Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling to attend Himalayan states environment conclave in Shimla

Gangtok, Oct 27 : The impact of climate change in the Himalayan region will be high on the agenda when the chief ministers of five northern states meet in Shimla on Thursday during a conference.

The two-day conference, starting October 29 here, would be attended by the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, besides senior officers, technocrats, research scholars and NGOs, Additional chief secretary (Environment) Sarojni Ganju Thakur told reporters today in Shimla.

Union minister of state for Environment and Forest (Independent charge), Jairam Ramesh, will also be present during the conclave on Indian Himalayas, she added.

She said that delegates would discuss the issue of changing landscape of Indian iimalayas, Implications of climate Change on eco lystems and Livelihoods.

She said that glaciers were receding very rapidly in the Himalayan states due to change in climatic conditions. She said that recent studies in Himachal show that there was a 21 per cent decline in the size of glaciers in the state.

The feed back from the two day conclave would be added to national level Chief Minister’s and Environment Ministers’ Conference with the Prime Minister to formulate a uniform strategy and action plan for checking enviornment degradation.

She said that feed back from the consensus on the broader issues related to environment, emerging out of the conclave would also be implemented as Action Plan at the state level and would be formulated as the Himalayan Preservation Mission.

She said that prominent NGO’s, institutions and self help groups from the Himalayan states have also been invited to attended the two day conclave.