There is increasing evidence to show that the Indian Himalayan Region is being affected by climate change, and that its already high vulnerability to disasters is set to rise further. Reports on melting of glaciers, fluctuating weather patterns, frequent floods, soil erosion, landslides have become common. Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) extending up to 12 states- Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and the hilly districts of Assam and West Bengal-covering 121 districts of the total 686 (as of 2016) districts of India represents a fragile ecosystem. The impact of climate is diverse and multifold exacerbating the magnitude and frequency of both natural as well as human induced disasters thereby damaging millions of people, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Most of its people are marginalized and still live on subsistence level. The unscientific exploitation of natural resources is further leading to increasing environmental degradation and aggravating the impact of natural hazards.

Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction go hand in hand; both aim to reduce the impacts of threats by anticipating risks and uncertainties and addressing vulnerabilities. Scaling up of DRR activities and interventions will contribute significantly to climate change adaptation.

Therefore the aim of the programme is to engage communities through a community based approach and facilitate in empowering communities to become climate smart and thereby disaster resilient.

The programme comprises of an array of activities addressing diverse stakeholders across IHR.

1. Developing School Disaster Management Plans (SDMPs) and Village Contingency Plans (VCPs).
2. Promoting child friendly education, “Umang” and “Joy of Learning” in the schools and train teachers on these concepts and approaches.
3. Promoting disaster risk reduction (DRR), Climate Change (CC) and Sustainable Mountain Development (SMD) among the students, teachers and the community of the villages the students come from.
4. Training and workshops for Gram Pradhans on role of PRIs in disaster risk management.
5. Workshops for school teachers, Block Resource Centres (BRCs), Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs) and School Management Committee on psychosocial care and support and mainstreaming disaster risk management into school curriculum.
6. Technicians’ training workshops on “Earthquake Resistant Construction”.
7. Capacity building workshop for media on effective reporting on climate change and disaster risk reduction in the Indian Himalayan Region.
8. Documentation of traditional knowledge on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management.
9. Awareness and educational campaign across IHR using multi-media mobile exhibition.
10. Preparation of People Biodiversity Register (PBI) and revival of Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) at village level.