“Before that (grafting glacier) water was not available even for drinking. We used to pray Salah through Tayammum. Due to the grafted glacier, a lot of snow has accumulated there (pointing towards the glacier). The glacier is now 52 feet, Alhamdulillah. Look at this water, now we can perform ablution and pray easily”.

A native of Balghar valley explained this while pointing toward an artificially cultivated glacier.

Gilgit-Baltistan is home to the third-largest ice reserves after the Polar Regions. More than 5000 glaciers ranging from a few tens of meters to more than 70 km long are found across this region. Still, the region lacks water due to the slow melting of these glaciers. Availability of water has been a big concern for local communities. Apart from being the host of the largest glaciers on the globe, Gilgit Baltistan also has numerous cold deserts. These deserts face water shortages throughout the year. To cope with the water shortage, the locals developed a technique of grafting glaciers artificially.

History of Glacier Marriage

“There was a mountain pass connecting Baltistan to Kashgar (China). People from Kashgar used to come on raids to Baltistan killing and plundering. One day a woman, who had become a widow after her husband was killed by Kashgaris was approached by a Sufi mystic, Ameer Kabir Syed Ali Hamadani when he heard about her mourning. Syed Ali taught her how to grow glaciers to protect themselves from the attacks of enemies. She then followed his advice and grew this Glacier”.

A native of Kondus valley narrates this story about the Kondos glacier.

The art of glacier growing is an old practice that the people of the Himalayan region have been conducting for centuries. This practice has been transferred from generation to generation through oral traditions. The elders narrated that their ancestors could mark several such reared glaciers in various places of Baltistan, which they have forgotten now. Some cultivators associate it with the Sufi mystic, Syed Ali Hamdani, others claim that it’s older than 1000 years, the first westerner to describe this technique was Lieutenant David Lockhart Robertson, who wrote about it in the 1920s. 

According to local traditions, glaciers are also attributed as living beings and grey-colored glaciers are considered male glaciers while white-colored glaciers are identified as female glaciers.

A verb in Balti called ‘gang xso’ refers to the activities whereby humans encourage the growth of glaciers. ‘Gang’ here refers to ice or glaciers, while ‘xso’ refers to ‘growing’. In Shina, a similar term for glacier growing is found in ‘gamok sanoke’, ‘Gamok’ translates as ‘glacier’, while ‘sanoke’ translates to ‘making’.

The practice of glacier grafting involves carrying a patch of a glacier weighing about 35 kilograms from each male and female glacier and then placing it in a cave or below a big rock in a region of high elevation. Apart from the ice, water is also added inside the cave along with charcoal and sawdust, and wheat husk. These things act as an insulator that protects the ice inside the cave from melting. While constructing a glacier special importance is given to the site. The site must be prone to the accumulation of snow by snowfall or avalanches. The ground must be cold enough to resist the melting of snow by heat. The wind around the site must also be slow to avoid melting. 

Marriage Customs

In Gilgit Baltistan, Glaciers have been historically classified as male and female glaciers. Both Balti and Shina, two major languages are spoken in Gilgit Baltistan, have specific words for different sexes of Glaciers. In Balti, the word ‘Mo-gang’ describes female glaciers, while ‘Po-gang’ is for male glaciers, whereas in Shina, ‘sonche gamuk’ is used for female glaciers; and ‘beero gamuk’ for the male glacier. According to local traditions, a ‘female glacier’ is a glacier that is growing and giving off a lot of water, it has a white or bluish color. A ‘male glacier’, apart from being black, and covered with soil and boulders, was characterized as giving little water and moving slowly. While tying the knots and grafting an artificial Glacier, ice belonging to both the sexes is required. A glacier starts growing only when it gives birth to a new cap of snow. To ‘impregnate’ the ‘female glacier’ one has to combine it with ice from a ‘male glacier’, which can be described as a ceremonial marriage. 

A glacier grower from Kwardu explained how they collected male and female glaciers.

We were 12 people who collected mo-gang (female) from Shigar and then walked without break for 12 hours back to Kwardo. The other team went to the Gang singay glacier on the other side of Skardu town. There they got pogang (male) which was covered in soil and rocks.

Even the water used in the process should be from different sexes, male and female, called ‘po-shu’ and ‘mo-shu’. According to Balti oral traditions, the river Indus is the Male River and River Shyok is the Female River.

