Shabbir Ahmad Dogar’s recent write-up (November 16, 2025) delivers a sobering truth: no effort to conserve Gilgit-Baltistan’s rapidly thinning forests will ever succeed unless local communities are first empowered with subsidized, reliable clean-energy alternatives. Forest bans, regulations, and awareness drives become futile when people face minus-degree winters with no option but to burn wood to survive. Dogar rightly stresses that any meaningful environmental policy must begin by removing the people’s dependency on firewood—before the situation crosses the point of no return.
This warning comes at a time when climatologists forecast even more severe and unpredictable weather patterns for G-B, patterns that threaten not only local livelihoods but also Pakistan’s glacial treasure, which feeds the Indus River and sustains the entire nation’s water security. The stakes could not be higher.
The Harsh Reality on the Ground
With no subsidized clean-energy options, households in G-B burn approximately 70 maunds (≈2,800 kg) of firewood each winter. Poor and lower-middle-class families burn wood year-round, as LPG and electricity are unaffordable luxuries. The result is a dangerous cycle:
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Forests shrink every year
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Slopes become unstable
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GLOF events become more frequent
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Glacial melt accelerates
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Communities become more vulnerable
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Pakistan’s hydrological future grows more uncertain
This crisis demands a holistic national strategy, one grounded in climate responsibility and social justice. Subsidies for solar stoves and heaters, efficient cookstoves, rooftop solar panels, and even GI sheets for safe, insulated housing are not “welfare”—they are investments in the nation’s survival.
Concrete Homes in a Changing Climate
Population growth, land scarcity, and urban pressures have driven people into vertical concrete homes. But concrete—unlike traditional timber-and-mud architecture—fails to breathe with the climate:
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In summer, it overheats
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In winter, it loses warmth rapidly
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It increases electricity demand
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It worsens human discomfort
These concrete blocks symbolise how climate change is directly reshaping daily living conditions. Without intervention, future generations in G-B will be forced to spend more on heating and cooling, trapping them deeper into both economic hardship and environmental degradation.
Geothermal Airflow: A Practical, Nature-Aligned Alternative
A highly promising solution is the geothermal (earth–air heat exchange) system earlier introduced by Yasir Arfat Lashari and reviewed extensively in September 2025. Unlike expensive technologies, this is simple, locally adaptable, and globally tested—widely used in Germany, Canada, France, and the United States.
How It Works
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Pipes are laid 1–3 meters underground
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Air entering the home circulates through the earth
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The ground stabilizes the temperature to around 15–25°C
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In summer, hot air cools; in winter, cold air warms
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A low-wattage fan circulates this tempered air
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Energy consumption drops by 60–80%
Why G-B Needs It
This system can dramatically reduce:
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Firewood use
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Diesel heating
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Electricity demand
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Household energy bills
A family currently spends Rs. 90,000 or more on winter heating. Geothermal airflow cuts this burden while helping preserve forests and protect water resources.
Barriers—and How to Overcome Them
Challenges are real:
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Upfront installation costs
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Technical training needs
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Limited awareness
But the long-term gains—environmental, economic, and health-related—far outweigh the barriers. Policymakers, engineers, and architects must stop thickening concrete walls and instead adopt nature-integrated design philosophies.
Geothermal airflow is not the only solution, but it is one of the most practical, scalable, and climate-resilient options for G-B’s terrain.
Conclusion: Act Now—Before the Climate Turns Irreversible
Gilgit-Baltistan stands at a critical crossroads. With glaciers retreating, forests disappearing, climate threats escalating, and communities suffering, the old approach can no longer work. Dogar’s conclusion is unambiguous: unless the State subsidizes and ensures access to clean energy, nothing—absolutely nothing—will change.
The time has come to build with wisdom, not just cement.
The earth beneath our feet can heat and cool our homes.
The forests can recover.
The glaciers can be protected.
The people can be empowered.
But only if clean energy comes first.
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