SDC Founder Anoop Nautiyal addressed students at the nationally renowned Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) in Dehradun. He spoke about developing a Himalayan Charter for Uttarakhand and shared several insights. It was encouraging to see quite a few students discussing their ideas after the talk.
The Himalayas can only be saved if the Central and State Governments come together on one platform to act differently. Giant infrastructure projects, increasing urbanization, rampant mining, irresponsible muck disposal and over tourism amongst others have caused maximum damage to the Himalayas. Placing attention purely on climate change or saying people should be made aware about the Himalayas are inadequate measures to safeguard this fragile region.
Anoop added that all experts are unanimous that one of the major lacunas is the lack of an overarching policy document for the Himalayan region. The recurring monsoon and disasters should be treated as wake up calls for Central and State Governments to consider tweaking development direction. This should also be used as an opportunity to engage in widespread stakeholder consultations that can lead to a new and resilient policy framework for the Indian Himalayan Region.
