Himachal Pradesh will soon set up a centre for climate change, snow and glacier studies and disaster management, to enhance the state’s preparedness for natural disasters and chalk out mitigation and adaptation strategies.
It will also establish a State Resource Information Centre (SRIC) to serve as a repository for data on environment, natural resources and climate change.
This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal at the international conference on Environment and Climate Change at San Jose, capital of Costa Rica, organised by the World Bank and government of Costa Rica last evening.
He said the formulation of a master plan for environment in assistance with the World Bank was nearly complete wherein spatial vulnerability assessment, sectoral guidelines for environmental protection formulation etc. had been incorporated.
Dhumal said Himachal was implementing the World Bank-funded mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project, which has been harnessing revenue through carbon credits for panchayats and local communities. He informed international agencies that the state had also launched community led assessment, awareness, advocacy and action programme (CLAP) for environment protection and carbon neutrality at the gram panchayat level.
Earlier, addressing scholars of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre at Turriba, the CM emphasised the need of research and development on the environment front.
