Shimla, Nov 20 A three-day international meet on climate change and its impact on forests began here on Thursday.

Experts from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand have gathered to plan strategies for forestry to relieve the impact of climate change in Himalayan mountain states.

Hundreds of delegates from different parts of India and renowned environmental scientists from abroad are attending the meet.

Stefen Hamburg, chief scientist Environmental Defence Fund International Work Program, United States of America, said that understanding the changes in climate was important to help forests survive those changes.

"So, the forests are changing, in order to adapt to that changing environment we need to understand how to manage those forests and to ensure that they survive," Hamburg added.

J.S.Walia, a convener of the conference, said a change was visible in the changing pattern of biomas.

"A lot of forest biomes are moving attitudinally and most of the species that were found at the lower levels are slowly and slowly moving higher up," Walia said.

India plans to protect and extend the forest cover beyond the present 65 million hectares. The government has allocated 200 million dollars for the scheme. (ANI)