Crop encroachment over alpine pastures in the Himalayan mountains of northern Pakistan: Socio-economic implications for pastoral communities

This paper analyses the socio-economic impacts of crop encroachment on pastoral communities. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) with stakeholder communities. Paired t test was applied to compare past and current herd size, composition and herding labour. The results show that crop encroachment significantly reduced herd size and changed the herd composition. Furthermore significant proportion of family labour shifted from herding to cropping. The previous cattle herders occupying the key pastoral niches have shifted to cash crop, while the sheep and goat herders are still following the pastoral occupation. It is concluded that in high Himalayan pastures income diversification through the introduction of cash crop have positive economic impacts for the crop producers but have negative economic consequences for the herding communities. The results of this study can contribute to the development of pastoral land policy and high mountain ecosystem conservation in developing countries in general and in mountain valleys of northern Pakistan in particular.