Raising concerns about livelihood patterns being hit because of rising temperatures causing glacial melt and climate change, Himalayan states of Uttrakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are holding two- day conclave from Thursday. In this meeting, the Chief Ministers and the environment experts will chalk out strategies to meet the challenges posed , which would be later spelled out in the ‘Shimla Declaration on Climate Change’ document. <br/>Mr Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of Forest and Environment would also participate in this meeting. <br/>Frequent occurrences of droughts and floods in the Himalayan region have adversely affected people and their livelihood, so it is imperative to devise and implement strategies that would allow us to mitigate and adapt to the fact that climate change will have a significantly negative impact on many of the worlds natural resources.<br/>The conference will also aim to address research gaps in terms of monitoring and forecasting climate change impact and technological innovations needed to bridge the gap. <br/>