Green India Mission to protect northeast from fall-out of climate change

Green India Mission (GIM) will protect the north eastern region from the fall-out of the climate change, Union minister of state for environment and forest, Jairam Ramesh today said.

"The prevailing climatic change is a matter of concern for the vulnerable north eastern region and the Green India Mission (GIM) will take all measures to protect it", Ramesh told reporters at the sidelines of the first regional consultation programme to finalise the GIM document.

The union minister said while the north east's landshare of the country is only 7%, its forest share 25%.

The GIM target is to include afforestation of six million hectares of degraded forest lands and increase the forest cover of the country from the present 23% to 33%.

About Assam, Ramesh expressed satisfation that 38% of its land area was forest and tea garden land but regretted that 20% of that area was degraded.

"Efforts are to be made to protect the existing forest cover and help increase it", he said.

The union minister said a composite committee would be formed soon to involve the common people and evolve a strategy to protect and increase the country's forest cover.

Stating that human encroachment on forest land was a serious problem, he said villagers living in the fringe areas of forest should be provided alternative avenues for livelihood so that they did not destroy vegetation.

The minister said that a climate change monitoring centre will be soon set up in the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong.