A national mission to sustain the Himalayan ecosystem, continuously assess its health status, and formulate policies for sustainable development in the mountainous states, was approved by the government on Friday.
The mission document on the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE), launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) with an outlay of Rs.550 crore during the 12th Plan, was approved by the Union Cabinet at its meeting on Friday. Its primary objective is to develop a sustainable national capacity in a time-bound manner to continuously assess the health status of the Himalayan ecosystem and enable policy formulation to assist Himalayan states to implement sustainable development programmes, an official release said.
The NMSHE would attempt to address a variety of important issues, including studying the Himalayan glaciers and associated hydrological consequences and prediction and management of natural hazards.
It would also assist in the ongoing restoration and rehabilitation process of Uttarakhand, which was devastated in last year’s ravaging floods. The NMSHE would focus on biodiversity conservation and protection of wildlife, traditional knowledge of societies and their livelihoods, the release said, adding marginalised communities of the Himalayan region would be the major beneficiaries of the mission.
The Mission covers 12 Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal.
The Department of Science and Technology would coordinate the implementation of NMSHE and a mission cell would be set up at its Climate Change Programme Division for the project.
