Papers by Hermann Kreutzmann
Shimshal is one of the valleys in Karakoram most favourably endowed with pasture resources. The p... more Shimshal is one of the valleys in Karakoram most favourably endowed with pasture resources. The pastures are a major asset of the community and a stable feature of agricultural practice. However, in recent years pastures have become increasingly difficult to access and the pastoral workforce has been declining, threatening the sustainability of combined mountain agriculture and the livelihood of local farmers/herders. There are many factors behind this change. Due to increased outmigration and the lack of interest in pastoralism among the youth, it is hard to find skilled persons who can endure the harsh conditions of life in the pastures, and pasture management responsibilities have shifted from male to female household members. At the same time, however, farmers/herders of Shimshal are trying hard to resist encroachment on their ancestral lands and fend off territorial claims from neighbouring communities and external interference that could lead to their dispossession. This article examines the role of pastoralism in ensuring the social and economic well-being of the Shimshal community. It also looks at how community members have adapted their pastoral practices in the face of rapid social, economic and environmental changes.
Entwicklung and Landlicher Raum, 2001
Dietrich Reimer eBooks, 1996
Routledge eBooks, Jul 20, 2022
This publication showcases the results of 2 workshops conducted in Nepal on 8–14 October 2008 and... more This publication showcases the results of 2 workshops conducted in Nepal on 8–14 October 2008 and 15–22 June 2009. In the preface, it is stated that the purpose of these workshops was to examine tourism development approaches in the Hindu Kush–Himalaya and in the Pamir mountains. These proceedings comprise a collection of contributions from 25 individuals, organized in 10 sections, preceded by 2 welcome addresses and ending with 2 annexes with details of the workshop program and list of participants. After the introductory chapters in Section 1, the topic of Section 2 is tourism in Nepal, with a focus on historical aspects of tourism development, current approaches to tourism, and the various impacts on host communities. Section 3 consists of 4 case studies, all from Nepal, on a variety of topics, including pro-poor tourism, and sustainable development, complemented by 2 case studies from the Annapurna region. The focus of Section 4 is on transboundary tourism. Section 5 is entitled ‘‘Interactions with Stakeholders and Presentation of Field Work Results.’’ It contains brief remarks by some stakeholder representatives and has 2 reports from the field. Section 6 summarizes the findings of 2 working groups: the Xinjiang Working Group and the Tibet Autonomous Region Working Group. Section 7 consists of 7 short presentations put together as sustainable mountain tourism strategy and action plans. Section 8 summarizes the findings of 2 reports, 1 each from Pakistan and China, on integrated tourism concepts. A final statement by the workshop delegates is summarized in Section 9. The final Section (10) provides a concluding statement by the workshop chairperson. I have mixed feelings about the value of this publication. Although the effort put into documenting the workshop deliberations is noteworthy and should be applauded, most of the sections contain very little practical information. The publication thus ends up as a documentation of the efforts made to organize the workshop rather than a toolkit for sustainable mountain tourism development practices, which I had hoped the workshops would produce. Sections 1 through 4 contain articles by several Nepali tourism experts. Although these are good summaries, the global context of tourism is missing; for example, what would be the likely implications of the development of competing mountain destinations in the region? How would this impact country-specific mountain tourism policies and practices? These issues must be examined from the broader perspective of global tourism and competing market forces. This publication does a good job of underlining the importance of greater cooperation and collaboration between multiple institutions and entities for cross-border or transboundary tourism. But there are no specific strategies as to how such collaboration may be strengthened at the local, national, and regional scale. The publication does have some scholarly value because it provides important background information to students interested in mountain tourism development issues in the Hindu Kush–Himalayan region. The issues addressed are important and thus can be taken up as future research challenges. The publication also provides some case studies to illustrate the opportunities and limitations of mountain tourism. However, it has limited value to practitioners and policy-makers. It would have been nice to see a good checklist of best practices in sustainable mountain tourism and novel approaches to developing policies that directly impact practitioners in the field.
The discussion of socio-economic transformation in peripheral regions - among which remote high m... more The discussion of socio-economic transformation in peripheral regions - among which remote high mountain areas occupy a prominent position - often centres around the project of modernisation and its impact on regional development, i.e. the introduction of motorised vehicle transport on tarred surface roads and subsequent growth-related effects in infrastructure extension and commercial enterprises. Consequently, according to this concept development efforts in these regions are initiated from outside. It takes external interventions to modernise backward and stagnant 'traditional' societies..
Internationales Asienforum, 2002
Zu Zeiten des tadschikischen Bürgerkrieges gehörte Gomo-Badakhshan (Fig. ) zu den Rückzugsgebiete... more Zu Zeiten des tadschikischen Bürgerkrieges gehörte Gomo-Badakhshan (Fig. ) zu den Rückzugsgebieten verfolgter Minderheiten. Nach der partiellen Aussöhnung in Tadschikistan flackern die regionalen Konflikte nur sporadisch wieder auf. Die bedrückenden Entwicklungsprobleme treten nun deutlicher als Transformationsfolgen hervor und zeigen die fortschreitende Armut in der postsowjetischen Gesellschaft, die als unabhängiger Staatsverband ihre Rolle in einer sich globalisierenden Welt sucht.
