Environment

The combined impact of over-population, misuse of natural resources and unsustainable farming practices has made the Himalayan ecosystem fragile. Climate change has led to increase in temperature affecting the weather-cycle with abrupt rainfall patterns, the delayed winter and the harsher summer. The variations brought upon by climate change in Himachal Pradesh is of particular significance as the economy of the state relies heavily on agriculture, horticulture and forestry. All these sectors are facing the consequences of climate change, putting the economy and people of the state in a flux. Himachal Pradesh has frequently experienced natural disasters such as floods, droughts and cloud bursts which has led to biodiversity loss and lower harvest resulting into poverty and deprivation. Nearly 63% of the workforce in the state relies on agriculture or horticulture for their livelihoods, making rural communities especially vulnerable to extreme weather events. The article delves into key initiatives, schemes, and policies undertaken by the Himachal Pradesh government, particularly since 2010, to address climate change and promote sustainable living. It also critically examines and evaluates the extent to which these policies align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement within the broader framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Peter Nicholls’s essay ‘Wars I have Seen’ explores the mediation of war through the medium of poetry, visuals and technology, comments on its ramification and the alteration in the perception of war in the popular imagination. By extrapolating salient themes from the essay, specifically, the interrelation of visuality and violence and the adoption of poetry as the mode of creative expression and representation in a conflict-ridden landscape, this paper will reread poetry from the Northeast of India. Studies have undertaken an eco-critical reading of the poetry from the Northeast of India given the immersiveness of the poets in the ecosphere, while others have critiqued the representation of armed conflict in the region. Keeping this in mind, the current study would extend the ecocritical approach to include the effects, if any, of the militant clashes in the region on the biosphere and investigate its presence and representation in the poetry from the Northast.