Although there are five wetlands of international repute in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), they don’t attract tourists. Even birds will begin to flee from these wetlands due to their abysmal state, fear environmentalists. All five wetlands are Ramsar sites.
“Our wetlands are not vacant lands but living systems that sustain water security, biodiversity and community resilience. What we are witnessing is not natural decline, but human-induced collapse,” says Prof. Bilal Bhat, president, School for Rural Development and Environment (SRDE).