Pashtun Indigenous Knowledge and Resilience: Mitigating Climate Change in Northern Pakistan

Zafar Khan, Ph.D.

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge and resilience are embedded in the prevailing culture of traditional societies. This study aims to investigate the Pashtun culturally embedded indigenous knowledge and resilience to climate change. The Pashtun indigenous knowledge is culturally entrenched and guides them socio-culturally to mitigate the worst impact of climate change. It is revealed Pashtun indigenous knowledge and resilience are rooted in their culture and social structure. Their folk literature, metaphors, poetry, traditions, cultural capitals, social organizations, and colonial history are key elements to understanding the different aspects of Pashtun’s traditional wisdom and resilience to climate change. Pashtun social structure (such as kinship bonds, brotherhood, and reciprocity) and cultural institutions (such as Jirga) also strengthen their resilience to bounce back from the worst impact of climate change. Indigenous knowledge, sociocultural institutions, and resilience collectively help them to face the worst impact of climate change. Pashtun have bad memories of colonial exploitation and Pakistan’s exploitative policies; hence, they do not trust state initiatives, and they rely on their traditions to counter the worst impact of climate change.