Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 162 i ASIAN Geographic

Green has strong associations to Islam. Prophet Muhammad seems to have favoured the colour and is said to have worn a green cloak and turban. The Hadith, which are generally believed to record the words and actions of the Islamic prophet, are full of references to the colour. In one, it says, “When Allah’s Apostle died, he was covered with a Hibra Burd”, a green square decorated garment. In the Quran, Islam’s holy book, the colour is associated with paradise, a place where people “will wear green garments of fine silk”. That green should be symbolic in the dry desert where Islam emerged is hardly surprising. The Quranic figure Al-Khidr – traditionally translated as “the Green One” or the “Verdant One” – symbolises immortality and has been associated with esoteric…

The Karakoram is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The majority of the range falls within the jurisdiction of Pakistan’s northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan, which includes the disputed territory of Kashmir. The area is home to four of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, including the world’s second highest, K2, at 8,611 metres. MAP OF NORTHERN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA AND GILGIT-BALTISTAN What’s So Special About the Glaciers in the Karakoram Range? Unlike many glaciers in other parts of the world, Karakoram glaciers have extensive debris cover, which leads to long and large glaciers. Many are also “surging glaciers”, that is, glaciers which periodically show very fast advances at the…

Most Muslims Live in Asia Two-thirds of all Muslims live in 10 countries, 7 of which are in Asia: Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran and China. Two countries are in North Africa (Egypt and Algeria) while one is in Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria) The World’s Second-Largest Religion Earth is home to around 2 billion Muslims, a quarter of the planet’s population. The Islamic population is principally split between about 85–90% Sunni Muslims and 10–15% Shia Muslims. Most Shias (70–80%) live in just four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq. Muslim Majority Countries There are currently around 50 countries in the world in which more than 50% of the people are Muslims TOP 10 COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST MUSLIMS 1. INDONESIA 236 MILLION 2. PAKISTAN 233 MILLION 3. INDIA 200 MILLION…

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), globally glaciers lost more than 6,000 gigatons of ice over the period 1993– 2019. This is the equivalent water volume of 10 lakes the size of the Dead Sea, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), glaciers in the Italian Dolomites, USA’s Yosemite National Park, and all UNESCO World Heritage sites in Africa (including Kilimanjaro National Park and Mount Kenya) will likely disappear by 2050 According to the World Meteorological Organization’s 2022 “State of the Global Climate Report”: The European Alps smashed records for glacier melt due to a combination of little winter snow, an intrusion of Saharan dust in March 2022, and heatwaves between May and early September In…

At a time when environmental issues are at the forefront of global discussions, Southeast Asia stands at a pivotal crossroads. The COP28 summit in the United Arab Emirates, one of the most water-stressed regions in the world, has brought the decarbonisation of the wastewater treatment industry into sharp focus. Despite common perceptions, Southeast Asia’s water resources are far from inexhaustible. The region faces significant gaps in hitting watercentric Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the Asian Development Bank, roughly 500 million individuals across Southeast Asia grapple with limited access to clean water, and over 1.1 billion have insufficient sanitation. Access to water is further complicated by concerns surrounding water security, driven by rapid urban growth and an expanding population. Predictions suggest an increase in water demand, putting existing water infrastructure…

LI BAI (李白) (701–762 CE) was a prolific poet and wanderer who lived during the Tang dynasty, a period of great cultural and artistic flourishing in China. He was known for his passionate and spontaneous poetry, which often celebrated the beauty of Nature, the pleasures of wine, and the fleetingness of human life. Li Bai’s poetry was deeply influenced by the Taoist philosophy, which emphasised the harmony between Man and Nature, and the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence, which teaches that all things are subject to change and decay. Around 1,000 poems have been attributed to Li.…

NOHKALIKAI FALLS, INDIA The tallest plunge waterfall in India is a stunning sight not just because of its thrilling 340-metre height, but for the dense evergreen rainforest blanketing the surrounding cliffs and the surreal green-coloured plunge pool below. The falls are located in the state of Meghalaya, near Cherapunji (also known as Sohra), one of the wettest places on the planet MU CANG CHAI RICE TERRACES, VIETNAM While Asia’s staple crop, rice, thrives in the flooded Mekong Delta at Vietnam’s southern tip, in the country’s mountainous north, local hill tribes have created rice terraces to control the downward flow of water. These astonishing emerald stairways, seemingly ascending to the heavens, are perhaps at their most beautiful in Mu Cang Chai, the perfect place for trekking and visiting ethnic minorities such…

It is midsummer in Pakistan’s northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, on the treacherous and unforgiving Baltoro Glacier, the second longest in the Karakoram Range and one of the largest outside the polar regions. We are trekking our way to the amphitheatre of Concordia, the confluence of the Baltoro, Godwin-Austen, Gasherbrum and Vigne Glaciers. Otherwise known as the “Throne Room of the Gods”, this is an otherworldly place flanked by the greatest concentration of the world’s highest peaks, including the second highest, K2. At an altitude of almost 5,000 metres, it’s hot – really hot. “I’m no expert, but the glacier looks like it’s dying,” proclaims Martin Mazurek, a fellow expedition group member and Professor of Geology at the University of Bern in Switzerland. The principal cause of the glacier’s demise: “excessive…

“We have never believed that people are separated from Nature. Walruses are the walrus people, whales are the whale people, and the orca is our most honourable animal. When a hunter dies, his soul passes into the killer whale.” Igor Makotrik speaks slowly, measuredly, as if every word carries considerable weight. He is 62, but like many Yupik, he looks younger. Igor heads the Novoye Chaplino community of sea hunters. There are about 400 residents in the village, and a community of 15 hunters provides the entire village with food. It’s still mid-August, but the yellow and red colours of the tundra make it clear that winter is very close. Gloomy rain clouds crouch over hills decorated with stripes of the previous year’s snow. For hundreds of kilometres around, there…

Created in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are designed to serve as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”. While there are synergies between the SDGs, six goals in particular focus on the “green” aspects of sustainable development. Tracking the progress towards the 17 goals, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 offers a grim outlook for the planet unless urgent action is taken to rescue the SDGs and deliver meaningful progress by 2030. Adapted from the report, the following infographics provide an overview of progress towards achieving the six “green” SDGs. CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION GOAL 6: ENSURE AVAILABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION FOR ALL OVER THE PAST 300…

BOHOL GLOBAL GEOPARK Part of the Visayas island group, Bohol Island is the first UNESCO Global Geopark in the Philippines. Bohol’s geological identity has been forged over 150 million years, as periods of tectonic turbulence have raised the island from the ocean depths. Traces of the island’s subterranean past can be found in its karstic “geosites”, including caves, sinkholes and cone karst, such as the distinctly cone-shaped Chocolate Hills in the geopark’s centre. Parallel to the northeast coast is a very rare geological formation called the Danajon Double Barrier Reef. One of just six documented double barrier reefs on the planet and the only one of its kind in Southeast Asia, it gives visitors the opportunity to discover 6,000 years of coral growth. The unique coral reef ecology provides a…