The 5th assessment report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) led the world community to believe about rising global temperature and that by the year 2100 global temperature will have risen from 1.1 to 6.4 degrees Celsius. This assessment and several other expert reports suggested that our planet is getting warmer, our ice caps are melting and threats of floods continue to rise impacting vulnerable people and challenging institutional capacities to respond especially in developing countries like Pakistan. According to a recent report, Pakistan is on the top of effected countries in 2022 due to climate induced hazards followed by Belize and Italy. It is in this background that experts claim that climate change induced destruction will be more catastrophic for Pakistan than even war scenario or extremism. Globally, Pakistan is included in the list of most vulnerable countries to climate change impact. The impacts of climate change are already threatening the security of livelihoods and assets in Pakistan. However, these threats to agrarian livelihoods can be transformed into opportunities if we can develop institutional capacities to address these threats.

Mountains are characterized by their steep topography and high altitudes. The mountains contain glaciers and snow cover due to high elevation. The global warming and resultantly climate change is significantly affecting mountains’ ecosystem and eco-services. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has reported that the temperature of mountains in Himalya range has increased significantly faster than the global average, and are projected to increase by 1–2°C on average by 2050. The expected impact of climate change in mountains is; changes in precipitation patterns and water availability. These have direct implications for agriculture in the mountainous regions.  The experience from last two decades amply exhibit that global warming and climate change has been resulting in natural hazards such as floods, landslides, and dry spells with an increased frequency of occurrence. Such climate change induced hazards pose a threat to agricultural production, and food security, as well as to the availability of ecosystem services culminating on threats to the livelihoods of people living in the mountainous regions which are home to 13% of the world’s population.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is most hit and vulnerable to climate change due to diversity of agroecology and landforms but also because of changing regime in temperature and precipitation, inevitably significant for agriculture. Climate variability and change manifest themselves in increased frequency of hazards. These shifting trends and resulting hazards are significantly impacting farming in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  The frequent disaster risks in the mountainous areas are avalanches, landslides and floods along with drought spells. These disasters inflict a heavy damage to the livelihood assets including crops, water, houses and other physical infrastructure. In order to overcome these losses, communities apply short-term coping strategies by spending limited means and hard-earned cash reserves. These unsustainable strategies further exacerbate vulnerabilities and give way to new ones. Therefore, there is a need to formulate policies, build the capacity of stakeholders and encourage investment to substitute short term coping strategies with long term climate change adaptation measures in order to minimize impact of devastating disasters. The institutional capacity development becomes most important to anchor improved governance of mountains resources and climate change adaptation measures.

Need for Climate Resilient Mountain Agriculture

University of Agriculture Swat has been established to cater to the academic and R&D needs of the Northern areas of Pakistan in particular and the region in general.  The Northern areas of Pakistan are mainly composed of mountains. These mountains comprised the Hindu Kush Mountains, Himalaya Mountains, and the Dir, Swat, and Kohistan Ranges. The Hindu Kush Range to the north begins in Gilgit-Baltistan then moves west into the Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and continues into Afghanistan. To the south, the Hindu Kush Mountains are roughly bounded by the Ghizer River which is a tributary of the Indus. Tirich Mir, located in Chitral district, is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush Range in Pakistan, at a height of 7,690 m. Immediately south of the Hindu Kush are 3 sub parallel ranges: the Kohistan, Swat, and Dir Ranges. All three run in a north-south direction, and are separated from each other by rivers. To the north, their elevation can reach 5,000-6,000 m. The climate of the northern zone is snowy and cold with heavy rainfall in winters. It has pleasant summers with moderate rainfall.

Mountain ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them, are extremely sensitive to weather and climate hazards. Mountains’ ecosystems are facing the risk of large-scale, non-linear, irreversible changes due to the rising impacts of climate change, also known as tipping points. Rugged terrains, steep slopes and stark seasonal contrasts in climatic conditions increase the exposure and vulnerability of mountain communities to climate-related hazards. Although people in the mountainous regions have learnt to live and survive in a changing environment for decades, the present rate of change in the climate is perceived as too rapid for many of them to adapt. Besides, remoteness, along with economic and political marginalization, hinders further the capacity of communities dwelling in mountains to adapt to and cope with the diverse impacts of climate change.

In view of forgoing realities, it was deemed important to work out a roadmap for creating institutional mechanism and conducting applied research and preparing appropriate solutions/packages to address climate change challenges in the mountainous regions in Pakistan and elsewhere. Hence, Centre for Climate Resilient Mountain Agriculture (CCRMA) at University of Agriculture Swat was established. With inclusive approach, the Center will work on three-pronged strategy i.e. producing manpower equipped with the knowledge and know-how of climate change as well as mitigation an adaptation measures, capacity building of stakeholders particularly policy makers, farmers and agricultural extension workers and research-oriented formulation of district wise future climate scenarios for local adaptation plans of action. Yearly international conferences will be the hallmark of the Center where climate resilient mountains agriculture related local and international knowledge will be shared and recommendations for future R&D and field level actions will be formulated. The outcome of CCRMA will contribute to a number of SDGs such as SDG No. 1, 2, 5, 10, 13, etc.

The core objectives of establishing CCRMA at University of Agriculture Swat are the followings.

Conduct or commission to conduct solution-oriented research studies on need basis to formulate packages for the communities concerned.   

Producing manpower equipped with applied knowledge about climate change, holistic approach to address climate change challenges including mitigation and adaptation measures and able to influence policy making and development planning from climate change perspective. For this purpose, the University has already initiated BS degree program in Climate Change Sciences. The MS and PhD level degree programs in climate change and related fields will be launched in due course of time. Additionally, linkages will be created with national and international organizations working for climate change to benefit from their knowledge and experience.

Capacity building of vulnerable mountain communities to enhance their resilience and adaptive capacities. Efforts will be made to also reach out downstream population who depends on ecosystem services from the mountains.

Capacity building of relevant districts, provincial and national/regional level institutions, policy makers and relevant experts/workers engaged with communities in mountain areas. This will foster programs for climate resilient development in the mountain regions.

Supporting district level institutions to develop district wise future climate scenarios and Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) with location specific solutions to climate change challenges.

Prospects of Mountain Agriculture