Tourism in a Changing Climate of Jammu & Kashmir

A Delicate Ballet of Growth and Ecological Risk

- By Mutaharra A W Deva

In this article, Mutaharra A W Deva says Jammu & Kashmir's record 23.6 million tourists in 2024 highlight tourism's economic value but also its clash with intensifying climate change. Glacial retreat, snowless winters, and waste pollution are straining fragile ecosystems and livelihoods. Despite the 2014 State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) envisioning a Tourism Mission, actionable projects remain absent. The author calls for restoring the Climate Change Cell, enforcing eco-sensitive norms, and integrating sustainable, community-based tourism to protect the region from Uttarakhand- and Himachal-like disasters.

In 2024, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) welcomed an estimated 23.6 million tourists, the highest on record, underscoring tourism's economic importance. But this surge is colliding with escalating climate impacts which include snowless winters, glacial retreat, and fragile ecosystems which has placed both livelihoods and landscapes under stress.

SAPCC 2014: Climate Vulnerability and Inadequate Preparedness

Back in 2014, J&K submitted its State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) with an estimated INR 6,500-6,700 crore scope, endorsed by the central government to finance climate adaptation and mitigation missions which specifically included a Tourism Mission.