For mountain regions such as the Eastern Pamirs the MA identifies six ecosystem services, including “grazing”, “water” and “energy” (Hassan et al. 2005, 689). For Central Asian Mountains just “food”, “water”, “biodiversity” and “others” are of relevance, but “energy” is not specifically mentioned (Hassan et al. 2005, IX). These inconsistent statements reflect insufficient knowledge informing discussions about ecosystem services - not only in Central Asian mountains but also more generally (e.g. Boyd & Banzhaf 2007) and in global reports.
For the Pamirs the limited number of studies and publications identify energy issues as a key issue besides grazing. All studies recognize the increasing use of dwarf shrubs as fire wood after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the Eastern Pamirs. Before the independence of Tajikistan the region was supplied with all fossil fuels – coal and diesel – from outside, and the Pamirs were an integrated part of the Sovietstyle Gosplan system of resource attribution and distribution. Coal was mainly used for heating and cooking, diesel for generators, and fire wood for cooking. With independence this supply structure immediately collapsed, and coal and fuel is no longer freely traded.
