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Nomads Are Skilled Range Managers

Dear Editor,

Livestock rearing is a key component of Chitral�s economy, providing food and allowing local communities to supplement their income by selling wool and hides. Nomads( locally known as pashal) raise native livestock that are adapted to local environmental and production constraints. For example, Chitral nomads raise the goats, which is superbly adapted to the high altitude and the cold environment of the upper pastures of Chitral.. Native Chitral sheep and goats are the main important species of livestock. nomads in Chitral usually raise a mix of livestock species each of which has its own specific characteristics and adaptations to the environment. The multi-species grazing system combines , sheep, goats and horses together and maximizes the use of rangeland vegetation. Different animals also have varied uses and provide diversified products for home consumption or sale. sheep/goats are used to provide animals for sale and for nomads own consumption.
Livestock mobility and flexible use of rangeland were strategic elements of traditional Chitrali pastoralism and the keys to survival. Rangelands are parceled into seasonal pastures and used according to diverse managerial and production objectives. The traditional nomadic pastoral systems that evolved used extensive grazing management strategies adapted to local environmental conditions. nomads in Chitral , like nomads elsewhere in Pakistan , did not move randomly across the rangeland; rather their movements were often well prescribed by complex social organizations and were highly regulated.
Environmental risks on the rangelands were mitigated through livestock and grazing management strategies. Livestock mobility, flexible use of rangelands, and diverse herds were key elements of traditional pastoral production systems and contributed to the high ecological stability of the pastoral systems. Nomads maintained a diverse mix of goals for livestock production and survival; they kept a diverse mix of livestock in terms of species and class; and they used a diverse mosaic of rangeland sites, exploiting seasonal and annual variability in rangeland resources.
The flexibility of traditional Chitrali nomadic pastoralism � which emphasized multi-species herds, complex herd structures, regular movement of livestock, and linkages with agricultural communities � developed as a rational response to the unpredictability of the ecosystem. The survival of numerous prosperous groups of Chitral nomads bears witness to their extraordinary indigenous knowledge, resourcefulness, and animal husbandry skills.
Chitrali nomadic pastoralism evolved through long-term adaptation and persistence in a harsh environment and the grazing and livestock management systems that developed were intelligent, aggregate behavioral responses by chitrali nomads to the resources and risks of one of the most inhospitable rangeland environments on earth. Because they are skilled, experienced, proficient, expert, able, adept, and masterful, chitrali nomads, are "professional" range managers, despite being illiterate.
 

Ajaz Ahmed
Pesahwar.