A student of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Mr. Junaid Alam
Memon, will have the rare distinction of his research paper being
featured on the cover page of the journal “
Environmental Management.” The February 2011 issue of Environmental
Management, which is a reputed journal published by Springer for
decision makers, scientists and environmental assessors, will feature
the article “Irrigation, Natural Resources and Community Occupational
Quality in Pakistan” on its cover. Mr. Memon’s photograph of the Indus
River basin has also been selected as the cover page picture.
The article coauthored by Mr. Memon and his supervisor Prof. Gopal
Bahadur Thapa of AIT’s, School of Environment, Resources and
Development (SERD), examines the impact of the irrigation system on
both the natural resources as well as society in the deltaic part of
the Indus river in Pakistan. The paper analyzes the ecological and
natural resource dynamics and its impact on the structure and quality
of occupations of people.
“There is an overwhelming occupational shift from animal herding and
paddy farming to marine fishery as the delta was transformed from a
riverine-dominated to a marine-dominated ecosystem following the
development of an elaborate irrigation system, “ Mr. Memon remarks. A
significant change in occupational status is also visible with the
Jat clans now maintaining camel herds mainly as a status
symbol. Paddy farmers who enjoyed higher social status earlier no
longer enjoy their previous exalted position. However the impact of the
changing hydrological regimes on the natural resources has varied in
both intensity and direction when it is related to different
occupational groups, he adds. Mr. Memon is a doctoral student at AIT
and he is working on the “Effects of Differential Mangrove Managements
Systems on the Status of Mangroves and Local People’s Livelihood in
Indus Delta Region of Pakistan.”
