Srinagar, July 17 -- Kashmir's prominent eco-campaigner spent part of this week mourning a loss that cannot be measured in numbers.

Standing amid one of the valley's celebrated tourist destinations, he spoke with deep disappointment about what people have allowed to happen to places once known for crystal-clear waters, green meadows and spotless surroundings.

His words sounded like an appeal to fellow Kashmiris.

Every discarded plastic bottle and food wrapper, he said, steals a little more from the land that has sustained generations.

His appeal reached well beyond Warwan and Gurez. Those places tell the story of a much larger problem. Plastic now follows almost every picnic and sightseeing trip.

Visitors come for Kashmir's beauty an...