Experts Seek Integrated Policy for Eastern Himalayas at Kalimpong Dialogue

Top experts call for integrated approach to climate, connectivity and development at Eastern Himalayan Dialogue

Kalimpong, Sep 28

Jointly convened by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) and the Eastern Himalayan Centre for Public Policy (EHCPP), the 'Eastern Himalayan Dialogue 2026' held under the theme 'The Eastern Himalayas: Towards a Strategic, Resilient, and Inclusive Future', brought together policymakers, scholars, practitioners, institutional leaders and regional stakeholders.

The analysts examined the changes shaping one of India's most strategically and ecologically significant regions and spotlighted that the Eastern Himalayas need an integrated policy approach that brings together development, climate resilience, security and the aspirations of local communities.

Participants called for policy frameworks that address connectivity, security, climate change and development together. The region lies at the intersection of cross-border trade, expanding infrastructure, environmental vulnerability, changing demographic patterns and national security concerns. The discussions considered how to pursue economic opportunities while protecting fragile ecosystems, strengthening institutions and accounting for the interests of local communities.

In his inaugural address, CRF President Shishir Priyadarshi emphasised the need for sustained policy attention to the Eastern Himalayas and for stronger links between local realities and national priorities.

"Holding a dialogue about the Eastern Himalayas in the Eastern Himalayas changes who can take part and what we are likely to hear. It gives those who work and live here a more direct place in a discussion that too often takes shape at a distance," he mentioned.

Delivering the keynote address, 'The Eastern Himalayas and India's Future', Mahendra P Lama, Emeritus Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of Sikkim and Senior Adviser at International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), highlighted the region's disproportionate exposure to climate impacts and the need to rethink prevailing policy approaches.

"The Eastern Himalayas are confronting a threatening triangular trap: communities that contribute little to climate change are bearing its consequences, while local knowledge remains under-recognised," Prof. Lama emphasised while calling for a different policy lens, positioning connectivity as an instrument of integration, borders as opportunities, and community knowledge as a resource for resilience.

Hosted in Kalimpong, a historic gateway for Himalayan trade, culture and exchange, the Eastern Himalayan Dialogue seeks to become a sustained platform for policy discussion, evidence-based research and institutional collaboration on the region's future.

Climate resilience was a major focus of the dialogue, with discussions examining how glacier retreat, changing river systems, extreme weather and mounting pressure on mountain ecosystems affect communities and have wider implications for water security, disaster preparedness, biodiversity, infrastructure and livelihoods.

In a special address on 'Transformative Approaches for Developing Resilient Himalaya', Padma Shri Eklabya Sharma, Strategic Advisor and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), stressed the need to view the Himalayas through a more systemic lens.

"The Himalayas need to be recognised not merely as areas for conservation or beneficiaries of development, but as natural infrastructure that sustains lives, economies and ecosystems far beyond the mountains. We need to move beyond fragmented projects towards systemic approaches that bring science, policy and practice together, with communities as co-owners of the solutions."

The discussions also examined how migration, urbanisation and the changing aspirations of younger generations are reshaping local economies and social structures. Participants identified sustainable livelihoods, human capital, service delivery and stronger institutions as priorities for regional development.

The participants called for stronger links between infrastructure and ecology, national priorities and local aspirations, and economic transformation and institutional capacity.

— IANS