Traditionally men walk to the previously marked area of glacier growing sites in September and October with packs full of glacial ice weighing 300 kg and pots of Indus River water weighing 120kg. Other ingredients such as sawdust, wheat husk, charcoal, and salt are also carried along with the ice. The two types of glaciers from the naturally occurring site are taken up to the elevation of 4000m, where it is placed in a dug-out cave. Apart from the ice, they also place several gourds containing water in the interior of these caves. This water is usually brought to the site from rivers Shigar and Indus. After this, the process of insulating the ice begins by adding Charcoal and sawdust or wheat husk to the top. Then the cave is closed by piling up the rock at its entrance. During this process, prayers and sacrifices of animals by locals are organized as part of the ‘marriage of glaciers’ and they believe that it will give rise to a glacier within a span of ten to fifteen years. All this knowledge has been transferred from generation to generation orally.

Success Stories

In the years 2000 and 2005 AKRSP started grafting glaciers in different areas of Baltistan with the help of locals. AKRSP has grafted glaciers in Pari, Tarkati, Ghawari, Hussainabad, Machulu, and Khapulu. Glaciers were grafted in 17 different sites in Baltistan. 

Deputy regional program AKRSP, Sadaqat Hussain, who has actively participated in these glacier growing programs, explained  

“Grafted glaciers proved to be successful in Machulu, Balghar, Hanjur, Pari, and Tassu. Experts of Glacier grafting said that it would take 50 years for the grafted glacier to start giving water, however, in Balghar the glacier started giving water just in 10 years”.

A glacier at the top of the mountain in the west of Skardu Valley which looks different from the neighboring snow over the mountain is one of the reared glaciers that still exists and provides sufficient water to the villages of western Skardu valley namely Chunda, Tandal, Kharbu, and Gamba Skardu. The name of the said glacier is “Senge Gang” the Lion-glacier.

The science behind the process

The sites where glacier grafting was carried out were already prone to accumulation of snow by avalanche and snow slip. The presence of permo-frost (glacier that doesn’t grow) might add up to the accumulation of snow and help it grow further. Thus, glacier growing is conducted at places that are already exposed to ice accumulation and may explain why glacier growing is perceived to work. Sawdust and charcoal are used to insulate the ice by all of the glacier growers. Due to its thermal insulation property saw dusk saves the ice from melting during the extreme months of summer. The importance of atmospheric pressure was depicted through the fact that almost all these sites were at the elevation of 4000 meters or above. 

Dr. Zakir of Baltistan University who is working on a pilot project to document and preserve this indigenous technique states that,

 “Where hard ice mass exists, it starts accumulating by solidifying rainfall, humidity in clouds, and snow in winter. When the rate of accumulation becomes greater than the rate of melting and sublimation, the ice mass starts growing in size.” 

Glacier Grafting and Water Management

Climate change is disrupting weather patterns, leading to extreme weather events, rapid depletion of available glaciers, unpredictable water availability, and exacerbating water scarcity. On the global scale, the warmer and drier climatic conditions have hampered agricultural production, leading to food insecurity, Pakistan is no exception. The northern region of the country where rainfall is very rare and agriculture is solely dependent on the melting of glaciers is mostly affected by global warming. According to a report, the total area under cultivation is roughly one percent of the total area of Gilgit-Baltistan. It constitutes 73,000 hectares that require a non-stop supply of water for irrigation purposes, while another 90,000 hectares in every district can be developed for cultivation purposes through sustained water provision. Therefore, the glacier grafting technique has the potential to transfer 90,000 hectares of land per district into arable land for food security. This conventional method of breeding male and female glaciers has been becoming successful in Gilgit-Baltistan, since 2001. 

During an interview, a glacier grower from Kwardo explained:

 “My glacier was about 500 meters further up, that’s why it benefits only 3 villages, while the old glacier benefits all. My glacier is in a bad place because the sun is hitting it all the time. The old glacier is only hit for two months in summer (for two hours a day) the rest of the year it is in the total shadow”

A way forward 

Humans affect Glaciers as much as Glaciers affect us. We can either construct industries in abundance or increase the average temperature of the globe causing global warming or we can grow glaciers like the people of Gilgit Baltistan and enhance the freshwater reservoirs. Glacier growing in Baltistan and Gilgit is viewed as a possible method to apply in water management. 

Climate change is “eating away Himalayan glaciers at a dramatic rate”, Glacier grafting is a possible sustainable solution. It is very encouraging that higher education institutes of the region, Karakoram International University and the University of Baltistan under the umbrella of the GLOF-II project are striving to carry forward this legacy of glacier grafting and also introduce new scientific techniques to mitigate the effects of climate change in Gilgit-Baltistan.

While a warming-induced regional conflict over scarce water resources has been anticipated in the medium to long run, the contested claims and disputes over climate prone and underdeveloped regions across Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindukush  (HKH) Mountains may trigger a conflict in the immediate run. Right at the heart of these mighty mountain ranges lie the vulnerable (climate prone), neglected, and disputed regions of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Jammu and Kashmir (JK), Ladakh, and Aksai Chin. The former three are contested between Pakistan and India, and the latter two remain disputed between China and India.

