'How green was my valley?' : Article Summary

The article ‘How green was my valley?’ was printed in The Economist on October 23rd 2008. The link to the article is: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12480378
Kashmir valley has been regarded as one of the most beautiful places on earth; this is all due to the Kolahoi Glacier, located in the Himalayas, which is a frozen reservoir of fresh water that keeps the valley fertile. However, due to decades of human conflict and apparent climate changes, it is melting away at an alarming rate. Though the environmental issue has not been the focus of attention, due to the fact that the area of Kashmir has been disputed by India and Pakistan for decades, making it dangerous to even establish regular monitoring of the glacier, the looming environmental disaster has finally been acknowledged.
The disappearance of this glacier not only threatens to make Kashmir a water stressed area; it would also threaten the livelihood of millions. Though the beauty of this valley, due to its fertility, is a causal factor for the dispute over it, losing it would mean that no water supplies would be available during May and June. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) accused the government of treating environmental issues as afterthoughts to politics. Without any preventative measures, the Kolahoi glacier could be gone within 10 years, making Kashmir a very undesirable place to be.