Siddharth Behl
THE SILENT DISASTER
The Silent Disaster is a visual project that canters upon the confluence of tribal identity, sustainable nomadic alpine livelihoods, and cultural and ecological impacts of climate change in the high-altitude community of Changpas in the Indian Himalayas. The Changpa people and their pashmina goats have in a sense co-evolved together in this harsh terrain, living in balance with each other and the land; where, climate change continues to threaten their existence. At an unsympathetic altitude of nearly 15,000ft., the Changpas have lived a life for generations, surviving in harmony against unpredictable wild winds and heavy snow in the cold dessert that hovers upon their livelihood.
Siddharth Behl "The Silent Disaster"
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The last decade has witnessed enormous and unanticipated climate shifts, following the catastrophic event in 2013, where extreme snowfall and plummeting temperatures had completely cut off all the access to normal winter pastures and around 24,000 livestock perished due to starvation; with 90% of the young stillborn or dead. Feeling weak against the odds of lurking climate change threat and deep attachment towards their cultural spirit thereafter, it was distressing to know that Changpas continue to reckon this climatic drift, where they are becoming more vulnerable to irregular weather shifts and cases of Changpa migration have drastically been increasing every year. Understanding Changpas and their traditional pastoral system has become necessary, since it accounts for nearly 80% of wool in the entire J&K region (as per the animal and husbandry department of Ladakh).
"The Changpas have lived a life for generations, surviving in harmony against unpredictable wild winds and heavy snow".
On the other hand, balancing nomadic lifestyle with educational needs, the Residential Nomadic School in Puga village, Changthang is the only school in the region providing housing and education. While the families back home expect their children to use their knowledge wisely to reform and sustain their unique pastoral system, the schools have lesser resources to teach skills for pastoral livelihoods focussing more on modern livelihoods. Where many parents are dealing with migrating from their grazing lands; inclining with their children to cities towards a civil and modern culture.
Witnessing, interacting and photographing various Changpa families and individuals facing issues regarding livestock, lifestyle, education in varying geographical landscapes in Ladakh continues to evoke my interest in exposing the nuances of humanitarian crisis in this rough Himalayan terrain… constantly providing me with perspectives, knowledge and acumen. ‘The Silent Disaster’, photographed over five years, is one of those experiences where I feel responsible to use photography as a medium to share stories from the indigenous mountain communities, helping gain global climate attention to this region to mitigate the compounding risks. I hope that this series of images and overall project evolves into a portal for viewers across the world and become more cognisant of Changpa tribes who continue to secure our ecosystem by maintaining a cultural practice amidst environmental risks.
Witnessing, interacting and photographing various Changpa families and individuals facing issues regarding livestock, lifestyle, education in varying geographical landscapes in Ladakh continues to evoke my interest in exposing the nuances of humanitarian crisis in this rough Himalayan terrain… constantly providing me with perspectives, knowledge and acumen. ‘The Silent Disaster’, photographed over five years, is one of those experiences where I feel responsible to use photography as a medium to share stories from the indigenous mountain communities, helping gain global climate attention to this region to mitigate the compounding risks. I hope that this series of images and overall project evolves into a portal for viewers across the world and become more cognisant of Changpa tribes who continue to secure our ecosystem by maintaining a cultural practice amidst environmental risks.