation, adaptability, and other projects of environmental sustainability however harnessing indigenous knowledge in the fight against climate change is not much considered at least in Pakistan.
Indigenous communities cope with environmental changes with their traditional knowledge making them the agents of change and the protagonists in combating climate change. Indigenous people are involved in the management of 25 percent of the world’s land. Moreover, they provide over 36 percent of environmental stewardship to the world’s intact forests. Having such a close relation with the environment and natural resources indigenous communities are vital to and active in the ecosystems of the host regions with adaptive and indigenous strategies to cope with environmental changes. Although data shows that forests and other ecosystems under the management of Indigenous people are highly preserved and in better health, as compared to nature in other areas however these communities are also prone to the ravages of climate change.
Their dependency on environmental resources exposes them to the first climate change consequences making these communities the first to fight environmental changes for their survival. It is they who have to bear the brunt of climate change despite having zero contribution to greenhouse emissions. These communities are marginalized as being in the peripheries they have often been neglected by the state resulting in their exclusion from the mainstream process of development in the country. Inaccessibility to education, healthcare, livelihood, etc. exacerbates their difficulties causing political and economic marginalization and further exposing them to indiscrimination and inequality. Yet their resilience – rooted in traditional knowledge – against the dreadful effects of climate change is unmatched.
In Bangladesh village people have started making floating gardens to save their livelihood sources. In Vietnam communities plant mangroves to disperse the trophic storm waves. In other areas of the central Asian countries, many migrate to forests during the droughts to produce cassava plants, requiring less water, rich in carbohydrates, and a substitute for rice and maize. Their traditional knowledge systems equip them with insights into climate-resilient practices, such as agroforestry, indigenous irrigation systems, traditional crops, and the construction of mud houses that are suitable for minimal water usage.
Torwali and Gawri communities in the highlands of Swat valley, too, are indigenous people having lived for centuries in these mountains and have their traditional knowledge for sustainable use of natural resources and adaptability with the environment. Historically, houses, more often on mountain ridges, were made of mud, stone, and wood, all in one place to collectively protect against external aggression, and leave plenty of land for cultivation. These houses were constructed away from rivers, lakes, and other vulnerable areas to natural disasters. Roofs were made of mud adaptive to the extreme weather.
Indigenous communities can play a pivotal role in the nature-based solution to climate change. Integrating Indigenous knowledge into climate change policies is indispensable as it will enrich climate actions and fortify the fortresses of the environment. They are frequently overlooked in the decision-making process of climate change; however. Such a treatment of these key players will yield nothing; instead the state needs to support these communities in effectively tackling climate change by actively involving them in climate change actions.
For time and seasonal calculations, a local elder named Bahadur, who lived 150 years ago, had developed a seasonal calendar. Seasonal changes would be known through the observation of celestial bodies. This calendar helped the local community predict seasons and based on this calculation crop harvesting and other agricultural activities were carried out. These communities have also developed a unique irrigation system where channels have been distributed over the size of lands one owns, avoiding conflicts–- these harmonious regulatory rules were equally observed by everyone. Use of the water channels during droughts never entailed inequality. These channels have been in use up until now.
In villages like Gabral and Cham Gharai, traces of the agroforestry are still found. Strips of land for cultivation between alpine trees were made. It would produce plenty of crops and prevent soil erosion and deforestation making soil fertile for further farming. Today, there are Quercus Balot trees (Jhog) not allowed to be cut down by the forest committees established by local elders for the protection of local forests in each village. Only leaves of these trees can be cut down for cattle in the winter, thus ensuring forest preservation. However, despite such efforts, there are still numerous challenges to the local forests, and the local community is seeking help from the authorities to prevent further devastation of these forests. For example, herdsmen with tens of hundreds of cattle from the plain areas climb these pastures in summer, causing overgrazing. In the monsoon season when heavy rains fall over the overgrazed soil it causes floods with abundant rocks, soil, and wood flowing with waters towards the river Swat, filling its waterbed makes it easy for the waters to plunge the nearby infrastructure.
Torwali and Gawri communities’ traditional knowledge in addition with other communities living in the northern areas of Pakistan could be researched and employed in mitigating the climate change effects.
Indigenous communities can play a pivotal role in the nature-based solution to climate change. Integrating Indigenous knowledge into climate change policies is indispensable as it will enrich climate actions and fortify the fortresses of the environment. They are frequently overlooked in the decision-making process of climate change; however. Such a treatment of these key players will yield nothing; instead the state needs to support these communities in effectively tackling climate change by actively involving them in climate change actions.
