Opinion | Environment and Climate Resilience in Jammu & Kashmir: Preserving the Himalayan Ecosystem

“Nature provides enough for our needs, but not for our greed.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Jammu & Kashmir, also known as Paradise on Earth, has been gifted with snow-covered mountain ranges, fresh rivers, beautiful lakes, green valleys, and rich biological diversity. Situated amidst the Himalayas, the Union Territory is endowed with significant water resources such as the Jhelum River, Chenab River, and Dal Lake. Due to the special geographical and climatic characteristics of Jammu and Kashmir, it holds a great deal of ecological importance. About 47.81% of the geographical area of this union territory is covered by forests, while a substantial number of people earn their livelihood from agriculture, horticulture, tourism, and natural resources.

However, due to its sensitive ecosystem and climatic conditions, Jammu and Kashmir is gradually turning into an endangered zone. The indications of ecological degradation include decreasing glaciers, inconsistent snowfall, flashfloods, and rising temperatures. In addition, factors like rapid urbanization, deforestation, increased usage of plastics, greenhouse gases, and vehicular pollution have put a lot of pressure on the natural resources of this region.

Many times, there is a confusion between weather and climate among individuals. While weather means the daily atmospheric conditions of a place, climate, on the other hand, means the average weather characteristics of a particular area for about 30 years. Research done within the last three decades shows that the Kashmir region has experienced an increase in temperature by 1.45°C and in the Jammu region by 2.32°C. With increasing temperatures, there has been an accelerated melting of glaciers in Kashmir like the Kolahoi Glacier, which has earned itself the title of being the lifeline of Kashmir water resources.

The impacts of climate change have become quite evident in Jammu and Kashmir. Increase in temperature has affected agriculture practices such as cultivation of apples, making it difficult for fruit farmers. There have also been instances of irregular snowfall, changes in rainfall pattern, flash flooding, landslides, cloudbursts, and an increased occurrence of fires in the forests. Biodiversity has become at risk due to these changes, and according to some water birds survey reports, bird species in the wetlands have reduced significantly.

The environmental issues faced by the regions of Jammu and Kashmir are not confined to climate change only. There are several water bodies that play an important role in the ecosystem of this region but are being subjected to various kinds of pressures such as pollution, encroachments, construction, and untreated waste discharges. It has affected the health of the aquatic ecosystem, leading to biodiversity loss. Moreover, there are many forest fires reported frequently in the Pir Panjal region that affect the ecosystem as well as the carbon sequestration capacity of the forest.

Thus, climate resilience is needed to counter all these environmental issues. The concept of climate resilience implies the capacity of individuals, communities, and organizations to be prepared for dealing with adverse events and impacts in case of a shock or stress associated with the climate system. In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, climate resilience would mean developing their adaptive capacities to withstand environmental issues such as flooding, drought, forest fire, landslides, etc., and ensure sustainable development.

Having noted these constraints, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has embarked on several projects. In this regard, the Union Territory is implementing the updated State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) that consists of 58 mitigation measures and 98 adaptation measures aimed at mitigating climate change impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving disaster preparedness, protecting biodiversity, water management, and sustainable development of the fragile Himalayan environment.

The government has embarked on an initiative that will improve its capacity to adapt and mitigate climate change impact through its Climate Resilient City Action Plan (CRCAP) aimed at addressing resilience of urban areas, for example, Jammu. The plan entails scientific and site-specific adaptation and mitigation measures to address resilience in urban and energy sectors. The key strategies under CRCAP entail adopting renewable energy systems, namely rooftop solar energy systems, promoting energy efficiency, creating green infrastructure and encouraging electric mobility by promoting e-buses. Together with the State Action Plan on Climate Change, CRCAP will ensure sustainable development and climate-resilient planning in the fragile Himalayan and sub-tropical areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Other similar programs, such as the Ecotourism Policy and State Climate Change Cell, have been adopted. Nevertheless, implementation has become the biggest challenge since policies are usually implemented in ways that are substandard. Although there are policies that restrict the usage of plastic around the Dal Lake, plastic has become a big problem in the area. The reasons for poor policy implementation and monitoring include poor enforcement mechanisms, lack of accountability of the implementing agencies, poor monitoring, lack of community involvement, administrative instability, political instability, and lack of coordination between government departments. Due to these reasons, environmental policies do not always achieve desirable results when implemented.

In order to make local communities more resilient to the climate and protect the environment, greater awareness is important. It is crucial for people to realize how pollution, deforestation, and other environmentally unsustainable practices affect them. Community involvement can greatly influence environmental policies and actions. This means that communities have a big contribution to make in protecting the environment by undertaking such programs as rain water harvesting, sustainable agriculture, wetland management, plantation, and using climate-resilient infrastructure.

However, tourism is essential to the economic sustainability of Jammu and Kashmir, and it needs to be developed in an environmentally friendly manner. Ecotourism can be encouraged in order to avoid adverse effects on the environment. Urbanization needs to be curbed, and afforestation needs to be encouraged extensively throughout the region. Waste management systems need to be enhanced as well, along with the preservation of wetlands and utilization of alternative energy sources.

In essence, it becomes vital to consider the issue of ecosystem preservation not only from the point of view of ecology but also as a necessity for sustainability of the region itself, its livelihoods, heritage, and even existence. It is essential to take the steps that can help the region to be more adaptive to climate change, and therefore, various stakeholders such as government, residents of the region, tourists, and even civil society should undertake actions aimed at mitigating risks. By engaging in sustainable development and applying environmental regulations properly, Jammu and Kashmir will be able to preserve its ecosystem. Otherwise, the region will suffer significant damage in the long run.

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