Srinagar, Aug. 6 -- Kashmir has just wrapped up a climate summit that finally broke the ice on the part often missing from public discussion.

People have heard enough about melting glaciers, shrinking wetlands and rising flood risks. This gathering chose a different path.

It focused on answers, and that comes as welcome news for a Himalayan region living through a changing climate with growing uncertainty about its water, land and future.

The most encouraging part of the four-day meeting at the Islamic University of Science and Technology was its belief that the land itself can help heal many of the problems people created over decades.

Instead of searching for another engineering fix, the discussions turned toward forests that hold h...