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In a ‘first of its kind’ event, the Jammu and Kashmir state government Tourism Department invited experts from all over India to a two day workshop entitled Tassawur, to listen to success their stories and thoughts and ideas to conserve the fragile ecology of this stunning Himalayan valley.
The workshop covered a vast range of subjects ranging from Architecture, Landscape, Community, Crafts and Arts, with an intention to look at the complex heritage of the region and ways in which it could be conserved. While tourism was the umbrella under which these subjects were being discussed, there was an implicit understanding of the importance of conservation, even for the residents of the area.
eCoexist and oikos were invited from Pune, to share our years of experience working on environmental and ecological issues along with the local communities.
Kashmir has been in the throes of internal and international conflict for several decades now and this has taken a toll on its development. In recent years, even as the Indian government puts in efforts to maintain peace, the underlying tensions continue to exist.
We were however, taken aback at how different the realities on the ground were from the image that the media paints of Kashmir. In our interactions with the youth, we found them to be intelligent and perceptive, even as they experienced a deep frustration regarding the ambiguity of their own futures. Women walked around in relative freedom with only a few, fully veiled in a burqa. Young men gathered in groups of three or four, taking selfies and practising at modelling. The lack of employment opportunities have left them unsure of how to apply themselves and their skills. From these youth we heard different versions of history, different political views and different aspirations for their land.
In the short span of four days we were acutely aware of how limited our experience may be of the community, yet, the beauty and importance of the Himalayan ecosystem was immediately evident.
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ECOLOGY
We visited the Dachigam National Park on our first morning in Srinagar. Nazir Malik, a forest officer with several years of intimate experience and understanding about the ecosystem took us around the park. It was interesting to know the history of the park. Name Dachigam stands for ‘ten villages’ which were resettled outside the park after its declaration as protected area back in 1910, by King Pratap Singh. Earlier it used to be hunting ground for Maharajas.
It is a Moist Temperate type of forest protected mainly for Hangul - the Kashmir Stag. We were lucky enough to sight this beautiful animal on a mountain ridge. Being Summer, forests was almost leafless except for Panej – Hedera nepalense, which is an excellent food plant for Hangul in such a dry season.
Beautiful bark of old growth Fres i.e. Populus babyolinea, laded with bright Lichen Xanthoria was catching the sight. Quercus, Ulmus, Aesculus, Parrotia, Acer, Rhus, Salix were few dominant tree species seen in the park.
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We could spot few rare and endemic birds. Name a few - Orange bull finch, Himalayan Bluetail, Lemon rumped Warbler, Small Forktail, Bar tailed tree creeper, Brown Fronted woodpecker. Bird watching in Himalayas couldn’t be complete without the sighting of Forktails and Red starts dancing in splashes of water !
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Coming to the ecological significance of Dachigam, it can be said that this protected area is aptly representing the near climax ecosystem as in Moist Temperate Forest. Nice mix of mosaic of habitats with forests, grasslands, meadows, lakes and streams. Vegetation cover is arresting soil on steep slopes, conserving moisture, purifying water and providing habitat to biodiversity. It is proving the potential of all barren mountains around Srinagar to have this kind of forest. Whenever it comes to restoration of these barren slopes, this forest can be looked at as reference ecosystem.
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WETLANDS AND ITS MANAGEMENT
Later in the day, we were invited to take a look at the wetlands in Srinagar. The Dal (meaning Lake in Kashmiri) is the biggest lake in Srinagar valley. It has got many basins and have got names like Hazratbal, Nishat, Nagin etc. If you look at the valley and its natural drainage pattern, entire valley appears to be a big wetland interspersed with settlements. And now over the years reclamation of wetlands for development has been fragmenting these wetlands. Few wetlands like Achnar lake, Khushal sar seem to be landlocked lagoons.
Certain algae and wetlands plants like Ceratophyllum and its invasiveness is indicating the sewage input to all these wetlands. So was revealed while interviewing few old men in the city. Earlier people used to drink the water from these lakes but now they can’t. Reclamation of wetland and illegal encroachment on its banks is increasing day by day, which comes with both solid and liquid wastes disposal in the lakes, which is causing eutrophication in certain parts of the lake. Macrophytes like Typha and Phragmites are also seen in few areas. But mostly the lake is full with either submergent plants or floating plants. Open waters are much clearer and in better condition.
Carp, which is a non native introduced fish, is the most dominant species in the Dal. Presence of birds also varies as per basin. We couldn’t spot specialist birds in waters. But few corners were having good diversity. Actually, ecological conditions for various basins of Dal differ significantly so its difficult to apply one single status to entire Dal.