Global opium production has peaked in 2017 at more than 10,000 tons out of which ninety percent o... more Global opium production has peaked in 2017 at more than 10,000 tons out of which ninety percent originate from Afghanistan; never before the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime has recorded a higher production. Afghanistan has become the world-market leader in opium production in recent times that historically only the British Empire had surpassed as China’s prime supplier prior to the mid-19th-century Opium Wars. Major differences exist between both situations: Then the dominant superpower engaged in major drug-dealings; nowadays a poor country such as Afghanistan has gained a dominant position in production but not in profit-making. Nearly half a century after Richard Nixon’s declaration of a ‘war on drugs’ we find a global constellation where Asian players such as Afghanistan and Myanmar supply the world with more opium than the combined demand that existed many decades ago. Both countries gained the reputation of having the lowest seizure rates for contraband and rarely claim trafficking interceptions. The spending of 611 billion US dollars on US-led military activities in Afghanistan since 9/11 has this country made the prime focus of alert for containing insurgencies and fighting Taliban-style terrorism; more than two fifths of all US spending for security issues was allocated in Afghanistan. The US administration allocated 64 billion US dollars for civilian projects of reconstruction and infrastructure development in Afghanistan after defeating the Taliban government in October 2001. Despite all these efforts Afghanistan has grown to become the leading supplier of opiates to the end-user markets only after 9/11; an environment where the interests of various players can meet must have emerged and produced most favorable conditions for poppy cultivation, its processing into opium and heroin, and trafficking with high profits. International organizations have invested in eradication programs and attempted to replace poppy cultivation for other crops in order to break the nexus of drugs and war. Pacification strategies have been directed towards food security or licit cash crop production. Despite spending nearly nine billion US dollars for counternarcotics programs between 2002 and 2017, the general trend of expansive drug production and ample supply to the world market could not be stopped. As Afghanistan had reached an all-time climax in poppy cultivation in 2017, the same year recorded only an eradication of 750 hectares, less than a fifth of a percent compared to the area where poppy is grown. Different actors and factors seem to shape relations in a complex triangle of producers, processors and traffickers in one corner, power brokers, warlords, arms and drug dealers in another, both confronted and connected with representatives of international organizations, border regimes and the world market. How could Afghanistan emerge from oblivion to gain such a prime standing in cultivating and processing poppy (Papaver somniferum) and its derivates like morphine and heroin? How could illicit poppy cultivation become such a persistent and dominant cash crop in Afghanistan across all changes of governance and international relations? What factors allow expanding and sustaining the value chain of opiates from Asian to global markets?
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Papers by Hermann Kreutzmann
‘Hunza matters’ addresses the transformation from four perspectives. First, the changing physical infrastructure are analysed from a road perspective. Initially, pack animals and porterage were involved in crossing high passes. Daring geostrategic projects emerged, shedding light on early plans for connecting British India with China by motor road. Much later the Karakoram Highway was built. The latest stage of infrastructure development is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Second, environmental resource utilisation strategies have changed over time. Emphasis has shifted from a predominantly agriculture-based economy towards a market-oriented income generation including extractivism, remittances and services. Third, bordering and ordering is strongly linked to actors and factors. Fourth, new light is shed on prevalent myths that are associated with Alexander the Great and the Silk Roads, longevity and an ideal state. A developmentalism discourse has been transformed in Chinese occupation narrative. All four perspectives are displayed on the basis of archival evidence that has been collected from a wide range of sources, augmented by empirical material collected during four decades.
A human-geographical perspective is pursued in which case studies about colonial and post-colonial boundary-making, exchange relations of mountain communities across international borders, the transformation of agricultural and pastoral practices and the effects of modernisation strategies in neighbouring counties are centred in the Hindukush, Wakhan Quadrangle, Pamirian Crossroads, Karakoram Mountains and Himalaya. Empirical evidence is augmented by in-depth archival research, thus allowing a perspective from the 19th to the 21st century.
By shifting the focus to mountain peripheries and emphasising spaces in between urban centres of power in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and the Central Asian republics different arenas of confrontation and effective changes emerge.
conceived and built in 1827 by neoclassical architects and urban planners during periods when the countryside was attractive to romantic thinkers, takes us back to the first quarter of the 19th century. Two locations - the village of Glazovo, on the outskirts of Pavlovsky Park, south of St. Petersburg, and the village of Aleksandrovka, not far from Sanssouci Castle and a park in Potsdam near Berlin - are two examples of this philosophy. While Glazovo completely disappeared from the face of the Earth during World War II, Aleksandrovka miraculously survived all the whims of the last two centuries. This is the success story of the Russian architectural and construction culture, which, by highlighting autochthonous design and methods, elevated achievements in the construction of wooden houses and their decoration during the time of romantic classicism. And this phenomenon requires analysis and explanation of the cultural and historical context of the perception of this phenomenon.
advocated for a demilitarization and neutralization of border regions in Central Asia. Peace parks could contribute to peace-building, mutual cooperation and exchange of expertise and knowledge as well as help for promoting nature protection and ecotourism.
