evidence: The High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountains are located in the Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. With their many glaciers and peaks of more than 7000 masl, the mountains constitute the "water tower" of Central Asia. Their unique ecosystems range from deeply incised valleys with fertile valley bottoms to arid high plains where only few plants specifically adapted to the climatic conditions can survive. [...] Mountain areas constitute a particular situation with respect to energy resources, due to extreme environmental conditions, weak infrastructure, dispersed settlements, and their general remoteness (Schweizer and Preiser 1997). In the Pamir-Alai Mountains, depending on the location and local conditions, a household in a mountain village may have access to coal, electricity, firewood, and livestock dung for energy purposes. Firewood and dung come directly from the surrounding ecosystems, while fossil fuels, and in most cases electricity, are external inputs. In the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, an average of 80% of the overall energy demand is met by traditional biomass such as firewood and dung (Breu and Hurni 2003). As described above, the climatic and topographic conditions allow only sparse vegetation to grow. Many villages at higher altitudes (the tree line is at around 3700 m) cannot rely on forest ecosystems but instead exploit pastures and low shrub vegetation. Deforestation and desertification are frequent phenomena in the region (Aknazarov 2003).