OWSA Contributor

Kashmir’s mountains have always spoken through their rivers, forests, glaciers and lakes. Perhaps this summer they are speaking more loudly than before. 

For the thousands still waiting, progress measured in interviews completed or payments disbursed feels painfully slow.

For now, the message is measured: the toxins are there, the amounts are currently low, but long-term patterns of consumption deserve closer attention.

Rights groups continue to press for transparent investigations, reconstruction where warranted, and stronger safeguards so that historic places of worship are not erased regardless of the current demographic composition of surrounding communities.

The scale of the challenge has made this one of the most complex rescue efforts in Nepal’s recent history.

Expanding wildlife rescue centres to every province and linking them with tourism is also under discussion.

Addressing the threat will require coordinated action across climate policy, agricultural practice, water governance and rural development.

Without rapid and substantial additional funding, the outlook for the remainder of 2026 is grim, UNICEF says, as peak wasting season is underway.