Globally, there is increasing realization of the dependence of humans on ecosystems and the role by forests in providing important ecosystem services. Forests are the chief source of livelihood in developing countries in general and mountains in particular. The Indian Himalaya holds key to India's ecological security and is the major provider of various forest products and hydropower.

Recent news on the occurrence of off-seasonal natural disasters, such as pre-monsoon drought and post-monsoon flooding in India and particularly in the peninsular region, highlight the urgent need to look at the patterns of change in seasonal extremes at the local level.

As the world warms up, some species cannot move to cooler climes in time to survive. Camille Parmesan thinks humans should help even if it means creating invasive species.

The distinguished climate scientist James E Hansen from NASA along with an interdisciplinary group of nine renowned scientists have put in a recent research paper titled 'Target Atmospheric CO : Where Should 2 Humanity Aim?'.They have issued a re-assessment of earlier climate change predictions.