A comprehensive programme to assess the damage being done to ecologically fragile areas in the Himalayas and to prevent over-exploitation of natural resources in the region was cleared by the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change on Monday.

The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-System is the fourth of the eight missions under the government’s National Action Plan on Climate Change to be cleared. The missions on solar energy, strategic knowledge and energy efficiency have already been given in-principle approvals.

The mission on sustaining the Himalayan eco-system seeks to establish an extensive observational and monitoring network that will make a detailed assessment of the damage being done to the area by human activity and effects of climate change and suggest ways to prevent this damage.

“The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-System is one of the most critical of the various Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It impacts directly on water security as well as food security and, therefore, involves the livelihood of hundreds of millions of our people,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at Monday’s meeting.

The changing face of glaciers in the Himalayas will be an important subject of study under the mission. The mission proposes the setting up of a Centre for Glaciological Studies to collect data and assess whether the glaciers are retreating or growing because of climate-induced factors. The Prime Minister also stressed on the need to have closer cooperation with other countries sharing the Himalayan ranges with India.