CLIMATE CHANGE PERSPECTIVE IN MOUNTAIN AREA: IMPACTS AND ADAPTATIONS IN NALTAR VALLEY, WESTERN HIMALAYA, PAKISTAN

Change in climate and its adverse impacts are rewarding progressively more obvious in fragile ecosystems of Gilgit-Baltistan. Due to geomorphological, topographic, and ecological conditions mountainous landscapes of Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH) is more vulnerable to climate change effects. A detailed questionnaire survey was conducted in eastern Himalaya (Naltar _imate change scenario, its impacts on the livelihoods, adaptation and coping measures. Results depicted that people were aware of change in climate, as majority of respondents believed that increase in temperature with decreasing rainfall in winters. They perceived that temperature got more or less extreme as compared to past. Perceptions regarding weather patterns were checked through trend of climate data (1951-2013). Peoples have experienced profusion of issues and foreseeable diseases both in humans and animals, and facing more climate related hazards like landslide, floods and avalanches consequently impacted their social and economic life very badly. The community also professed the climate change associated hazards severely impacted the amount of pastures as the amount of pastures have decreased as compared to past; and people reduced their number of livestock with due reason. Some of them identified some species in pastures and agricultural lands are increasing. Owing to change in climate they identified some coping strategies and adaptation measure to tackle such issues.