PM for greater coordination with neighbours to save Himalayas

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday gave in principle approval to the National Mission on Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system and called for "much greater engagement and coordination" among nations, including China and Pakistan, who share the sensitive mountain range.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday gave in principle approval to the National Mission on Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system and called for "much greater engagement and coordination" among nations, including China and Pakistan, who share the sensitive mountain range.

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The approval to the mission assumes significance as India gears up for the climate change talks in Copenhagen in December to decide on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol to check global warming.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change on the National Mission on Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, where Singh said that he would convene a meeting of Chief Ministers of Himalayan states in an effort to safeguard the sensitive zone.

While a large part of the Himalayan range lies within Indian Territory, other countries -- Nepal, Bhutan, China and Pakistan -- share the mountain ranges with India, he said.

"Any comprehensive Climate Change Action Plan for the entire Himalayan zone will, of course, require coordinated action among all stakeholder countries," Singh said.

Noting that some bilateral initiatives were being taken with China and Bhutan, he said "we have to recognise the need for much greater engagement and coordination with all our neighbours who share the Himalayas.