Residents’ Perception of Impact of Mass Tourism on Mountain Environment in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

This study seeks to explore and explain the perception of residents about the environmental impact of mountain mass tourism in three tourist destinations in Gilgit-Baltistan. This study is based on quantitative and qualitative data collected through a survey and group discussions with residents of three tourist destinations. Results revealed that the residents of the study area are highly concerned about the environmental impact of mass tourism. They highlighted air pollution, traffic congestion, pressure on land use change and infrastructure, and degradation of mountain ecosystem services. The study also found that communities in these tourist places expect governmental and non-governmental organizations to come up with a better plan for the management of mountain tourism on a sustainable basis. Reflecting critically on the perceptions of stakeholders about tourism impact, it is important to develop linkages between governmental and non-governmental organizations for environmental protection and sustainable quality tourism in the region while taking communities on board

The Evaluation of Geotechnical Properties of Precambrian Hazara Slates, Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

The fold and thrust belt of the eastern Hazara division characterised the sedimentary rocks of Precambrian toPaleocene age. The sequence and formation of Precambrian signify the oldest rock unit as Hazara Slate. Geologicalmap of the study area was prepared at the scale of 1:75,000 for about 140 square kilometre area located inMuzaffarabad (Azad Kashmir) district and Lohargali of Abbottabad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) district. The lab analysisshows that it is not rational to use Hazara slates as aggregate material due to its mineral accumulation and composition.Los Angele’s Abrasion Value, Impact Value, Crushing Value, Specific Gravity, Water Absorption, Flakiness Index,Elongation Index, Porosity Value, California Bearing Ratio test and Grain Size Analysis were done and co-related withB.S standards and the parameters were deduced. It was observed that the mineral composition of Hazara Slates rangesfor illite, kaolinite, quartz and carbonate. Kaolinite and illite are clay minerals which haveswelling potential to causeconstruction material damage the material. The presence of Carbonate and Quartz gives strength to the material, but itspercentage is low. Reserves calculation of different localities was also done for the quarry development

The Efficiency of Amalgamation and Cyanidation for the Extraction of Placer Gold Deposits of Indus River Basin along Gilgit to Thalachi (Gilgit-Baltistan)

Separation of gold from placers are not given importance in Pakistan, but in the economy of Gilgit-Baltistan,it plays a vital role. The study mainly focused on shaking table technique for the extraction of gold from placer depositsalong Gilgit river between Gilgit and Thalachi, near Gilgit and Astore river junction. For the separation of gold, fromthe concentration of shaking table the Hg; mercury amalgamation has been used for it. In the result of theamalgamation process recovered gold was 27.12%. The cyanidation process was used to separate from remains ofmercury amalgamation, tailing and middling of shaking table. The graphical results of gold extraction with bottle rollcyanidation and agitation method were compared. The results of gold separation using bottle roll cyanidation andagitation methods were about 87.5% and 29.8% respectively. It is clear from the results, the bottle roll cyanidation is abetter technique for the separation of fine gold from placers along with downstream waterway areas, where placerdeposits occur

Relationship of Physical Properties of Limestone and Marble with Rock Strength Under Specific Geological Conditions from Khyber Region Hunza

The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is one of the input parameters mostly used in surface andunderground designs. A literature review revealed that most of the empirical equations between UCS and Schmidthammer rebound number (N) are not satisfactory because of the low coefficient of correlation. In most of the cases, asingle formula is used for all types of rocks. In this study, a relationship UCS with N, slake durability, moisture content,and specific gravity has been developed for a particular limestone and marble deposit. These equations help todetermine the strength of these deposits directly using N value and other properties. The UCS value increased withincreasing N value, specific gravity, and slake durability. While the UCS value decreased with increasing moisturecontent. A relation between slaking cycles and slake durability index is also developed. In this study, the slakedurability value decreased with increasing slaking cycles for both limestone and marble. The UCS showed a linearrelationship with these physical properties

Landslide Hazard Risk Assessment and Landuse Planning of Mayoon, Hunza, GilgitBaltistan, Pakistan

Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan is highly vulnerable and hazard-prone area according to National DisasterManagerment Authority, based on frequency of avalanches, landslides, glacier lake outburst floods, rockfall and flashfloods. These hazards have been quite frequent since 2010, potentially due to changing climatic conditions and uniquetectonic setting resulting in massive destruction, economic loss and human migration. In this study, geospatial techniques(GIS/RS) were used to identify landslide hazard with elements at risk. The resultant maps will be used for betterplanning and resilience of local communities. Landslide area has been marked based on field observations (GPS data).Risk category is ranked high, medium and low based on field observations, geological setting and historical landslidedata. There are six offshoots of MKT crossing parallel to each other along KKH from Chalt to Ahmadabad. Chalt fault iscrossing nearby the Mayoon landslide, which may affect the entire valley. This study identifies landslide as a majorhazard in the area

