Srinagar, Aug. 14 -- By Mauzam Bakshi

Kashmir's mountains, lakes and forests look like separate postcards, but they actually function as one living system.

Wetlands hold back floodwater, forests stabilize slopes that would otherwise collapse under heavy rain, alpine lakes feed the rivers and springs that supply the valley below, and grasslands and river corridors give wildlife the room to move and keep the whole system in balance.

Break one piece and the damage spreads through the rest.

That system is now under strain from several directions at once. Climate change is altering rainfall and snowmelt. Habitat fragmentation is cutting wildlife off from the corridors it needs. Pollution, encroachment, unplanned construction and heavy tour...