Dr Neeraj Sharma
nirazsharma@gmail.com
Conservation is more than protecting forests, rivers, wetlands or wildlife. It is about people as much as the planet. Efforts that focus solely on habitat protection without engaging and empowering local communities often fail to achieve lasting impact. In regions like Jammu & Kashmir, where biodiversity is rich but human dependence on natural resources is high, integrating community participation with ecological stewardship is essential for conservation. Ironically, the very communities that rely on rivers, wetlands, forests, and pastures to sustain their livelihoods, uphold cultural traditions, and ensure food security are often the hardest hitfacing the impacts of climate change on one hand and geographic, economic and political marginalization on the other.This year’s theme, ‘Wildlife conservation finance: Investing in people and planet’,underscores the critical need for resources and funding, particularly in regions like Jammu & Kashmir, where rich biodiversity coexists with communities that depend heavily on natural resources.
Aligning financial support with conservation efforts and environmental awareness is essential to safeguard vital ecosystems besides allowingthe local communities to actively engage in conservation. While investing in people through sustainable livelihoods, stewardship incentives, and participatory governance builds the social capital; investing in the planet by restoring habitats, protecting key sites, and maintaining ecological connectivity secures the ecological foundation for both biodiversity and human well-being.And both are necessary for lasting conservation.
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir also known as ‘Biomass state of India’ has a vast protected area network comprising four national parks, 14 wildlife sanctuaries, 16 conservation reserves, 14 wetland reserves including five Ramsar sites accounting for 11.31 % of the total area coverage. As documented in the book, ‘Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir state’ published in 2020, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir is home to 5,056 plant species, 112 species of mammals, 555 species of birds, 120 species of fishes, and 408 species of butterflies besides other taxa. Post reorganization, the efforts are underway to revise the biodiversity information for the Union Territory. Till date, two of the revised checklists for the UT of Jammu and Kashmir include 592 bird species and 111 species of mammals (communicated).While new species continue to be discovered, the extent of species loss often goes unrecorded. Growing evidence, however, points to the visible drivers of habitat change as the leading cause of this silent erosion of biodiversity, yet the information on these trends remain scarce for the region. Though the number of protected areas are adequate, their effectiveness is being challenged by increasing pressure from various human-mediated disturbances including hunting, habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and competition with livestock. Climate change is driving shifts in snowmelt patterns, intensifying floods and droughts, and causing species to move along elevational gradients in search of suitable habitats. At the same time, invasive alien species are increasingly displacing native flora and fauna, further destabilizing fragile ecosystems.No ecosystem appears immune to these disturbances and this holds good for all the mountainous states of India.As biodiversity loss steadily escalates, effective conservation efforts remain crucial to prevent further decline. These efforts suffer critical gaps, primarily due to weak governance, inadequate human resource, and chronic funding shortfalls. Conservation financing often remains short-term or project-based, whereas lasting ecological stewardship demands sustained investment, stable policy frameworks, and strong institutional partnerships.
True conservation goes beyond protecting wildlife. It is about empowering the people and the planet they rely on. Investing in people invariably yields ecological dividends. The informed communities manage resources responsibly, foster stewardship, and drive sustainable progresseffectively.Communities can be economically strengthened through conservation-based livelihoods such as eco-tourism, handicrafts, and climate-resilient farming, as successfully demonstrated in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.Empowering local communities through workshops on environmental quality, biodiversity, and human-wildlife conflict, while training youth as para-ecologists and eco-guides, is turning conservation into a communitydriven effort,a model already succeeding in neighbouring states. Creating opportunities for women in leadership, eco-enterprises, and training programs further enhances the effectiveness and sustainability of such conservation initiatives.Experiences from Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia and our neighbouring states are far encouraging.
in the planet means taking practical actions to protect ecosystems, restore habitats, and ensure sustainability for future generations. The key habitats, especially wetlands and core forest patches, needs to be restored to their ecological thresholds to ensure long-term environmental health and biodiversity. Maintaining corridors between wetlands, riparian strips, and upland habitats ensures landscape connectivity, allowing birds, aquatic species and terrestrial mammals to move freely across elevations and seasons. Irresponsible tourism poses a growing threat to biodiversity, making it essential to monitor the protected areas with community support and sustainable zoning, while promoting low-impact ecotourism through clear guidelines, carrying capacity assessments, and seasonal visitor management.
While ecological restoration and community engagement yield remarkable results, long-term conservation also relies on diverse financing mechanisms to sustain habitat protection, community stewardship, and climate adaptation. Achieving these goals requires a comprehensive approach that engages all stakeholders and cannot be accomplished in isolation. While the Department of Wildlife Protection works diligently to conserve and maintain wildlife habitats, mobilizing communities and generating the necessary resources, demands meticulous coordination and active participation at all levels, both from authorities and local stakeholders.
(The author works as Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Jammu, Jammu)
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