Complex management of water and agriculture

Water management in the Karakoram (Pakistan) has been perceived as a key to understanding community rules and regulations as well as the societal setup and structures of authority and domination. The Hunza Valley has experienced several transformations since the colonial conquest at the end of the 19th century. Water rights and irrigation practices seem to have survived over long periods and reflect the process of expanding oasis agriculture in the Karakoram. In recent years the diminishing importance of agriculture and the increase in non-agrarian income sources have transformed existing structures and weakened the strict application of inherited water management practices.