Lok Sabha Question No. 2620 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-01
Subject: Climate change in Himalayan Region
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: DINESH TRIVEDI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2620

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.08.2017

## Climate change in Himalayan Region

## 2620. SHRI DINESH TRIVEDI:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether any study has been conducted regarding the carbon sink potential of the Himalayan region and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether any study has been conducted on the impact of climate change on biodiversity and human inhabitants of the Himalayan region and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  implemented  mitigation  and  adaptation  measures  to  check climate change in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the other steps being taken by the Government to mitigate climate change and to check the increasing temperature in the Himalayan region?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  has  not  carried  out  any  study regarding the carbon sink potential of the Himalayan region.
- (b) A scientific study to assess the impact of climate change was undertaken by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and a report entitled 'Climate Change and India: A 4X4 Assessment - A Sectoral and Regional Analysis for 2030s' was published in 2010. The  study  assessed  impacts  of  climate  change  on  four  key  sectors  of  Indian  economy, namely,  agriculture,  water,  forests  and  human  health  in  four  climate  sensitive  regions  of India, namely, the Himalayan region, the Western Ghats, the Coastal region and the NorthEastern Region.  In the  Himalayan region, the net primary productivity  (NPP) of forest is projected  to  increase  by  about  57%  on  an  average  by  the  2030s.  Further,  increase  in temperatures  may  lead  to  increased  morbidity  due  to  heat  stress.  Malaria  is  projected  to spread to new areas and threats of its transmission are likely to increase for longer duration in the Himalayan region.
- (c) The Government has launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in June  2008  to  deal  with  climate  change  and  related  issues.  NAPCC  comprises  of  eight Missions  in  specific  areas  of  solar  energy,  enhanced  energy  efficiency,  habitat,  water, sustaining Himalayan ecosystems, forestry, agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate

change, which addresses the issues relating to mitigation of greenhouse gases and adaptation to climate change. 32 States and UTs have prepared State Action Plan on Climate Change to deal with climate change.

- (d) The  National  Mission  for  Sustaining  the  Himalayan  Ecosystem  (NMSHE)  under  the National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change  (NAPCC)  encompasses,  inter  alia  conservation measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan ecosystems through establishment of  monitoring  network,  promotion  of  community  based  management,  human  resource development, and strengthening regional cooperation. Major initiatives taken under NMSHE include establishment of a Centre for Himalayan Glaciology at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun and setting up of six Thematic Task Forces viz., Natural and Geological Wealth;  Water, Ice, Snow including Glaciers;  Micro Flora and Fauna and Wildlife  and  Animal  Population;  Himalayan  Agriculture;  Traditional  Knowledge  system; and Forest Resources and Plant Diversity. Also, State Climate Change Centers have been set up  in  the  eleven  Himalayan  states  namely,  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  Himachal  Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and West Bengal.

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