Environment Minister Launches Climate Change Initiative Second Meet Of Himalayan Parliamentarians
Union Environment Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar launched an initiative – Climate + Change – Indian Himalayan Region: Our Mountains, Our Future. Speaking after launching the initiative here today, Shri Javadekar said, “Change in lifestyle and new innovations will happen only when people come together. Through this initiative, there will be a lot of activities across all Himalayan states. This will be a continuous process. There are thousands of people doing amazing work. We are going to bring them together and promote the networking of change agents from across the Himalayan region. After two years, we will have developed a very strong group of more than 5, 000 agents of change who will join us when the Climate + Change initiative returns to Delhi in 2017”, Shri Javadekar added.
“The more we work in the Himalayas, the more results we will get. We have launched a joint operation which will really encourage people living in the Himalayan region to live a more Himalayan-friendly lifestyle and more importantly, will foster greater awareness amongst the people and promote the networking of agents of change”, the Minister said. Climate + Change initiative will cut across local, linguistic, cultural and geographical boundaries to facilitate innovation toward climate-related adaptation and climate change mitigation. The initiative aims at to provide a platform for innovative solutions actions to strengthen a resilient climate smart community across the Indian Himalayan region.
Later, addressing the concluding session of the second meet of Parliamentarians from Himalayan states, Shri Javadekar said that unless representatives of the people are involved, we will not get the desired results. He said that meetings with Members of Legislative Assemblies, members of Panchayats and Members of Zila Panchayats. The Minister said that solid waste management, E-waste management, construction waste management are a big concern in Himalayan states. ‘We want to put in place proper waste management mechanism even in small hamlets of hill states’, the Minister said. He added that the gaps in enforcement can be overcome through technological support. Referring to the recent floods in Chennai and earlier in Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand, Shri Javadekar said that new rules for River Regulatory Zones are being prepared and will be launched soon.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashok Lavasa said that Himalayas acquire importance for the neighbouring countries. Shri Lavasa said that the discussion with Members of Parliament from Himalayan states will attract the attention of the government and the people and also help in policy-making of all the states.
The India-ICIMOD Week 2015, Partnership for Sustainable Mountain Development was held from December 11-15, 2015 to celebrate International Mountain Day 2015 on December 11. The programme had been organised jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBPIHED) and International Centre For Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This year’s theme for International Mountain Day is – Promoting Mountain Products for Better Livelihoods. Participants from government agencies, academic and research institutions, international development organisations, local NGO partners, diplomats and the private sector attended five technical sessions held during the week-long programme. Twenty eight stalls had been put up at an exhibition to showcase mountain products and sharing mountain technologies at Paryavaran Bhawan, Jor Bagh.
Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Dr. Jitendra Singh, former Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Shanta Kumar, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Members of Parliament from Himalayan states – Shri Ajay Tamta, Shri Anurag Singh, Smt. Bimla Kashyap Sood, Shri Ering Ninong, Shri Jugal Kishore Sharma, Shri Mahendra Singh Mahra, Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Ram Swaroop Sharma and Shri Birendra Kashyap were among the distinguished ones who attended the concluding session.
