This year we witnessed erratic climatic changes in our eco-fragile Jammu and Kashmir. From record breaking highest temperatures in summer to freezing cold coupled with dense fog cover in early winter and unseasonal intense rains and prolonged dry spells, we stand witness. There are clear signs of climate change in this Himalayan region.
Owing to its unique topography, J&K is prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and landslides. Most of these natural disasters are triggered by haphazard developmental activities and vandalisation of our natural resources including water bodies, orchards, agricultural fields, karewas, mountains and forests.
In the process of so-called development, we are destroying our nature. We have been undertaking activities in eco-fragile areas. Much irreparable damage has been done to our environment and it’s we who are bearing the brunt of our actions to vandalise our nature.
We must learn lessons on how global leaders, transcending boundaries and rising above political ideologies, are making efforts to protect the environment as pollution has become one of the major threats to people world over. This year, several countries joined hands to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
In February this year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution petitioning the International Court of Justice to make countries legally bound to address climate change.
This year, the UNEP launched the Freshwater Challenge— to safeguard and revive 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands around the world by 2030. So far 43 nations have joined the campaign. As per the UNEP, this will make it the largest wetland and river restoration effort in history.
This set is imperative as one-third of the world’s wetlands have vanished over the past 50 years, while rivers and lakes are the most degraded ecosystems in the world.
The Freshwater Challenge assumes significance for J&K as its wetlands face threat of extinction due to unabated pollution, encroachments and siltation. Ecologically important wetlands in the Jhelum floodplains like Hokersar, Bemina wetland, Narakara wetland, Batamaloo numbal, Rakh-e-arth, Anchar lake and Gilsar have been degraded due to rapid encroachment and urbanisation. 20 wetlands have been vanished under urban colonies during the last five decades, particularly in the south of Srinagar.
Considered to be the lifeline of Kashmir, river Jhelum is facing a serious ecological threat due to unabated pollution triggered by flow of sewage and dumping of garbage. Our water bodies including Dal Lake, Wullar, Aanchar, Khushalsar and Gilsar are battling for survival.
In April this year, World marked the inaugural International Day of Zero Waste. As per UNEP, more than two billion tons of municipal solid waste is generated annually, of which 45 per cent is mismanaged.
As rightly said by the UN Secretary General António Guterres, “It’s time to fight back and launch a war on waste.”
In Kashmir, most of solid waste is disposed of by dumping into water bodies and forests in absence of collection and scientific measures of disposal.
On World Environment Day on June 5 this year, countries resolved to fight plastic pollution and provide eco-friendly alternatives. As a silver lining, Côte d’Ivoire unveiled a new environmental code to fight plastic pollution. The Kyrgyz Republic also announced that it will begin to transition away from some plastic products.
In June this year, The United Nations adopted a pact that extends for the first time environmental protections to two-thirds of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdictions. Known as the “high seas treaty”, it envisions a framework to The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that came into force in 1994. Oceans are battling biodiversity loss due to pollution.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution this year released a zero draft of a legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution. As per UNEP, the INC sessions mark a key step in the effort to finalise a planet-wide agreement.
In J&K, despite the ban on polythene and single-use plastic, these products continue to be sold and used extensively.. More severe problem than sale and usage of polythene and single-use plastic is its unscientific disposal. Polythene and single use plastic are polluting and choking our water bodies. The persistent problem with the system in J&K has been that there is hardly any implementation of important legislations.
The most important event for environmental preservation was the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).
The event saw a historic declaration as 200 parties joined hands for climate action before the end of the decade with the aim of keeping the global temperature limit of 1.5°C and switching to renewable energy. COP28 also launched the Loss and Damage Fund, to help climate-vulnerable communities in developing countries cope with the effects of climate change.
However, in J&K, we are leaving stone unturned to pollute our environment. Once known for its clean environs, J&K’s summer capital Srinagar has achieved the “feat” of becoming the largest contributor of smog, smoke, and other human-caused aerosols in Kashmir. Srinagar has crossed the PM2.5 concentration 2.9 times above the recommended limit given by the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines value. It is high time to wake up and make a new year’s resolution to preserve our environment.
Let’s contribute our bit to global efforts for saving our natural resources. Otherwise, the day seems to be not so far away when we will gasp for a whiff of breath and crave for a drop of water!
Author is Executive Editor, Greater Kashmir