Environment Minister participates in Sustainable Mountain Development Summit

Tags: National National News

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav attended the inaugural session of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit-XI (SMDS-XI) held at Leh, Ladakh from 10-12 October, 2022. 

Important facts

• The theme for SMDS-XI is ‘Harnessing tourism for sustainable mountain development’. 

• The main focus of the summit is to reduce the negative impacts of tourism, while harnessing its positive contribution in building climate and socio-ecological resilience and sustainability.

• Bhupendra Yadav highlighted the establishment of Govind Ballabh Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and its regional center at Leh under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

• This regional center is entrusted with the task of research and development activities especially with regard to the sustainability of the Himalayan environment.

About Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS)

• It is a flagship annual event of the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI), a working and civil society-led forum in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), comprising 10 mountain states, two union territories and four hill districts.

• Apart from the central event, two integral components of SMDS include the Mountain Legislators' Meet (MLM) and the Indian Himalayan Youth Summit.