Battling to Preserve Ladakh's Unique Ecosystem

The point when Ramon Magsaysay award winner (2018) and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk addressed a 30,000-strong crowd at Leh, Ladakh to announce his 21-day climate fast, he was addressing individuals of Ladakh as well as making an appeal to the world.

Concealed between India's neighbors, Pakistan and China, at a height of 11,500 feet, Ladakh contains 97% native tribes, many of whom have basic peaceful existences and rely upon farming and animal rearing for a livelihood. Apart from border disputes, the Himalayan regions likewise face the harmful impacts of environmental change through floods, drought, avalanches, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants.

There are around 15,000 glaciers in the Himalayan region, often referred to as the Third Pole. In spring and summer, these glaciers form a significant part of the hydrological cycle by delivering meltwater to the Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra. The Himalayan glaciers, similar to those in the rest of the world, are at risk of melting down because of global warming and climate change. This will affect both residents of the mountain district and those living downstream.

Infrastructure boom

In 2008, the Centre launched eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). One of these was under the Service of Science and Technology, i.e., the National Mission for Sustainable the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE). As the Department of Science and Technology (DST) website states, the "primary goal of NMSHE is to foster an ability to deductively survey the weakness of the Himalayan district to environmental change and ceaselessly evaluate the health status of the Himalayan ecosystem".

Nearly when Ladakh turned into a Union Territory, a few mega framework projects were sent off at a rapid pace. These included the development of bridges, the widening of roads, tunnels, railway lines, mega solar projects, a cutting-edge airport terminal, and wayside amenities to help the tourism industry. Among these were the 14.15-kilometer Zojila tunnel, the 230 km Kargil-Zanskar National Highway project, and a 10-gigawatt solar energy project covering 20,000 acres of land in the Changthang locale. The Ladakh (UT) Industrial Land Allotment Policy of 2023 aims "to make UT Ladakh one of the favored destinations for investment".

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been initiating large numbers of these projects alongside the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL). In its annual report for 2021-22, the NHIDCL states its vision the following: "To fast pace the development of National Highways and other infrastructure in the North Eastern Region, near border and strategic regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and in the territory of Uttarakhand and UT of Andaman and Nicobar islands". All these large regions are vulnerable to environmental change-related disasters.

A region that has seen disaster.

What is puzzling is the reason the different government bodies, endorsing and executing the ventures at such a hot speed, are not paying heed to the warnings from past calamities in the mountains and learning from them.

Beginning around 2010, there have been a few calamities in the Himalayan district, with a loss of lives and livelihoods. In 2013, a cloudburst in the upper reaches of the Himalayas prompted flash floods at Kedarnath, claiming 6,000 lives and sweeping away a few settlements. In January 2023, disaster struck Joshimath, when water gushed down a lower slope of the mountain, submerging parts of the town. In November 2023, the rescue of 41 trapped workers in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel project in the Himalayas garnered worldwide attention.

Uttarakhand, where this multitude of misfortunes happened, too has seen a huge number of infrastructure projects since its formation in 2000. This has gone on notwithstanding critical alerts from geologists and scientists. A Supreme Court of India comprised of an expert committee even proposed that specialists limit the number of explorers visiting the Roast Dam Himalayan places for worship, at Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri to carrying capacity. Conveying limit is the greatest number of individuals that a biological system can uphold, without eroding it. Yet, all things considered, pilgrims' numbers have just increased consistently. Some expert committees have even recommended that no hydroelectric ventures be set up in the para-glacial zone.

At the point when misfortune strikes, the human expense of ecological destruction is unfortunately borne by poor migrant workers in ongoing projects and by residents, tourists, and pilgrims. Government bodies endorsing the tasks or the engineers executing them get away from the fury of the mountains.

Inadequate review

What has been disappointing environmental change activists is their proposals gathering dust despite moving toward the courts and the formation of the expert committee. Barely any expected level of effort which incorporates risk evaluation, safety measures, and geological and seismic examination, goes into any of the multi-crore super tasks in the mountains.

For the sake of development, we can't stand to disturb the delicate equilibrium in the Himalayan biological system and its biodiversity. The onus is on us all to guarantee that the Himalayas and people living under its shadow are secured.

For, Wangchuk's fight isn't just about Ladakh and its people. It is a fight for humankind and all people in the future.