The Opposite of Collateral Damage

When we think of the impact of war on the environment, our first thought is usually of degradation. But in the mountainous rainforests of Jammu and Kashmir, on the borders of India, Pakistan, and China, armed conflict between militant separatists and Indian security forces has had a surprising effect, revitalizing indigenous animal populations.

To help identify militants and distinguish them from the general population, police have convinced villagers to turn in their weapons. Wary locals no longer venture deep into the insurgent-occupied rainforest, fearful of being caught in the crossfire between warring factions. Poaching has been brought nearly to a halt, and animal populations are rebounding.

No one is recommending war as a conservation strategy, but since fighting began in the late 1980s rare creatures such as the snow leopard and the pirpanjal markhor goat have seen a 20 percent to 60 percent rise in their populations. The numbers of Himalayan black bears and hanguls, a relative of the reindeer found only in Kashmir, have more than doubled.

 Photo: Digital-FotoFusion Gallery/Alamy