Siachen & Pakistan's Environmental Troubles
A Study By Michael Kugelman
Wednesday, May 10, 2012 - 11:12 AM
★ Last month, an
avalanche (a massive slide of snow) on the Siachen glacier in Kashmir killed 124 Pakistani soldiers and
11 civilians. The tragedy has intensified debate about the logic of stationing
Pakistani and Indian troops on such inhospitable region. And it has also
brought attention to Pakistan's environmental insecurity.
★ Siachen is rife with
glacial melt; one study concludes the icy peak has retreated nearly two
kilometers in less than 20 years. Pakistan's United Nations representative, Hussain Haroon, contends that
glacial recession on Pakistani mountains has increased by 23 percent over the
past decade.
★ It has also been described as "the
world's highest waste dump." Much of this waste-generated from soldiers'
food, fuel, and equipment-eventually finds its way to the Indus River Basin,
Pakistan's chief water source.
★ Siachen, in fact,
serves as a microcosm of Pakistan's environmental troubles. The nation
experiences record-breaking temperatures, torrential rains (nearly 60 percent
of Pakistan's annual rainfall comes from monsoons), drought, and glacial melt . Experts estimate that about a quarter of Pakistan's land area and
half of its population are vulnerable to climate change-related disasters.
★ Sindh's environment minister said that millions of people across
the province face "acute environmental threats."
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