The recent nine-day-long climate fast by noted activist and reformer Sonam Wangchuk which ended earlier this week has effectively put Ladakh’s climate challenges to national spotlight yet again, underlining the critical short term and long term measures needed in Ladakh.
As part of the national priority and also local sensitivity, Ladakh administration has already adopted a series of climate sensitive approaches, an area largely ignored when the Himalayan desert was part of the Jammu and Kashmir State, but Sonam Wangchuk’s ‘climate fast’ has highlighted that stakeholders need more measures for protecting glaciers and ecology, even if there can be certain disagreements on the politicisation of the event. Most of Ladakh is glacier-fed, depending on the water that dribbles down the mountains from snowmelt. But over the last few decades, the source of this water has been waning because of global heating.
The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region in which Ladakh is located is also called the third pole because of the volume of glacial ice it stores. These glaciers, which are the source of 10 major river systems, are warming much faster than the global average. Scientists have recorded a retreat in both snowfall and glacial mass in Ladakh over the last few decades. Snowmelt and rainfall in the months of March and April would irrigate their fields enough to sow barley, wheat, peas, and potatoes.
But with lower levels of snowfall, the sowing season has gone awry. A detailed analysis into the developments in Ladakh reveal that the administration must start working focussing on three key areas which are tourism, transport and hospitality. With its monasteries, verdant valleys, mountains, glaciers, pure culture and hospitality Ladakh is a nationwide natural attraction for holidaying and adventure but over the decades, tourism is getting reckless and irresponsible posing threat to ecology. Once an agriculture-based economy, Ladakh is fast shifting to tourism with agricultural fields largely being replaced by plush hotels and swanking restaurants. No doubt, tourism is the bedrock of Ladakh’s economy, but it is slowly leaving an impact on the region. Emissions from the vehicles moving in Ladakh, from the picturesque highways to the cramped interior roads, is one of the biggest threat to the region’s pristine but equally sensitive environment.
Ladakh’s air further takes a hit, with the tourist flow, who have over the years poetically linked their Ladakh visits with road trips. Hospitality is also an inter-connected sector. With the increase in tourist footfall, there has been a corresponding increase in construction due to demand for more hotels and restaurants in Ladakh. From 2016 to 2022, there has been a 37% increase in the total bed capacity in Leh only while the total number of hotels, guest houses and homestays has increased by almost 70% and the number of restaurants have grown by 145%. Obviously, this has increased the demand for energy and water. And water scarcity is of a serious concern to Ladakh and its people. The time has come for the Ladakhi civil society to chalk out doable measures with the UT administration to be put in place to protect Ladakh’s fragile climate.
