Northern Pakistan’s remote mountain communities are a rich reservoir of diverse cultures. But some of the languages in these regions – such as Yidgha and Dameli – are only spoken by a few thousand people. This makes the languages vulnerable, especially in the face of climate disasters like floods and droughts.
With livelihoods under threat, many members of these communities are forced to migrate to other regions in search of a better life. This distance erodes the vitality of their mother tongue, as does the pressure to learn and use other, economically dominant languages.
In our third episode of The Third Pole Podcast, journalist Fawad Ali explains how he developed this topic into an investigative piece for Dialogue Earth. He also discusses the resulting article’s impact so far, and how to preserve the mountain cultures of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Joining him is Dialogue Earth’s Pakistan editor, Farahnaz Zahidi, who delves deeper into the problem. She explores the intersection of gender and climate change, calling for mountain communities to be more involved in adaptation policies and planning.
Our climate policies do not mention this sociocultural aspect of climate change. They don’t even recognise these Indigenous communities. So, when the government doesn’t recognise these communities, obviously there is no work being done on the preservation and the protection of these languages.Fawad Ali, independent journalist
Guests
Fawad Ali, independent journalist
Farahnaz Zahidi Moazzam, Pakistan editor, Dialogue Earth
Credits
Hosts: Shalinee Kumari, Omair Ahmad
Producer: Shalinee Kumari
Audio edit and sound design: Sync Sound Sabha
Recording studios: Pindrop Media, Podspot
Artwork: Sana Nasir
Thanks to: Lizi Hesling, Nanaui Amoros Silva, Chaia Dechen, Georgie Campbell
Music credits
“Alarm Cycle” by Blue Dot Sessions, licence: CC BY NC
“Borough” by Blue Dot Sessions, licence: CC BY NC
About the series
The Third Pole Podcast is a new Dialogue Earth series focusing on climate change and the environment in the Himalayan watershed. It aims to create a space for beyond-the-article conversations with our journalists and field experts. At the same time, we also ask questions about the state of environmental journalism in South Asia: why it is needed, what issues it should be looking at and what challenges it faces.
