Abstract
Pamir is a highland region in Central Asia, located on the orogenic uplift known as the Pamir Knot which joins several Asian mountain ranges. The name Pamir may derive from the ancient Iranian pai-mir, “foot of Mithra,” god of the sun or from the word pamers, which means the flat and wide high valleys with typical mountain meadows in altitudes around 3500–4000 m above sea level (a.s.l.) High mountain topography (the highest ranges exceed 7000 m a.s.l.) is a characteristic feature of this region and acts as a barrier isolating it from the rest of the world.
Access to a secure, safe and sufficient source of fresh water is a fundamental requirement for the survival, well-being and socio-economic development of all humanity. Yet, we continue to act as if fresh water were a perpetually abundant resource. It is not.Kofi Annan, Is the World Running Out of Water?, Awake! magazine, June 22, 2001
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Metrak, M., Sulwinski, M., Chachulski, L., Wilk, M., Suska-Malawska, M. (2015). Creeping Environmental Problems in the Pamir Mountains: Landscape Conditions, Climate Change, Wise Use and Threats. In: Öztürk, M., Hakeem, K., Faridah-Hanum, I., Efe, R. (eds) Climate Change Impacts on High-Altitude Ecosystems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12859-7_28
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