evidence: Situated in the northern territories of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), formerly known as Northern Areas of Pakistan is home to many mighty mountains including the world highest mountain ranges-the Karakoram, the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. Administratively, Gilgit-Baltistan is constituted of ten districts which spread over an area of 72,496 sq km. Geographically, Gilgit-Baltistan borders with Afghanistan in the North-West, Jammu and Kashmir in the East, China in the North-East and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the South East. This region being a typical high altitude mountain ecosystem is extremely fragile and prone to environmental degradation and loss of vital mountain ecosystem products and services. The land use change is very obvious in the region due to the rapid socioeconomic development. In order to asses and analyze the forces at play behind this land use change and to come up with a better plan for appropriate land use ensuring ecosystem health and human wellbeing is crucial. Land use change in terms of conversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural activities jeopardizes some of the most productive and important natural resources such as soil, crops, livestock, wild fruits, medicinal herbs, and timber, on which local people have historically relied upon since decades.