The high-elevation mountain ecosystems in the Karakoram and Pamir mountain ranges encompass enchanting landscapes, harbor unique biodiversity, and are home to many indigenous pastoral societies that rely on ecosystem services for their survival. However, our understanding of the value of ecosystem services to a household economy is limited. This information is essential in devising sustainable development strategies and thus merits consideration. In this preliminary study, we attempted to assess and compare the value of selected ecosystem services of the Khunjerab and Qurumbar National Parks (KNP and QNP) in the Karakoram–Pamir in northern Pakistan using market-based and value transfer methods. Our results indicated that the economic benefits derived from the 2 high-elevation protected areas were US$ 4.6 million (QNP) and US$ 3.8 million (KNP) per year, translating into US$ 5955 and US$ 8912 per household per year, respectively. The monetary benefits from provisioning services constituted about 93% in QNP and 48% in KNP, which vividly highlights the prominence of the economic benefits generated from the protected areas for the welfare of disadvantaged communities. Together with the regulatory and cultural services valued in this study, the perceived economic impact per household per year was 10–15 times higher than the mean household income per year. Considering the limited livelihood means and escalating poverty experienced by buffer zone communities, these values are substantial. We anticipate that communities' dependency on resources will contribute to increased degradation of ecosystems. We propose reducing communities' dependency on natural resources by promoting sustainable alternative livelihood options and recognizing ecosystem services in cost–benefit analyses when formulating future policies.

中文翻译：

---

雪豹景观中的生态系统服务：喀喇昆仑山脉-帕米尔高原两个高海拔国家公园的比较分析

喀喇昆仑山脉和帕米尔山脉的高海拔山区生态系统涵盖迷人的景观，拥有独特的生物多样性，是许多依靠生态系统服务赖以生存的土著牧民社会的家园。但是，我们对生态系统服务对家庭经济价值的理解是有限的。这些信息对于制定可持续发展战略至关重要，因此值得考虑。在这项初步研究中，我们尝试使用基于市场和价值转移的方法，评估和比较巴基斯坦北部喀喇昆仑-帕米尔州Khunjerab和Qurumbar国家公园（KNP和QNP）的选定生态系统服务的价值。我们的结果表明，这两个高海拔保护区带来的经济收益分别为460万美元和3美元。每年800万（KNP），分别相当于每个家庭每年5955美元和8912美元。提供服务的货币收益在QNP中约占93％，在KNP中约占48％，这生动地凸显了保护区为弱势社区的福利所产生的经济收益的重要性。加上本研究中重视的法规和文化服务，每户每年可感知的经济影响是每年平均家庭收入的10至15倍。考虑到缓冲区带动的有限的生计手段和不断加剧的贫困，这些价值是实质性的。我们预计，社区对资源的依赖将加剧生态系统的退化。我们建议减少社区的