Aleeza Aleeza

Research Project

Rural-urban transformation effects on agricultural land use and regulating ecosystem services in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Funded by: Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer-Dienst (KAAD)

Summary

In past decades, urbanization, population growth, and infrastructure development have accelerated rural-urban transformation, reshaping mountain regions worldwide. In northern Pakistan, particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan, these changes are increasingly visible in agricultural landscapes, settlement expansion, and shifting livelihood strategies.

This project focuses on two contrasting valleys in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan: Hunza (Karimabad), a major tourism hotspot located along the Karakoram Highway (KKH), and Shimshal, a remote valley with limited accessibility and weaker market connectivity. By comparing these two settings, the research examines how differences in infrastructure access, tourism influx, and mobility influence agricultural practices, land competition, and land use and land cover (LULC) changes.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the project combines 50 years of satellite imagery analysis with field-based surveys, soil sampling, and greenhouse gas measurements. This approach allows quantification of long-term LULC changes and their environmental consequences, including impacts on soil fertility and carbon and nitrogen emissions (CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O) across cropping seasons. In addition, the study investigates local communication and decision-making structures among farmers, community organizations, and policymakers, and develops an agent-based model to better understand and simulate transformation dynamics in both valleys.

The overall goal of this research is to understand how infrastructure expansion and tourism-driven urban growth affect fragile mountain agroecosystems and to contribute knowledge that supports sustainable land management and resilient rural livelihoods in high-mountain environments.

Education and Academic Experience

PhD Student
Faculty of Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Sciences (OPATS)
University of Kassel, Germany
Aug 2025 – Present

Erasmus+ Training Program Participant
University of Kassel, Germany
Sep 2024 – Apr 2025

Master of Science (Honors) in Agriculture – Soil Science
Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Nov 2021 – Dec 2023

Master’s Thesis:
“Characterization and Assessment of Composting Leachate for Potential Plant Growth.”
Funded by: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Agriculture – Soil Science
Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
2017 – 2021

Final Year Project:
“Impact of Biochar on Carbon Sequestration.”

Languages

• English
• Urdu
• Burushaski
• Shina
• German (Beginner)