134-Partner Himalay Unnati Mission Coalition Seeks Himalayan Authority, Early-Warning Network as Disasters Intensify

The Himalay Unnati Mission (HUM), a coalition of 134 organisations and institutions led by The Art of Living and the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), has launched a scientific study on cloudbursts, landslides, floods and glacier-related hazards, and is calling for a dedicated Himalayan Authority at the Centre to coordinate disaster preparedness across the region.

The study will bring together scientists, ecologists, research institutions, disaster-management experts and grassroots organisations, combining scientific and field data with community inputs from India, Nepal and Bhutan. HUM will seek the cooperation of the Central government and Himalayan state governments to translate the findings into hazard maps, monitoring systems, early-warning mechanisms and preparedness plans at the community level.

HUM's argument for the proposed authority: a landslide, river system, glacier or forest does not stop at a state boundary, so disaster preparedness cannot be planned in isolated silos. It wants the authority to coordinate the work of multiple ministries, states, scientific institutions and communities across the Himalayan states and the North-East on conservation, climate resilience and disaster-risk reduction.


“For the Indian Himalayan Region, sustainable development cannot wait for fragmented efforts to converge. It requires one-window visioning, integrated planning and swift implementation, bringing scientists, planners, policymakers, think tanks, practitioners and local communities together,” said Dr Eklabya Sharma, Padma Shri awardee, mountain ecologist, former Deputy Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and Advisor to the Himalay Unnati Mission.

The initiative is guided by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of The Art of Living.

The study builds on five years of on-ground work. Since 2021, HUM partners — led by The Art of Living’s Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust, alongside IAHV’s humanitarian and disaster-response work — have operated across some of the Himalayan region’s most vulnerable landscapes, both responding to disasters and working on the ecological, economic and social resilience of mountain communities.

Under Mission Green Himalayas, more than 22 lakh trees have been planted across more than 20 landscapes in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The Mission has set up 613 solar microgrids and solar-powered digital classrooms across 356 border schools, reaching more than 1.95 lakh people. Through its Samvedana disaster-relief initiative, more than 1,000 volunteers have supported 7,248 affected families and over 45,000 people hit by floods and landslides.

HUM's 134 partners include scientific bodies, research institutions, government agencies, grassroots groups and humanitarian organisations.