PM seeks SAARC cooperation in combating climate change

COLOMBO: Extending India's readiness to share its experience on climate change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said SAARC countries could cooperate on areas like sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, protection of coastal areas and disaster management strategies.

"India has recently launched a National Action Plan on Climate Change, and we will be more than willing to share experiences," Singh said while addressing the eight-nation SAARC Summit here.

He said there were a number of areas in the Plan where India needs the cooperation of SAARC member countries.

These include sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, protection of coastal areas, disaster management strategies and programmes, early warning systems and research on climate modeling, he said.

SAARC already has projects on water harvesting and afforestation, Singh said pointing out that the SAARC countries have finalised an Action Plan on climate change.