Note: Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- About the Authors -- List of Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Pamirian Spaces: Mapping Process Geographies in the Mountainous Periphery -- Introduction -- Protection of Indigenous Rights? -- Alai and Pamirs: Environmental Niche and Hub of Ecological Resources -- Border Processes -- Scope of the Volume -- References -- Pamir or Pamirs: Perceptions and Interpretations -- Introduction -- Colonial Exploration of the Pamirian Void -- Classification of Exclusion and Inclusion -- The Pamir Highway: An Internal Artery Motivating Cross-­Border Road Construction -- Regionalisation of the Pamirs: Introduction of the Various Pamirian Regions -- Importance of the Pamirian Knot -- References -- Archival Records -- Who Is Mapping the Pamirs? A Review on Plant and Vegetation Sciences -- Introduction -- Data Collection -- Discussion of the Dataset -- Results -- Paper Statistics -- Journal Statistics -- Author Statistics -- Coauthor Networks -- Discussion -- References -- Geomorphic Features of the Eastern Pamirs, with a Focus on the Occurrence of Intermontane Basins -- Introduction -- Regional Setting -- Tectonic Features -- Present and Past Climatic Features -- Intermontane Basins in the Eastern Pamirs -- Tectonic Basins -- Basins Related to Downstream Damming -- Glaciated Basins -- Alichur Pamir -- Great Pamir -- Little Pamir -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- Water of the Pamir - Potential and Constraints -- Introduction -- Observed Glacier Changes -- Observed Runoff Changes -- Future Trends -- Conclusions -- References -- Khans, Kings, Communists, Warlords and Presidents: Afghan Kirghiz Socioeconomic Strategies for Extorting and Extracting from the State -- Introduction -- State-Society Relations: The Kirghiz Experience -- Political Capital -- Non-state Sources of Patronage -- A Direct Line to Kabul. , The Politics of State Patronage -- A Last Migration for the Afghan Kirghiz? -- References -- Changes in the Relationship Between Borders and Pastoral Mobility in Mountain Regions of Central Asia -- National Independence: An Obstacle for Transboundary Pastoral Mobility in Central Asia? -- Spatial Boundaries and Pastoral Mobility: A Tricky Relationship -- 'Containment of Chaotic Land Use' under Russia's Colonial Rule -- 'Nationalisation of the Means of Production' and Planned Economy in Soviet Times -- Contemporary Suppressed Transboundary Mobility -- Conclusion: Effects and Risks of Resource-Related 'Othering' Strategies -- Interview Partners -- References -- Seasonal Pasture Use and Vegetation Cover Changes in the Alai Valley, Kyrgyzstan -- Introduction -- Study Area -- Data Set and Methods -- Interviews -- Satellite-Based Vegetation Index Data -- Grazing Intensity -- GIS -- Results -- Seasonal Pasture Use -- Changes in Vegetated Cover -- Analysis of Grazing Intensity -- Discussion -- Conclusions -- References -- Diversity of Seasonal Migration of Livestock in the Eastern Alai Valley, Southern Kyrgyzstan -- Introduction -- Study Area and Method -- Movement Patterns of Livestock Grazing in the Eastern Alai Valley -- Sary-Tash -- Taldy-Suu -- Seasonal Pastoral Practise and Natural Environments in the Eastern and Western Alai Valley -- Discussion -- Comparison Between the Eastern and Western Valleys -- Inequality of Pastureland Use and Future Sustainability -- Conclusions -- References -- Kezüü and Novad: A Form of Pastoralism in the Eastern Alai Valley, Southern Kyrgyzstan -- Introduction -- Development of the Cooperative Daily Grazing System of Kezüü/Novad in the Alai Valley -- Study Area and Method -- The Cooperative Daily Grazing System of Kezüü in Sary-Tash and Taldy-Suu -- Kezüü in Sary-Tash AA -- Kezüü in Taldy-Suu AA. , Types of Kezüü and Novad Throughout the Entire Alai Valley -- Types of Kezüü and Novad Throughout the Entire Alai Valley -- References -- External Support and Local Agency: Uncertain Transformations of Livelihoods in the Pamirian Borderland of Tajikistan -- Introduction -- Borderlands as Social Space -- Historic Legacy: The Pamirs as a Soviet Borderland -- Persistence and Change in Tajikistan's Borderland During the Transition Period -- Russian Border Forces: Persisting Role after the Soviet Dissolution -- Post-Soviet Economic Realities: Humanitarian Relief and Dissolution of Exchange Relations -- Livelihood Trajectories in the Border District -- Less Urgency for Economic Success -- 'Hidden' Emergency Assistance -- Exclusive Buffer Zone Access -- Conclusions -- Interview Partners -- References -- The Current Status of Lifestyle and Occupations in the Wakhan Area of Tajikistan -- Introduction -- General Description of the Wakhan Area and Its Inhabitants -- Status of Agriculture and Local Society -- Agriculture and Other Employment -- Infrastructure and Education -- Introducing Sustainable Tourism -- Conclusions -- References -- Political Ecology of Human-Environment Change in Gojal, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan -- Introduction -- Legal and Constitutional Liminality -- Global Conservation -- Transnational Ismailism -- Road Infrastructure -- The Attabad Landslide -- Conclusion -- References -- The Changes in Regional Structure and Land Use Related to External Factors in Hussaini Village, Northern Pakistan -- Introduction -- Changes in the Regional Structure and Farmland Use in Hussaini Village -- The Period of Isolation before the Opening of the Karakoram Highway -- The Period of Opening Up: The 1980s Until the Late 2000s -- The Period between 2010 and the Present after the Emergence of the Dammed Lake -- Conclusions -- References. , Humanitarianism Across Mountain Valleys: "Shia Aid" and Development Encounters in Northern Pakistan and Eastern Tajikistan -- Introduction -- Entering Contact Zones -- Developing Hunza -- Education for Nagar -- Saving and Substituting in the State in Gorno-Badakhshan -- Worldly Duties and Sectarian Aims -- Conclusion -- References -- History of the Development of the Pamir Region of Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan) -- Introduction -- Early Development History -- Nineteenth-Century Russian Exploration -- Permanent Russian Presence and Early Development Activities -- Population Growth -- Soviet Period -- Socialist Revolution in a Muslim Country -- Food Production -- The Post-Soviet Period and the Aga Khan Foundation -- A New Paradigm -- Sustainable Solutions -- Health -- Emergency Needs -- Pharmaceuticals -- Essential Hospital Services -- Health Management Information System (HMIS) -- Education -- Agricultural Reform -- Food Diversification -- Village-Level Autonomy -- Gender and Social Equality -- Energy -- Challenges and Future Prospects -- References -- Conclusions: Why Do We Need to Make Efforts to Map the Transition? -- Introduction -- Transitions: Driven by External Pressures or Internal Efforts? -- The Next Step -- References.