Kashmir has many problems with its environment’s stability, which can be tackled if the policy makers can make a plan that takes into account not only ecological conditions but also the living conditions of the people. Kashmir once known as "paradise on earth," home to vast area of forest cover and wildlife reserves including some species so rare they existed only in Kashmir are now quickly falling victim to the desolation which has encompassed much of this land. This is due to shoddy environmental management as well as the effects of terrorism. A 150-year old Deodar tree, worth about Rs.1,50,000 buys three AK-56 assault rifles. The result: most militant organisations have resorted to felling trees to finance their killing machines.
Even though the forests were kept out of bounds for its people, they sustained 50% of the state’s population living in and around them. The state’s famed woodcraft trade, employing close to one lakh people and the source of the cricket bat industry, draws its sustenance from these forests. In 2003, the World Cup fever ensured sales of about 2 million willow bats.
In 1980, an extraordinary cabinet meeting of the state government had declared that the forests of the state had shrunk from 21,000sq.km. to 13,000sq.km. in about 50 years. In March 2004, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sofi, Minister for Environment, had said “the forest cover has come down by 20% in the last two decades, and agricultural productivity has decreased by 50%, particularly in the last 5 years”. The state has a huge live stock population and there are no grazing pastures available in the valley.
The wildlife population throughout the valley is rapidly declining because of extensive deforestation resulting in the loss of their natural habitat. For the past seven years widespread use of high velocity rifles by security forces in villages and forests surrounding the Valley in their pursuit to apprehend the Kashmiri militants, have further added to the total loss of specie lives lost in an already precarious situation. Rare species like the snow leopard, Kashmiri otter, flying squirrel, long-tailed Himalayan marmot and Kashimiri stag or hangul have now almost become extinct. Over 300 species of birds which included pheasants, quills, partridges, vultures, kites, eagles and a large number of other colorful birds have virtually disappeared. Today those forests stand naked and void of any visible sign of birdlife.
Permanent snowfall on mountains has receded, average temperatures in the Valley have risen and the amount of rain and snowfall has significantly diminished. The combined effect of deforestation and mismanagement of water resources has resulted in soil erosion which is responsible for the frequent flash floods now seen in the state. At present, there is no effective legislation in force to prevent environmental and ecological damage which is being inflicted upon the natural resources of this beautiful Himalayan country. Jammu and Kashmir’s first forest policy, which appeared in 1990, has been a victim of the state’s sole preoccupation ? militancy. “Political instability has facilitated the process of environmental degradation” says A R Wani, a retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF). The only way ahead, therefore lies in sustainable management and utilization of the state’s natural resource. According to a seminar, “Jammu and Kashmir: Vision 2020”, organised recently by the state, its natural resources could generate close to Rs.10, 000 crore in a few years given the right policy focus and political will.
The Jammu and Kashmir State Forest Corporation (SFC) established in July 1979 is the sole agent for harvesting forests. But due to ineffective policies, forest resources have been wasted. What, however, is of essence in this proposed use of ecology is participation by the people; the state will have to loosen its iron grip and let the people take over. For instance, community-based forestry can ensure sustainable harvesting of the willow tree, which caters to the multi-million rupee cricket bat market. Agriculture, which depends on rain for irrigation, could get a boost if the traditional canals are revived and managed by the community. This is what the Chief Minister’s “healing touch” has to act on and immediately.
In March 2004, the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, had said “smuggling gets a fillip due to our bad policy” and discussed his government’s vision of a new forest policy. The proposed new forest policy aims at making forests more accessible to people by adopting the Joint Forest Management programme to involve communities in conservation. Mufti carries an immense responsibility on his shoulders: that of being the state’s Chief Environmental Officer, as well as its Chief Minister.
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