The colonial development model drove unsustainable industrialization and resource extraction to position India as a counterweight to China, a country that has never threatened its existence.
Continuing this legacy, India has escalated dam construction, hydroelectric projects and mining, eroding the fragile Himalayan eco-system.
This has disrupted the water cycle, triggering erratic monsoons, groundwater depletion and severe pollution from Lahore to Dhaka.
The numbers paint a grim picture. The Himalayas, home to over 1.9 billion people dependent on their water, are losing glaciers at an alarming rate—one-third could vanish by 2100 if current trends persist. De-forestation is eating away at Himalayan forests, with India alone losing over 1,200 square kilometers of tree cover annually. Meanwhile, air pollution chokes South Asia, with Delhi recording hazardous AQI levels of 400-900 during peak smog season, and Dhaka ranking among the world’s most polluted cities. The region’s major rivers, including the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra, have seen water levels shrink due to excessive damming, disrupting irrigation for 600 million farmers.
The consequences of this ecological collapse have eaten into South Asia’s economic backbone. Agricul-tural productivity has dropped as soil erosion and water shortages dry up fields, while rivers, once lifelines for trade and food security, have been cut off by excessive damming. India alone is estimated to lose $95 billion annually due to land degradation. Meanwhile, smog and water pollution have driven up healthcare costs, dragging down economic growth. The region is caught up in a vicious cycle—over-extraction of natu-ral resources fuels short-term economic gains but ultimately undercuts long-term sustainability. Breaking out of this colonial trap requires a paradigm shift. Instead of doubling down on destructive prac-tices, South Asia must turn to ecological restoration as a path to prosperity. Rebuilding the Himalayan eco-system means rolling back deforestation, curbing reckless infrastructure projects and setting up trans-boundary water governance to balance development with conservation. This shift would not only shore up water security but also breathe life back into river-based trade, unlocking economic potential beyond na-tional borders. The Indus and Ganges rivers, for example, once carried millions of tons of goods annually, but their potential remains largely untapped due to mismanagement.
China must be brought on board as a key partner in this effort. The colonial-era model of using India as a strategic counterweight to China has boxed the region into a state of perpetual rivalry, preventing coopera-tive solutions to shared challenges. A new approach—where China, India, Pakistan and other South Asian states work together—could pave the way for joint investments in reforestation, sustainable hydropower and climate resilience. By teaming up, the region could step away from ecological collapse and build a future driven by sustainable growth rather than resource exhaustion.The Himalayas offer the region its last stand — either countries wake up to the crisis and pull together to restore their ecological backbone or they tumble further into a downward spiral of instability, water scarcity and economic stagnation. The choice is clear: repair the Himalayas or be swept away by the consequences.
The writer is a political analyst, based in Islamabad.
