From Baku to Kashmir, Climate Action in Tourism

There is a very strong message that has come from COP29,hosted by Baku, Azerbaijan, about the enhanced climate  action in tourism. Among all places  and people  it must be heard by Kashmir. Tourism is a backbone of Kashmir’s economy and brand ambassador of its hospitality, handicraft and unmatched beauty. But now it is telling upon the health of our environment-multiplying the crises of the  three-decades of the violent conflict.

Baku declaration should serve as a wake-up call to Kashmir, which is one of the best tourist spots known all over  the world. Its beauty coupled  with its rich culture and traditions offer best experience to tourists from all across  the country and abroad.

Little or no time has been spared in looking at the holistic picture – pluses and minuses of the overflow of tourism – amidst its euphoria over rising footfall of tourists. Tourism is one of the best revenue generating industries in Kashmir, which touches more than seven lakh families– directly and indirectly. The number of flights and vehicles arriving in the Valley, bringing tourists of all hues and classes, has brought environmental hazards too. A balance  should have been worked out, which unfortunately  has not been done. Kashmir is  faced with environmental crisis. The policy of having unrestricted flow of tourists  and  campaigns seeking  more tourists  should be revisited. Kashmir has to be saved for  posterity and also tourists. Responsibility and sustainability  should be the guiding factors in tourism sector.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was right in urging the tourism department and stakeholders to go in for quality tourism. The high-volume of tourists has its own minuses–this damages environment in incalculable terms. This fact should be understood in right perspective. Tourism indeed is a peace-time activity and it helps in enriching economy and improving the developmental scenario. It is also true that the tourism boom in the past almost three years has generated a new environment in which conflict has been pushed to background and an overall environment of self-confidence in situation has received traction. This, however, needs a balanced approach.

The COP 29 Baku Declaration on Climate Action and Tourism should serve as a chilling reminder to all the tourism countries in the world, including India, in particular the ecologically sensitive states like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Himachal Pradesh.  Jammu and Kashmir deserves special attention and focus. Its environment has been under attack for decades – the political governments of yesteryear  gave a damn to the ecology. The era of militancy, which is far from over, despite substantial  improvement in the situation in the past few years, brought greater assault on the forests and land – the river beds and catchment areas were encroached upon with impunity. It is not out of place to say that no lessons have been learnt even after the 2014 devastating floods which reminded how nature’s fury can undo everything.

This critically important aspect is not even being discussed  with as much intensity as it should have been. It’s a fact of life that Kashmir Valley was in grip of high-volume of militancy, and that shifted the priorities. The concerns for environment were trampled upon by the men wielding guns. The government was moving with a single-lens approach of combating terrorism-killing terrorists, busting their hideouts. There was no time left for taking care of the environment.

Somewhere down the line, gun prevailed and all those who had guns whether the terrorists or the counter-insurgents, who were raised by the government and the security forces, launched a combined assault on forests. No one understood it that time that what would it meant for the overall health of the Valley. In these 30 years of trouble, Kashmir witnessed massacre of the human beings and the tree lines. There are often stated statistics of the lives lost, but there is not a single study to tell us that what  the conflict inflicted on environment – forests, water bodies.

During militancy, hundreds of miles of rich forests came under assault. Illicit tree felling and timber smuggling  was offshoots of the violent-era in Kashmir,  Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal region. The militants and their supporters  denuded forests, but there were many others involved in this loot ; nothing was written nor spoken. Silence exhibits worst kind of fear.

The COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism hailed as historic and groundbreaking initiative aimed at “transforming the global tourism sector into a climate-resilient, low carbon industry”, is also a very strong message for the Valley.

Comments made by COP29 Tourism Initiative, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev are quite significant. He said: “Tourism is a major driver of economic growth and development, providing direct and indirect livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people. However, the sector is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, poses pressures on ecosystems, and is itself highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including sea levels, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events.”

“We are launching the COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism, which urges us to think creatively and collaboratively about how to transform tourism into a climate –resilient, low-carbon sector that contributes not only to economic development but also to global sustainability.”

Jammu and Kashmir should figure in these environmental concerns for a variety of reasons. Tourism is not a one-time activity. It is to be preserved, sustained for future. Let there be a fair analysis of this particular sector.

There is some awakening toward this aspect, it was spotlighted in a recently held summit on responsible and sustainable tourism in J&K, by the J&K chapter of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Srinagar. The CII J&K Council Chairman and Executive Director  of FIL Industries Syed Junaid Altaf’s remarks hold key to the way forward.  He observed: “Tourism drives local economic growth, employment, and investment. However, balancing this growth with environmental and cultural preservation is critical. A sustainable tourism sector must support local communities, promote biodiversity, conservation and embrace digital innovation to create inclusive opportunities for women, youth and indigenous groups.”

Apart from the economic reasons, tourism in Kashmir  has also assumed the role of being a brand ambassador of the Valley that is peaceful and is looking for greater mainstreaming into the world. But unrestricted footfall has its own pitfalls. That is obvious, as in the quest for more money through tourism, structures have come up in hills  without caring for the fragile ecology. The roads are being widened  only to help the tourists reach their destinations as early as possible. All this is good, but alongside the environmental concern should have been taken into consideration. There has to be tourism decorum as well. Kashmir must ponder over all this. Sooner the better.