Wild Food Plant Foraging in the World’s Highest Karakorum Mountains; A Generational Perspective
Tracks
Kuranda Ballroom
| Wednesday, July 29, 2026 |
| 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM |
Speaker
Prof Shujaul Mulk Khan
Professor
Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-azam University Islamabad
Wild Food Plant Foraging in the World’s Highest Karakorum Mountains; A Generational Perspective
ISE Congress 2026 Abstract
Wild food plants (WFPs) play a vital role in the local food system of the far plunged gorges of the high Karakorum mountains i.e., the Balti community in Ghanche, a region known for its unique culture and traditional cuisines. Its marginalized status, remoteness, and border disputes drive dependence on WFPs, which are gathered for culinary use or sale. However, documentation on WFPs seems scarce, therefore the current study tends to record its uses and significance in the ethnic food system. Fieldwork was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires and interviews in 17 villages with 45 women and 25 men. Ethnobotanical data were analysed using citation indices' use value and relative frequency. Fifty eight WFP species belonging 24 families, dominated by Rosaceae, Polygonaceae and Fabaceae with 9, 6 and 6 species respectively, were recoded. Fruits (26%) as ripe and leaves (25%) fresh or as cooked vegetables, were the most utilized parts. Notably, 23 species were reported for the first time in Pakistan as wild foods. Twenty WFPs have the economic value in the market as well. All the WFPs are source of the key ingredients in traditional foods and driver of Balti culture. It’s observed that traditional ecological knowledge is declining among youngers due to multiple reasons. It’s concluded that revitalizing the bio-cultural heritage through exploring WFPs’ is crucial for food quality, food security and food alternatives. Community awareness through storytelling, school curricula, planned workshops, and digital media can help to preserve the generational loss pertinent to WFPs.
Biography
Shujaul Mulk Khan is serving as a Tenured Professor of Ecology & Conservation in the Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan. He is elected member of Pakistan Academy of Sciences. He is also a Visiting Professor of Ethnoecology in the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy and Visiting Scientist in six different Universities of Kazakhstan. He is the elected president of International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) – 2024-2026. He served Hazara University Mansehra for more than 9 years as a Lecturer of Botany (2006 -2015). He also served as General Secretary of the Pakistan Society for Conservation Biology. He and his research team mainly focus on Ethnoecology of the Himalayas, the world’s largest mountains with an aim to introduce the potentials and problems of biodiversity and ecosystems at a global scale. He has been a member of the administrative bodies for various Universities across the country. He is a member of a number of international societies like Slow Food Association, Conservation Biology, BSBI ISGSS, ISE, ESA, BES,, PBS, etc. He has been on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicines. He is a reviewer of dozens of journals. He has been a member of a number of social welfare groups and Literacy societies. He received various awards during his academic career, Best Scholar award at IBC Shenzhen China 2017, Best Research Paper Award HEC Pakistan 2018, Research Productivity Award QAU, Pakistan 2019, Best Performer Award, QAU 2023, OIC-COMSTECH Best paper award 2023, Gold Medal, Pakistan Academy of Sciences 2025, and HEC Recognition award of the Top 2% world’s Scientist 2026. He has published 9 books, 48 book chapters and 190+ research papers in prestigious journals. He has been in the top 50 young productive Scientists of Pakistan under the age of 40 years. He supervised 13 PhDs and 70+ MPhil students so far. He achieved a number of research projects and travel grants. He participated/presented in more than 150 international and national conferences and academic events.
Session Chair
Noel Preece
Director
Biome5 Pty Ltd
