Nestled between India and Pakistan in the snowy Himalayas, the remote, cold desert of Kargil is one of the world’s most politically volatile regions. It entered popular consciousness as the site of the 1999 war between India and Pakistan and is invoked even today in sabre rattling contests between the two nations.
Here, one can find growing wild, roses, geraniums, tulips and so on. One can also find plants that contain valuable medicinal compounds, including Hippophae salicifolia, Podophyllum hexandrum, and Aconitum.
Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge and of systemic conservation efforts have led to environmental degradation, poverty and migration out of Kargil.
Believing that any successful conservation effort must involve local communities, in 2019, we began working with community leaders in Kargil to rectify this situation.
We are proposing to restore the ecology of Kargil in three stages: the first stage is raising local awareness of these plants and the need for conservation, to be followed by a second stage where we set up linkages between leading Indian research institutions and local farmers and, finally, a third stage where we begin commercial micro-cultivation/ ecological restoration efforts.
Our work is funded by various organizations, including National Geographic and the UNDP.
Please visit our website www.ttink.org to find out more.