Hisper: fortress of ice and snow
From the Blog odysseuslahoriThe Biafo-Hisper glacial system, extending ninety-eight kilometres in a gleaming white line of ice clenched within the jaws of the most dramatic granite spires, is among the longest ice stream outside of the polar regions. Its southeast end rests a few kilometres from the Balti village of Askole while in the northwest the houses of Nagar feel the icy blasts of wind scudding down its surface. Right in the middle, equidistant from both ends of the glacier, there sits the gentle saddle of the pass that the people of Nagar know as Hisper. For the people of Baltistan, this is R’Dzong La (Pass), however. Now, R’Dzong in Balti signifies a small defensive turret. The question is: why should anyone need a fortification 5230 metres above the sea on a glacier? Oral history preserves talespakistanblogs.blogspot.comRead Full Post
Peak fragility: Conserving mountain soils an urgent matter
From the Blog pamirtimes[image: mountain 1]New book on the importance of management of mountain soils 23 June 2015, Rome – Mountain soils are the fragile foundations of ecosystems that ultimately provide water for more than half the world’s population. A new FAO book offers technical insights on the sustainable management of mountain soils, which are home to a vast array of human activities ranging from quinoa cultivation in the Andes through European ski resorts to the collection of medicinal plants in Tajikistan’s “roof of the world” Pamir range. “Understanding Mountain Soils,” published by FAO with theMountain Partnership Secretariat, the Global Soil Partnership and the University of Turin, contains a host of case studies from around the world covering human, productive and geological issues. It is pakistanblogs.blogspot.comRead Full Post
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