Pastoralism in Central Asian Mountain Regions

Hermann Kreutzmann

Abstract

The position of Central Asian deserts and oases between the densely populated regions of Asia and Europe centres of gravity has strongly influenced economic ex-change, territorial power games and communicative curiosity directed towards sparsely inhabited and marginally utilized areas. The symbiosis of highly productive and spatially concentrated oases in a wide-ranging environment with extensively utilized rangelands in deserts and steppe regions is modified by the third dimension represented in the verticality of Central Asian high mountains. Throughout long historical periods Central Asia became the focus of explorers, expeditions and ex-pansionist conquests. During the ‘Great Game’ and thereafter, the territorial division of Central Asia resulted in effective boundary-making that significantly affected local livelihoods. In the Central Asian context, aridity and altitude as two limiting parameters for human activities at the peripheries of settlement space need to be highlighted for the perception of steppe ecologies. Diachronic enquiries into politics and society provide insights for the interpretation of history and economy as they affect pastoral livelihoods. In conventional views, pastoralism was classified as a stage of civilization that needed to be abolished and transcended in order to reach a higher level of development. In this context, global approaches to modernize a rural society have been ubiquitous phenomena independent of ideological contexts. The 20th century experienced a variety of concepts to sedentarise nomads and to trans-fer their lifestyles to modern perceptions. Permanent settlements are the vivid ex-pression of an ideology-driven approach. Modernization theory captured all walks of life and tried to optimize breeding techniques, pasture utilization, transport and processing concepts. The aspect of higher requirements for inputs tended to be ne-glected when the modernization of animal husbandry was at stake. New insights into other aspects of pastoralism such as its role as an adaptive strategy to use mar-ginal resources in remote locations with difficult access could only be understood as a critique of capitalist and communist concepts of modernization. The rejection of input-dominated theories that triggered enhancement of outputs but neglected ecological considerations regarding sustainability opened up a new field for research combining ecology, economy and society. This perception might gain further in im-portance when mitigation strategies coping with climate and society are debated. Pastoralism can be perceived as a flexible strategy to adapt to changing survival conditions, rather than a transitory stage on the path to modern development. Pas-toralism was adopted by people when opportunities arose, when it was economical-ly sound and when the challenges posed by ecological and socio-political environ-ments could be managed. Consequently, our emphasis on pastoralism studies pro-vides us with an important tool to understand society in general, but human-environmental relations in particular.

Central Asia poses a unique arena for understanding the spectrum of mountain pastoralism and rangeland management. In a similar ecological environment of de-sert-steppe conditions, the cases of different communities are presented in order to illustrate variegating paths of socio-economic and politico-historical developments that are the result of inner-communal dynamics and external interventions. Four case studies are presented from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and the People’s Republic of China highlighting the external interference in regions dominated by Pamirian mountain farmers and Kirghiz nomads. The societal and political transfor-mations during the 20th century significantly modified the economic frame condi-tions, possibilities of political participation in decision-making processes, and cross-border exchange relations. Former commonalities among the studied communities have been transformed by inner-societal processes and by external linkages in re-sponse to decoupled exchange options.

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Chapter 21 Pastoralism in Central Asian Mountain Regions

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Pamirian Crossroads and Beyond

Human Geography and Geopolitics

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Chapter 21 Pastoralism in Central Asian Mountain Regions

Abstract

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Pamirian Crossroads and Beyond

Human Geography and Geopolitics

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