气候变化对印度河上游流域水文水资源变化的影响，巴基斯坦

喜马拉雅山、喀喇昆仑山和兴都库什山的冰川有着复杂的动力学作用，近几十年来经历了保持稳定或扩张。然而，世界各地的冰川正在迅速退缩。这种现象称为喀喇昆仑异常。该地区拥有世界上除了极地以外最大的冰川和冰盖，被称为世界第三高峰。季节性的冰川积雪融水在为下游的居民提供水资源的山地生态系统中扮演着重要角色。在随着喀喇昆仑山冰川融化出现的众多问题中基于水文模型的积雪覆盖动态变化模拟对巴基斯坦吉尔吉特-巴尔蒂斯坦地区水资源管理有着重要意义。精确的山区降水估算对许多水文过程至关重要，例如冰川物质平衡，河流径流，干旱和洪水监测等。在复杂山区，是很难获得准确的降雨量数据。但是，卫星降水量产品可以作为这些地区降雨估算的备用数据源。全球覆盖的高时空分辨率卫星降水数据已经用于许多研究领域。因此，在研究区可用的冰川物质平衡，雪盖动力学以及降水空间格局的背景下，重要的就是河流径流的测量。将 SWAT 模型结合温度指数和高程分带算法应用到以冰川融雪水位主要水源的罕萨流域。本文利用 SWAT 模型模拟了冰川积雪覆盖度高的罕萨流域的径流量对未来气候变化的响应及其对印度和水系时空特征的贡献。模型以 1998-2004 年为校准期，以 2008-2010 年为验证期，并以 4个推荐的统计参数（p 因子和 r 因子）作为不确定性评价指标进行模拟。模型模拟结果较好，校准期和验证期的评价指标分别为 R2 系数为 0.82，Nash 系数为 0.8，P 因子为 79% R 因子为 76%。本文利用 IPCC 第 5 次报告中的 GCMs（General Circulation Models）数据，以 1980-2010 为基准期，预测了未来 2030-2059 和 2070-2099 两个时间段的径流量。结果显示，到本世纪末气温增高 1.39 °C 到 6.58 °C，降水量降水增加 31%，导致径流量增加 5%到 10%.积雪动态变化分析采用的是 MODIS 8 天合成的积雪覆盖数据，以此来与印度河上游高纬度地区的 4 个气象站的 2000 年到 2014 年的数据进行对应。结果表明，巴基斯坦吉尔吉特-巴尔蒂斯坦地区的积雪覆盖面积从 45.04%增长到 59.26%。通过 15 年的观测数据可以看出兴都库什山和喜马拉雅山的积雪覆盖面积有轻微的减少趋势，主要是因为降水和温度的增加。实测的水文气象数据，大地测量数据和卫星数据表明喀喇昆仑山西部冰川自 1990 年以来具有保持稳定或扩张的趋势。罕萨河流量从 1966到 2010 年的六月至九月减少的现象可以解释这种反常现象。喀喇昆仑山脉西部的天气模式转移和降雪/积雪（MODIS 数据分析）的增加等趋势，并不能提供冰川退化的直接证据。本文在全球气候模式的三种排放情景（IPCC 第五次报告的 RCP2.6，RCP4.5 和 RCP8.5 情景）下预测了未来的径流量。预测结果表明，河流径流在本世纪中叶之前增加，之后会下降，这就为喀喇昆仑山的冰川趋于稳定或者增加现象提供了强有力的证据。通过高分卫星日尺度，月尺度，和年尺度的降水产品结合在喀喇昆仑，帕米尔高原和天山 地区的地面观测数据进行估算。通过 ME 值获得的最佳相关系数表明有少量的降水被低估。 同理，在年时间尺度上，降水观测数据和卫星降水产品的最大偏差，中误差，平方根误差和误差有很强的相关性。在具有 95％置信区间的测量站和CHIRPS 产品之间也观察到良好的相关性（r≥0.80）。观察到 CHIPRS 数据集的最大偏差（0.98）和中误差（-0.23mm decad-1）。在气候变化情境下，结合地面观测数据，MODIS 积雪覆盖产品和 CHIRPS 降水产品，本研究解释了巴基斯坦境内印度河上游流域积雪变迁现象。本研究还提供了罕萨河对气候变化响应的有关信息。这些结果可用于制定该区域未来可持续水管理的有效战略，同时克服下游水库如 DiamerBasha水坝的蓄洪和水存储的脆弱性。这些发现可以帮助对该地区季节性径流的预测，以及用雪盖变化来作为气候变化的响应

Dynamic effects of energy aid in energy transition under the moderating role of the government's regulatory quality

Energy aid to Asia Pacific countries seems attractive for decarbonization and renewable energy transition. However, no clear picture has been drawn on the synergetic connections between the energy aid and the transition to renewable energy in the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) paradigm. Therefore, this study is designed to fill this gap by examining the energy aid and its response to energy transition, measuring it with four sub-indicators of SDG7. Using a robust econometric framework, the empirical findings indicated that total energy aid has substantial potential in transitioning to renewable energy, and the link is more pronounced with energy policy aid and renewable energy aid in the Asia Pacific. The response of energy aid through the moderating effect of government regulatory quality on energy transition is also strong. These results carried similar signs and magnitude across the regional panels, estimates with multiple estimators, including asymmetric analysis, making the results robust for theoretical foundations. The novel findings from this study have scope for policymakers to design a practical policy roadmap for the transition of renewable energy to reach a carbon-neutral globe

The dilemma of natural disasters: Impact on economy, fiscal position, and foreign direct investment alongside Belt and Road Initiative countries

This paper investigates the damages and population affected by natural disasters based on percentile rankings, and analyzes the impact on the economy, per capita, fiscal balance, and foreign direct investment using novel panel algorithms in Belt and Road initiative countries (B&RIC) over 1990–2018. The results indicate that severe natural disasters have negatively influenced economic growth with an average size of −0.016, which is transmitted to fiscal balance (−0.011) and foreign direct investment (−0.0271) in the long-run. The results also imply that the intensity of severe disasters on the fiscal position of the B&RIC countries is negative with an average effect of −0.011; however, the trade-openness, FDI, and economic activities support to improve the fiscal balance in the long-run. The outcomes of the study further revealed that foreign direct investment is more elastic in response to natural disasters in these countries. Therefore, it is recommended that the policymakers in B&RI countries should integrate the economic impacts of natural disasters in long-term economic planning. This would help the policymakers for better fiscal decisions, attracting FDI inflows and preparedness in the aftermath of natural disasters