Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) for Climate Change Studies are one of the components under the ‘Climate Change Action Programme’ with an outlay of Rs. 40 crores in the 12th Plan Period. A Science Plan of LTEO was released during the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at Paris in December 2015. First phase of the LTEO Programme includes creating a network of field sites to assess the health of eight different biomes of the country namely; Western Himalaya, Eastern Himalaya, North-Western Arid Zone, Central Indian Forests, Western Ghats, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Sundarbans.
LTEO Programme aims to understand the biophysical and anthropogenic drivers of ecosystem change in the selected biomes and their effects on social- ecological responses through a network of scientific institutions. Activities include experimental work to assess the change of structure and function in the natural ecosystems, identification of patterns and drivers of change in the natural ecosystems by monitoring populations of fresh water fish, birds, mammals, herbivores & carnivores, animal movements, soil processes in forests & grasslands, biophysical climatic variables, etc.