Context:
ICIMOD recently launches air quality dashboard to track and forecast pollution across Indo-Gangetic plain.
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD):
- Establishment: Founded in 1983.
- Location: Based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- Has 8 regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
- Mission: To promote sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation.
- Key Functions:
- Promoting sustainable mountain ecosystems.
- Improving living standards of mountain communities.
- Conserving and managing biodiversity.
- Preparing for disasters and monitoring the environment.
- Funding: Supported by governments of Austria, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland, regional member countries, and project co-financing donors.
- India’s Role: India is a founding member, with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) as the nodal ministry.
Hindu Kush Himalaya:
- Mountain range in Central and South Asia
- Spans 8 countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
- Highest Peak – Tirich Mir in Pakistan
- Considered the Third Pole (after the North and South Poles)
- Contains the largest volume of ice and snow outside of the Arctic and Antarctica.
- Source of large Asian river systems, including the Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Yangtse
Source: Down to Earth
Previous Year Question
When you travel in Himalayas, you will see the following:
1. Deep gorges
2. U-turn river courses
3. Parallel mountain ranges
4. Steep gradients causing land sliding
Which of the above can be said to be the evidence for Himalayas being young fold mountains?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2012 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer: (d)
