Tourism activities impacted Himalayan brown bear habitat in Kashmir: JKPCC

New Delhi, Nov 12: The National Green Tribunal has been informed that tourism activities and tunnelling projects in Kashmir's Sonamarg have negatively impacted the habitat of the Himalayan brown bear.

Earlier, while hearing the issue of the depleting habitat of the Himalayan brown bear because of several reasons, including the unplanned disposal and treatment of waste in the Sonamarg region, the tribunal sought a response from the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC).

The tribunal had noted that according to a study, 75 percent of the diet of bears in the area comprised human-made garbage dumps including plastic and organic food waste.

In its reply dated November 11, the JKPCC said it had directed the regional director of the pollution control committee in Kashmir to submit a comprehensive report.

Pursuant to its directions, the committee formed a panel to find the status of tourism and its impact on brown bear habitat, besides assessing the quantification and disposal of the food waste in the area, the reply said.

The panel's report, which was annexed to the reply, said Sonamarg was among the few Himalayan bear habitats in the country. It was a key tourist place, serving as a stopover for the pilgrims of the Amarnath Yatra, besides connecting the Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

"Tourism activities, such as the construction of hotels, guest houses, restaurants, markets, roads and various tunnelling projects, have led to habitat fragmentation and increased human intervention in an area that once entirely served as a habitat for various species of wild animals including the Himalayan Brown Bear," the report said.

Quoting the report, the JKPCC's reply said between 7-10 metric tons (MT) per day of solid waste was generated in Sonamarg, which increased to up to 20 MT during the peak season.

Regarding waste management, the reply said, "Huge quantities of solid waste were found dumped around the solid waste management facility (established by the Sonamarg Development Authority) and piles of untreated solid waste were also found stacked inside the facility without proper disposal arrangements in place for the compost generated."

It said action would be taken against the authority for violating environmental rules.

The reply also recommended fencing the facility, installing a weigh bridge for quantifying the waste, secondary segregation of the waste in the facility and prohibiting open dumping of waste around it.