There is something very interesting happening in Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand forest department has established 42 field-based “ecological laboratories” across the state to monitor in its forests, which are being influenced by climate change. These labs will provide crucial data on the impact of erratic climate patterns, including early flowering in species such as rhododendrons and Bramakamal. Many districts in Uttarakhand had witnessed above 40 degree celsius temperatures consecutively from the last so many years and it has adversely impacted the flowering and blooming patterns of vital trees and plants. The government has taken this very seriously and established these ecological laboratories to keep a close eye on where they stand as far as the impact of global warming is concerned. Some trees, it must be admitted, have started having varied blooming cycles as in they either bloom too early or too late.
Point to note here is that both Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are undergoing a sea change. A lot of pharmaceutical companies, perfume oil manufacturers, and hospitals have been built across these two states in the last two decades. These factors coupled with over-tourism and increase in the population is wreaking havoc with the ecology of the two states. In the town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand the situation grew so tense that the entire town had to be evacuated at short notice. In Himachal Pradesh we saw the massive damage the landslides can cause in vulnerable areas.
Apart from these two states there is one union territory which is suffering from all these environmental issues – and that is our union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. With increasing population both in the Jammu as well as Kashmir regions and exponentially increasing tourist population it remains to be seen to what point the frail ecology of the region will survive without caving in.
The time has come for Jammu and Kashmir to establish field-based ecological laboratories to study the impact of increased temperature on the flora of the region. Ours is a core horticulture-based economy. Even a slight variation in weather pattern can bring a downfall in our earnings. We need to know where we stand so that we can make knowledge-based decisions accordingly. The government must outsource this to one or two of our agricultural universities so that they can focus their energies to this end.
This is the need of the hour and we cannot afford to skip a beat on this.