With growing geopolitical competition and a rising climate threat, the need for reflecting on out of the box solutions has accentuated. To meet the looming dual crisis of climate and conflict, a two-pronged strategy is required to simultaneously tackle them. Any individual, regional or global effort to deal with climate related challenges will prove to be futile without taking into consideration the more imminent threat of conflict. Unfortunately, India’s unilateral decisions to change the political status of mountain valleys, and reciprocal actions from Pakistan and China have escalated this regional situation. If these countries stick to their political claims over these high HKH lands, matters will worsen further. No international organization or power seems to be in a position to make any of these countries to agree to initiate a negotiation process.

Under these circumstances, it has become extremely crucial to consider declaring the entire territory of GB, Ladakh, JK and Aksai Chin a global environmental free zone. A regional consensus over considering this entire HKH portion free from trade barriers will certainly enhance a cooperative environment and increase revenue generation. While the regional countries historically having control over these territories will respectively oversee the financial and other technical matters, the people from these mountain communities should be given greater representation to take the lead.

Recommendations

A special office comprising academicians, scientists and other experts, should be created under local governments of these mountain communities to simultaneously work on the matters of conflict and climate.

It is imperative that authority and platforms must be provided to these indigenous people to create a conducive environment for mitigating and resolving disputes over their own land. After all, the international community and regional countries remain unable to defuse the situation for decades. A regional headquarters will be required to coordinate policies among mountain communities, suitably in GB.

For coordination of policies with regional countries, special representation to this newly created office should be given in the central decision-making offices like in the respective national assemblies and senates. Since the matter is of international concern and there will be a great need and support of the international community, the representation of their headquarters is highly recommended at the UN.

Pragmatically, to inculcate this idea, there is a need to establish a few think tanks in these mountain communities which could later on be converted into political offices under local governments.

Furthermore, it should be among the priorities of this newly created office to help build consensus and agreement to declare these regions, in particular, and the whole HKH system in general, a nuclear weapon free zone. If this milestone is achieved, the resultant conducive environment will leave the presence of armed forces irrelevant, whose role could be converted to deal with looming impacts of climate change (disaster management).

While proposing mechanisms to declare this entire area a global park, this office will be required to devise and suggest sustainable planning for the region to fight the consequences of warming. Of course, declaring this vital area a trade and visa free zone will attract a great number of people that would certainly consume the region’s natural resources and increase human-induced warming. Therefore, to every activity related to trade and tourism, the rules of environment will be applied and strictly adhered to i.e., eco-friendly trends from construction of roads, bridges, dams, hotels, and houses will have to be taken into consideration. While the visiting tourists could be encouraged to plant at least one tree each, all means of transportation consuming Petro-chemicals should be prohibited to operate in the region and electrically charged transport should be encouraged.

More than that, special efforts are required to put a halt to the degradation of forests and cutting of trees for heating purposes. To that end, a great amount of investment is required in exploring the region’s opportunities of environment-friendly run-of-the-river hydroelectric energy.

In this respect, if half of GB’s existing capacity is explored, it will not only be enough for the entire region’s needs but can be exported to other grids and the revenue could be utilized to undertake other sustainably viable projects in the region. While remaining engaged in matters of conflict resolution, the newly created office will have to devise the region’s sustainable development and energy policy, and discover avenues of investments. Moreover, this authority can also be entrusted to craft out mechanisms of agreement over future developments of shared rivers. A joint effort will certainly help to discern innovative solutions to depleting water resources. For instance, dams could be jointly constructed at locations accessible to all, and so forth.

The vast glaciers of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamirs, spreading across the highlands of Central and South Asia, are considered to be the globe’s third pole. Interestingly, these mountain ranges converge over Pakistan administered Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in a unique way, making the region the undisputed core of the third pole. While mega glaciers underscore GB’s significance for regional hydrology and ecology, the region’s ability to connect Asia’s key peripheries makes it a distinctive geospatial entity. Notwithstanding growing climate change concerns and the need for a concerted climate action, India has recently been expressing an intent of confrontation vis-à-vis GB. India’s Defense Minister’s statement, “not to stop until reaching GB” seems to be an extension of the belligerent policies being adopted by the Modi government, especially towards Kashmir and Pakistan. By getting hold of GB, India could attempt to not only disconnect Pakistan and China but also get access to Central Asia and Afghanistan.

