GLACIER MANAGEMENT

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Context

• A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended setting up an overarching apex body for glacier management in the country.

Background

• There are a plethora of ministries/departments/institutions with different mandates for dealing with hydro-meteorological and hydro-geological hazards of Himalayan glaciers.
• For instance, the glaciers are surveyed and their detailed inventory is maintained by the Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change looks into all matters related to climate change.
• The Department of Science & Technology is involved in conducting research on glaciers and the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research has done some studies on the Himalayan cryosphere.

Parliamentary Committee Recommendations

• There is a need to set up a single nodal agency for bringing out synergies among various government departments/ministries involved in glaciological research and monitoring.
• Such an agency should be entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating the activities of all the departments/agencies involved in Himalayan glaciers’ monitoring and research work.
• Besides, this agency should be given a well-defined and delineated mandate by suitably amending the Allocation of Business Rules.

The rationale behind the move

• Given the strategic role and importance of glaciers as a vital national resource, there is a critical and imperative need as never before, to formulate new strategies for combating the challenges posed by climate change and global warming in glacier management.
• In this regard, the role of planners, scientists, and academicians assume critical importance in devising, developing, and implementing suitable measures for studying, monitoring, and providing early warning responses to reduce the potential glacier-related risks.
• Fragmented research and studies will not yield desired results and also may not necessarily convert into actionable steps.

UPSC PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION [2019] Q. Consider the following pairs: Glacier River 1. Bandarpunch Yamuna 2. Bara Shigri Chenab 3. Milam Mandakini 4. Siachen Nubra 5. Zemu Manas Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched? 1, 2 and 4 1, 3 and 4 2 and 5 3 and 5 Answer Option 1 Bandarpunch is a mountain massif in the Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand. It is part of the Sankari Range and lies within the Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Sanctuary. It is a major watershed for the headwaters of the Yamuna River. Bara Shigri is a glacier located in Lahaul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Bara Shigri feeds the Chandra River which after its confluence at Tandi with the Bhaga River is known as Chandrabhaga or Chenab. Milam Glacier is a major glacier of the Kumaon Himalaya. Milam Glacier is the source of the Goriganga River. Zemu Glacier is the largest glacier in the Eastern Himalaya. It is located at the base of Kangchenjunga in the Himalayan region of Sikkim. The glacier is the source of water for numerous rivers, as it feeds them when it melts. One of them is the Teesta River. Read about Siachen in detail: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/siachen

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/house-panel-proposes-overarching-apex-body-for-glacier-management/