Study of Land Surface Changes in Highland Environments for the Sustainable Management of the Mountainous Region in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Amjad Ali Khan, Xian Xue (), Hassam Hussain, Kiramat Hussain, Ali Muhammad, Muhammad Ahsan Mukhtar and Asim Qayyum Butt
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Amjad Ali Khan: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Xian Xue: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Hassam Hussain: Department of Environmental Science, Karakorum International University Gilgit, Gilgit 15100, Pakistan
Kiramat Hussain: Forest, Wildlife & Environment Department Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit 15100, Pakistan
Ali Muhammad: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Muhammad Ahsan Mukhtar: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Asim Qayyum Butt: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-26

Abstract: Highland ecologies are the most susceptible to climate change, often experiencing intensified impacts. Due to climate change and human activities, there were dramatic changes in the alpine domain of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a vital project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The CPEC is subjected to rapid infrastructure expansion, which may lead to potential land surface susceptibility. Hence, focusing on sustainable development goals, mainly SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) and SDG 13 (climate action), to evaluate the conservation and management practices for the sustainable and regenerative development of the mountainous region, this study aims to assess change detection and find climatic conditions using multispectral indices along the mountainous area of Gilgit and Hunza-Nagar, Pakistan. It has yielded practical and highly relevant implications. For sustainable and regenerative ecologies, this study utilized 30 × 30 m Landsat 5 (TM), Landsat 7 (ETM+), and Landsat-8/9 (OLI and TIRS), and meteorological data were employed to calculate the aridity index (AI). The results of the AI showed a non-significant decreasing trend (−0.0021/year, p > 0.05) in Gilgit and a significant decreasing trend (−0.0262/year, p < 0.05) in Hunza-Nagar. NDVI distribution shows a decreasing trend (−0.00469/year, p > 0.05), while NDWI has depicted a dynamic trend in water bodies. Similarly, NDBI demonstrated an increasing trend, with rates of 79.89%, 87.69%, and 83.85% from 2008 to 2023. The decreasing values of AI mean a drying trend and increasing drought risk, as the study area already has an arid and semi-arid climate. The combination of multispectral indices and the AI provides a comprehensive insight into how various factors affect the mountainous landscape and climatic conditions in the study area. This study has practical and highly relevant implications for policymakers and researchers interested in research related to land use and land cover change, environmental and infrastructure development in alpine regions.

Keywords: sustainable management; CPEC; land surface change; Highland Environments; multispectral indices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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