Pastoral practices in High Asia

Prof. Hermann Kreutzmann has been a professor of human geography at Freie Universität Berlin since April 2005. He had previously completed his doctorate at the Department of Earth Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin in 1989. Kreutzmann’s research focuses on geographical development studies. He conducts his research mainly in high mountain areas, especially in South and Central Asia, in the context of globalization and climate change debates. His research also focuses on sustainable resource use as well as minority studies and migration research. Hermann Kreutzmann is a recipient of the Tianshan Prize China from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He received the award for his “outstanding contribution to the economic and social progress” of this region located in northwest China. For more than 25 years Kreutzmann has been conducting research there on issues of resource use and the development of mountain regions. In addition, he was honored for his contribution to scientific cooperation and his support of German-Chinese cooperation in the education of young scientists. This award is the highest that can be awarded to a foreign expert in Xinjiang.

"This edited volume addresses a highly important and so far rather neglected issue, namely the ongoing transformation processes affecting pastoral communities in the mountainous regions of Inner and Central Asia. ... this volume on pastoralists in High Asia is a very welcome contribution to our knowledge on this part of the world, and a tentative look into its future. ... offers a lot of interesting data and food for thought." (Professor Peter Finke, Nomadic Peoples, Issue 19, 2015) "The volume focusses on pastoral systems from the perspective of the social sciences and anthropology, with most chapters taking a case study approach. ... The book ends with a discussion of the central questions of land rights and pressure on common pastures and on the role of the state and of the pastoralist communities themselves in determining their own futures. It is a useful and timely overview of pastoral systems in the region today." (Sarah Robinson, Pastoralism, Vol. 3 (3), 2013)

• From the Content: Pastoralism in High Asia.- Introduction.- Variegated pastoral practices in the Pamirian knot.- Pastoral practices on the move – Recent transformations in mountain pastoralism on the Tibetan Plateau.- Case studies from Hindukush, Karakoram, Pamir and Tien Shan.- Pastoralism, power and politics: access to pastures under conditions of tenure insecurity in Northern Afghanistan.- Economic Strategies and Market Orientation of the Afghan Kyrgyz.- Herding on high grounds. Diversity and typology of pastoral systems in the Eastern Hindu Kush (Chitral, Pakistan).- Tobias Kraudzun: Pastoralism and Livelihoods of the 'New Livestock Breeders' in the East-ern Pamirs of Tajikistan.