| This thesis presents the findings of a comparative study of vulnerability, coping and risk-averting strategies and social responses to environmental hazards, particularly debris flow and flooding hazards, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Two small village scale settlements, the prevailing form of community in the region, were selected as case studies and are described in detail. The villages exhibit a comparable subsistence agropastoral economy and socio-cultural organization reflecting similarities in environmental opportunities and constraints, historical processes and religious beliefs. However, they differ greatly in their proximity to commercial centres and in the rate of which modernization processes are being introduced and incorporated into the daily lives of villagers. Vulnerable groups are identified through a variety of methods including semi-structured interviews, empirical observations and participatory methods. All of these methods are grounded in the view that vulnerability to environmental hazards is tied to everyday activities and social inequalities in the study communities. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