Looking at the wetlands ecologically, they should have saucer shape, with shallow productive areas all along periphery and deep in the centre. Whatever shallow areas are there are used for cultivation of crops mainly Nadru i.e. Nelumbo nucifera, and many other crops on floating gardens. This changed use of natural wetland must have been affecting the ecology. Here scale matters a lot. Earlier when population was limited, even if sewage was going into lake, it was not causing problem. All natural wetlands act like a natural filtration and water purification systems if their carrying capacity does not exceed. They also act like a sponge during flood events. But due to more and more land making, wetland areas are decreasing making flood damage the settlements. Of course, change within the Dal is not the only reason. We also need to look at watershed which is feeding streams into Dal. Activities taking place in the catchment of Dachigma nala or Dara nala and many other streams affect hydrology of the lake. Add to all this is increasing tourism. Number houseboats is increasing pollution and waste dumping in the lake which now seem to be biggest threat to this beautiful wetland. Some control on this and discipline to tourism is needed for sure.
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WASTE MANAGEMENT
One of the other issues faced by the J&K government is waste management. We were taken to visit the land fill in Srinagar – which exists at Syedpora Achan. The landfill has overflowed its capacity for a few years now and the government is struggling to find alternative means of disposal.
Waste segregation at source does yet not happen in Srinagar and we were told that 65% of the content of the landfill site was organic material. The separation and conversion of this organic content into compost was problematic and the government is now looking at scientific ways of dealing with this. Biodegradable waste from vegetable markets was being converted in a rudimentary manner but it could not really be used as compost due to the mixture of plastics in it.
While the management of the landfill seemed to be reasonable , the lack of space would make it impossible to continue in this manner and the government was keen to find alternatives.
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GLIMPSE OF TWO DAY WORKSHOP ...
BUILT ENVIRONMENT / INFRASTRUCTURE / HERITAGE
Multi storeyed buildings are still few and far between in the town of Srinagar which mostly still has low rise buildings. Locals complained that it felt like Kashmir had been left behind in the journey towards development. Electric supply was unpredictable and we were frequently engulfed by a power failure. Solar energy had not yet found its way here on a larger scale.
In a way, the visiting experts opined, there were benefits to this delay in development, as the rest of the country was only now realising the impacts of unplanned development. Architects like Chitra Vishwanath and Dhruv Sood, spoke of buildings with minimal footprints, of using local materials and artisanal skills. The value of built heritage was highlighted by conservation architects such as Gurmeet Rai and INTACH member Saleem Begh. The need for sustainable transport and urban planning for a city like Srinagar was discussed by Mobility experts such as Anuj Malhotra and Pankaj Vir.
COMMUNITY / CRAFTS / ARTS
As we reflected on what it would take to Reimagine Kashmir – we also discussed the need to rebuild relationships within the community through the medium of arts and festivals. Orijit Sen presented his work on community mapping of urban space in Goa and also showcased his art depicting history of Punjab. These creative ways could become channels of bringing community together. The work of eCoexist on festivals and with underprivileged communities in the city of Pune was also shared in this light.
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We displayed upcycled products made of waste that had never been seen by the people of Kashmir and that generated a lot of curiosity. Towards the end of the workshop the Srinagar Development Authority requested us to study the making of the ‘wagu’ mats which used grasses and reeds growing in the Dal lake and had been a source of livelihoods to communities living around the lake, until plastic replaced this traditional material.
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ECOLOGY / LANDSCAPE / RESTORATION
The final session of the workshop took the scale of discussion to the entire ecosystem. Akshay Kaul shared examples of ecological planning in urban, semi urban and rural settings. He implored the Tourism department to recognise and protect the fragile ecological balance in the region through projects that are sensitive to ecological impacts. Ketaki Ghate of Oikos, Pune shared their pioneering work on eco restoration, reminding the participants that Nature needed time and patience to regenerate and yet this need not be contrary to development agendas. Siddarth Rao of the Timbuktu Collective spoke of the success of his organisation in organising communities into cooperatives and helping them generate surplus wealth on their own.
REIMAGINING KASHMIR
In this brief interaction with the governance and the populace of Srinagar, it became evident that they would require a much longer engagement with the mainland to really manifest an alternative reality. Finding innovative and creative ways to occupy the youth of Kashmir is of utmost priority to tackle the eruption of rebellion. Bringing them into the dialogue about the future of the valley is a powerful way to give them a sense of purpose and involve them in rebuilding the community. Professional architects and planners in government service can benefit from a continuing dialogue with their contemporaries in other cities. Exchange programmes to expose them to efforts in other parts of the country would help them think differently. It would also help them realise that other cities do face very similar urban management issues and have been able to turn things around successfully. Laying out ‘good practices guidelines’ for the government departments would give them a starting point on which to build their vision.
TOURISM AND IDENTITY
As one of the young presenters put it – tourists come to the valley to spend time with the residents of the valley, to experience the uniqueness of their world. What is the Kashmir that Kashmiris identify with? Is it the stunning natural beauty of the location, is it the multicultural and layered history or is it the young and upcoming energy and brilliance of their youth? How will this region and its people, heal from the years of conflict and come together to protect its beauty and priceless heritage?
Reaching out to others for help seemed to be the first step in this journey towards healing and in this effort the J&K government seems to have put the right foot forward.
Written by : Manisha Gutman, eCoexist and Ketaki Ghate, Oikos Photos: Ketaki Ghate
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