Geneva, June 29, 2023 (PPI-OT): As Modi regime is planning to chop thousands of trees in the name of construction of a new High Court building in Jammu, speakers at a seminar in Geneva while highlighting impacts of climatic changes on human life have said that a collective response was direly needed to save vulnerable populations at the risk from climate change. According to Kashmir Media Service, the seminar was attended and addressed by international experts, academicians, rights activists and diplomats hailing from different parts of the world including Altaf Hussain Wani, Hassan Bana, Leon Sue, Arif Hussain Kazmi and several others.

While stressing the need for a global roadmap to tackle the climate crisis and to ensure a sustainable future the speakers said that climate change posed a serious threat to human rights of our generation. They said that climate change has affected the lives of Kashmiri people in many different ways. “On the one hand it poses a serious risk to the fundamental rights to life, health, food and living of individuals and communities across the disputed territory while on the other fluctuating temperatures, melting glaciers, incessant rains causing flash floods have wreaked havock on key sectors of the economy in Kashmir that happens to be one amongst the climate change prone regions”, they said.

They said that the rising temperature on the other hand has led to severe water shortage in Kashmir. “The water scarcity has adversely affected the agriculture sector”, they said, adding that it has also affected the crop yield besides disrupting the food supply and access to quality food.

Climate change they said was having a significant impact on water resources around the world. Like the other parts of the world Kashmir has witnessed significant decrease in groundwater. They said that the wetlands of Kashmir that host hundreds of species of birds round the year have been affected by the climate change. When it comes to climate change, they said, Jammu and Kashmir geographically were no exception. The UN designated disputed territory, they said, was also a host to world’s top snow peaks, glaciers and riverine system – a dimension which is deeply neglected amidst intense conflict.

“Though in many regions climate change can be a driver of conflict, but in case of Jammu and Kashmir, the conflict itself has potential and is acting as driver of climate change and infact has contributed towards it in many ways”, the speakers said. Referring to the massive Indian troops’ concentration in Kashmir, the speakers said that the environmentally fragile region was a host to the highest military concentration-a major factor causing serious climatic issues to local habitat. “More than eight hundred thousand troops deployed by India in disputed territory armed with heavy artillery is a major destabilizer for local ecology”, they said.

“The troops deployed on fast melting Siachin Glacier is disrupting natural ecosystem and military activity is hugely contributing in rise in temperature”, they said. They said that the LOC – itself acts as driver in disturbing ecosystem. They said that trust and relationship among communities can only be forged by resolving conflicts, addressing political issues like issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

For more information, contact:

Kashmir Media Service

Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549

Fax: +92-51-4861736

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.kmsnews.org