Kashmir, once renowned for its lush landscape and abundant wildlife, has for decades served as a battle zone between India and Pakistan, and all the turmoil has taken a heavy toll on the region’s environment as well as its people. “Cross-border bombardment is damaging the forests and wildlife beyond imagination,” said Farooq A. Niazi, head of the Jammu Kashmir Human Rights Movement. And illegal logging is rampant, often instigated by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Since 1947, when Pakistan broke off from India, forest cover in the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir has diminished by two-thirds. Snow leopard populations in the region have shrunk dramatically, migratory birds no longer return to the area, and other animals, including black bears, ibex, striped hyenas, and lynx, are suffering as well. “It’s an environmental disaster,” said Sardar Anwar Khan, president of the Pakistan-controlled Azad Jammu Kashmir.
