Lok Sabha Question No. 39 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-29
Subject: Maintenance of Ecology of Himalayan
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 39

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2021

## Maintenance of Ecology of Himalayan

## 39. SHRI MANOJ KOTAK:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps to  maintain  the  fragile  ecology  of  the Himalayas;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any monitoring mechanism by inducting scientists has been set up to take note of the changes taking place in glaciers; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) and (b) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change established the G.B. Pant  National  Institute  of  Himalayan  Environment  as  a  focal  agency  to advance scientific knowledge and to evolve integrated management strategies for conservation of biodiversity and natural resources in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).

The Ministry has also launched the National Mission on Himalayan Studies in 2015-16 as a Central Sector Scheme to support the sustenance and enhancement of the  ecological,  natural,  cultural,  and  socio-economic  capital assets and values of the IHR.

Other initiatives of Government include the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlining eight National Missions on climate change. Two out of eight missions namely, (i) National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE); and (ii) National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate  Change  (NMSKCC)  are  dedicated  to  ecological  studies  under  the Department of Science & Technology (DST).

- (c) and (d) Government  of  India  through  its various organizations is carrying out scientific studies to monitor the changes in Himalayan glaciers. In this regard, Ministry of Earth Sciences through its autonomous centre National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is undertaking long-term monitoring of

representative  glaciers  in  Western  Himalayas  since  2013.  Towards  this,  a small  dedicated  team  has  been  established  at  NCPOR  and  a  high  altitude station called Himansh has been established in 2016 at Lahaul-Spiti region of Himachal  Pradesh.  NCPOR  is  undertaking  a  coordinated  initiative  called Himalayan Cryosphere Observations and Modelling (HiCOM) in collaboration with various academic institutions in the Country. This project aims to understand the glacier behaviour and its hydrological response across the Himalaya. Indian  Space  Research  Organization  (ISRO)  has  been  studying  Himalayan Glaciers  at  different  time  frames.  Changes  in  area  of  glaciers  for  the  time period of year 1962 and 2001-05 were mapped for 2630 glaciers. In a recent study  5234  glaciers  were  monitored  by  ISRO  between  the  years  2001  and 2017-18 across Himalayan-Karakoram region from Kashmir to Sikkim using satellite data. Wadia  Institute of  Himalayan  Geology, Dehradun  under DST  is also monitoring  the  health  of  the  glaciers  in  IHR.  The  Institute  is  monitoring Gangotri,  Dokriani,  Chorabari,  Dunagiri-Bangni,  Pindari,  Kafni  glaciers  in Uttarakhand  and  Pensilungpa,  Durung  Darang,  and  Prakachik  glaciers  in Ladakh.

Geological  Survey  of  India  has  also  conducted  studies  on  melting  of  nine glaciers  by  assessment  of  mass  balance  and  also  monitoring  the  recession/ advancement of 76 glaciers.

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