InWEnt’s mountain development programme harbours on expertise derived from the Alpine context in the heart of Europe. Challenges in Inner Asia can be linked with Europe when traditional practices of land utilization, harsh environmental conditions and our common future are at stake. Global warming and its effects on mountain regions are the least understood aspects of climate change scenarios. Basic knowledge and fundamental system properties need be investigated in both regions and are valuable contributions to a better understanding of the interrelated processes on a global scale.
From the perspective of human capacity building as an integral part of economic cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and Asian partner countries the importance of Asian mountain regions cannot be neglected.
When we talk of glaciers outside the Polar Regions we find the mountain towers of humankind in Inner Asia. Major rivers such as the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, Indus, Brahmaputra and Ganges, the Yangtse and Mekong originate in the Pamirs and Himalaya and supply more than one-and-a-half billion people in the lowlands with water. Water remains to be the prime resource and most valuable commodity. Limited supplies of safe drinking water, availability and seasonality of irrigation water and diminishing quantities for power-generation pose the challenges for future generations.
Food security for approximately four times the European population is strongly linked with the availability of irrigation water in appropriate quality and quantity. National approaches seemed to be the answer to these constraints and challenges. In the course of time it has become obvious how important cross-border cooperation and regionally synchronized strategies are.
Regional cooperation and communication might be the most efficient strategy to reduce confrontation and to contribute to security enhancement and peaceful coexistence. In times of growing destabilisation and new qualities of political interaction this might be the driving force for our commitment to contribute to global peace and security.
The mountain development programme of InWEnt – composed of international conferences, long-term leadership training programmes, regional symposia and national training programmes – is an approach to enhance the understanding of pressing problems. We understand human capacity building as a process to be actively engaged in support of cooperation and communication and to create a community of colleagues in neighbouring countries who are involved in change management and designing future policies and who benefit from closer cooperation in a professional network.
It has become part of conventional wisdom that human capacity building plays a major role in the attempt to create structures that are conducive for achieving the stated goals. Nowadays no organisation can act independently and without proper grounding in the region.
On the regional level the strategic partner is the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu. For many years InWEnt looks back towards a strong and productive cooperation which is the foundation for future challenges.
On the national level, each country is represented with a strong partner organisation that enables cooperative efforts in training courses, identification and selection of candidates. The expertise and trust are the basis for a straight-forward training programme such as the ILT.
Central issues which can be addressed in this way are:
- natural resource management in light of global warming
- degradation and desertification as the result of overexploitation and undefined property rights
- sustainable development in order to secure livelihoods
- trade and commerce
All issues are not confined to nation states and do not cease to exist at national boundaries. Experiences gathered in partner countries are instrumental for generating synergies.
Here the training centre in Feldafing as the venue of the “meeting of minds” appears again on the scene. The rationale of the international leadership training is to combine experiences and practices from the Bavarian and other Alpine regions with the challenges of Asian mountain systems. The exposure of participants in the international leadership training with Alpine administrations and institutions has challenged both sides. The knowledge gathered has resulted in tangible and intangible results. For all participants the learning environment has broadened the horizon.
The same aim was connected with the international conference. The “meeting of minds” was directed to the meeting of professional colleagues with similar background. Invited policy makers from Alpine and Asian mountain regions found a platform in a mind-stimulating environment for mutual exchange.
InWEnt’s commitment to mountain development is clearly rooted in domestic experiences and challenges of a globalized world. InWEnt is executing its mountain development programme with a clear view towards the tremendous challenges we are faced with in other parts of the world. The scope and the topics are of a different scale as are the challenges mountain people in the Pamirs, Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya and Kun Lun Shan are confronted with. Consequently, we see the proceedings volume containing papers, results from panel discussions and the Feldafing Manifesto as a contribution to stimulate the debate on mountain development which we like to share with like-minded people and the international mountain community. May the Feldafing Manifesto provide the necessary orientation in tackling the challenges for a common future.
the ‘meeting of minds’ was to develop a vision for desiderata, short-comings and urgent needs directed towards Pamir-focused development and research efforts. All persons who could follow the invitation to convene in Berlin were experts in their respective fields thus
representing a wide range of different personal experiences, rofessional backgrounds and upbringings. It was attempted to create a cross-border perspective that was focusing on a remote region in all countries that claim to have a share in the Pamirs. By looking from the periphery on local developments, regional connections, national dependencies and global networks the web of multi-fold interrelationships and contrasting perceptions emerged and illustrated the complex challenges to which this meeting of minds could contribute only some glimpses. The two-day deliberations were structured in five themes, two keynotes,
and one summarising statement.