Given China’s strategic and economic interests, especially the country’s recent mega investments in GB’s infrastructure under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing has become a direct stakeholder in the region. Thus, India’s intentions of adventurism in GB might also have the motivation of killing two birds with one stone, or in other words, to give a try to its “two-front war” mantra. With general election in India due next year, the ruling party has to show to its public a disposition of a great power. Challenging both its nuclear rivals at a time would serve to win greater public mandate on the one hand, while on the other, the feat would put to test New Delhi’s partnership with Washington. For now, Washington appears to be turning a blind eye towards New Delhi’s actions in Kashmir. Any Indian actions to come eyeball to eyeball with China are likely to get the support of the U.S. Under the prevailing situation, it is imperative for Pakistan and China to take immediate measures to halt India from taking another unilateral decision and carry out any kind of adventurism in the third pole’s core.

A growing economy, popular government, and U.S. support seem to be a part of the reason behind India’s coercive diplomacy and policies. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s passive reactions emanating out of the state of confusion to decide the fate of GB and a lack of internal cohesion are other factors New Delhi appears to be capitalising on. Islamabad seems puzzled whether to constitutionally mainstream GB or keep it in a contested state to retain its international status at the United Nations. Both geography and history indicate GB to be a distinctive region and having a separate identity than Kashmir’s. The locals, wary of the Dogras of Kashmir for invading and imposing ill practices of slavery and forced labour, revolted against the Raj and acceded to Pakistan. India considers GB as a part of the then state of Kashmir and lays claim on it. Ironically, Pakistan’s inability to give constitutional status to GB and its linking the region to Kashmir are making the situation more complex. While New Delhi’s unilateral decisions accentuate complexities of an already complicated situation, Islamabad has optimistically been pushing for implementation of UNSC resolutions and arrangement of a plebiscite across the territories of GB, Ladakh, and Kashmir.

Nevertheless, keeping GB in a state of limbo does not bode well for China’s interests in the region. China and Pakistan concluded a border agreement in 1963 and ceded land to each other. During the following decade and a half, both countries constructed the strategic Karakoram Highway (KKH) — the only road link between the two countries. The recent push under CPEC to improve regional economic opportunities has brought mega investments to GB, to upgrade the KKH by constructing state-of-the-art tunnels through rugged mountains. Considerable investment is also being done to enhance power generation capacity. China must be cognizant of the fact that GB’s geographic position provides a perfect opportunity for expansion of its geoeconomic initiatives to Afghanistan and Central Asia. However, India raising a question on the sovereignty issue related to the project has added to tensions. This gives the U.S. a perfect justification not only for non-recognition of China’s economic initiative but also to discourage its European allies from taking part in it.

While this remains to be a key concern for China, India’s unilateral manoeuvring in its immediate neighbourhood seems to be a graver concern. Beforehand, New Delhi’s unilateral decision to annex Kashmir’s autonomous status has dented the delicate equation of regional stability. The ongoing India’s aggressive rhetoric of trespassing and reaching GB reeks of a country pursuing regional hegemony, or in other words, challenging China’s regional supremacy. This is coming at a time when the U.S., in its latest National Security Strategy, has committed to bolstering alliances and partnerships against China.

There is a reason Pakistan and China need to take India’s intent of confrontation seriously. Before the last general election, the Indian leadership made similar statements vis-a-vis Kashmir, and materialised what was said, immediately after the polls. Despite listening to repeated calls from the Indian leadership to change the status quo in Kashmir, Pakistani and Chinese authorities were irresponsive. Therefore, it is time for both Beijing and Islamabad to take immediate steps not only to avoid geopolitics but also to force New Delhi to use a different lens when perceiving this vital geospatial territory.

Given the significance of GB for regional ecology and hydrology, Islamabad and Beijing must make climate action a priority over geopolitics in the region. China has already been undertaking extraordinary research to preserve its glaciers and promote eco-friendly trends over ecologically sensitive places. Capitalising on this, Pakistan and China should make efforts to establish a climate-centric regional consortium of third pole countries. An agenda to declare the third pole a collective regional or global asset and make ways to declare it a nuclear weapons free zone would certainly help reduce hostilities. Furthermore, making its core, GB, a top priority for undertaking climate action, and promoting eco-friendly trends of tourism and energy generation would also benefit regional countries. This is so because it will help advance an amiable environment and avoid geopolitical volatilities. India joining this consortium would be crucial for its success. However, New Delhi’s non-participation would confirm that the country is soon going to materialise its confrontational rhetoric. In that case, Pakistan and China, while continuing efforts to preserve the environment, will have to take more drastic measures. Maybe, it is time to ensure the security of the third pole’s core. Therefore, China and Pakistan must transform their partnership into an alliance by preparing for joint air and ground defences to deter India from taking another unilateral action detrimental for regional stability. Failing to deter India from taking any kind of misadventures could result in a limited or total war over a region comprising the most glaciers outside the polar zone. Such an eventuality will certainly have global consequences.