The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) is a national mission and one of the eight core missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It was launched in June 2010 and formally approved by the Union Government in 2014. The mission was created to safeguard the vulnerable Himalayan ecosystem, which is a vital source of snow, ice, and perennial rivers like the Ganga and Brahmaputra, from the adverse impacts of climate change and developmental issues.
The mission's primary mechanism is to develop a sustainable national capacity to continuously assess the health of the Himalayan Ecosystem. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) holds the nodal responsibility for coordinating the mission. NMSHE works by enabling policy-making bodies and assisting the states in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) to implement actions for climate-resilient and sustainable development. This is achieved through six specialized Task Forces involving institutions like the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and the Wildlife Institute of India, which focus on areas such as glaciology, water, forest cover, and traditional knowledge systems. The mission covers the IHR, which currently comprises Eleven States (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, and West Bengal) and Two Union Territories (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). The DST has also established or strengthened State Climate Change Cells (SCCCs) in 13 Himalayan States/UTs under NMSHE to conduct vulnerability assessments and assist in implementing State Action Plans. The mission was initially approved with a budget outlay of Rs. 550 crore during the 12th five year plan. Since July 2018, a total of Rs. 111.63 Crores has been sanctioned under NMSHE for various activities. The mission connects directly to the overarching NAPCC, which is reviewed by the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change (PMCCC).