Report To The People On Environment and Forests 2010 11

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""""""'" OF .....
REPORT To THE PEOPLE
ON ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS
2010-11
REPORT To THE PEOPLE
ON ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS
2010-11
.--.. _-
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Ministry of Environment and Forestl
Government ofIndla
Ministryof Environment and Forests, Government of India, 2011
Material from this publication may be used for educational purposes provided due credit is given.
Material from this publication can be used for commercial purposes only with the permission from the
Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Ollerall guidance
Ms. Mira Mehrishi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
Project Team
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Mr. Nilkanth Ghosh, Statistical Advisor
Dr. P. S. Rawat
DellelopmentAlternatilles
Mr. George CVarughese
Mr. Anand Kumar
Mr. Avanindra Kumar
Ms. Kavita Syal
Mr. RajivGupta
Layout & Printing
K. K. Graphics
Grover Enterprises
COlier Design
Mr. Kamal Kumar
ilOlhiil
JllJllnthl Nllllllilin
Foreword

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IEWDB.HI"'D13
The survival of mankind depends almost entirely on preservat ion of nature.
I ndia Wi,lS one of the foremost nations to com;eptualize sustainable development
thereby underscori ng that environmental concern and Issues cannot be Isolated
from livelihood and continuity of mankind. In a prophetic speech in Stockholm
Conference in 1972, for mer Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi had raised an
Important question namely; - Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters? In
response to the prophetic question, It can only be highlighted that poverty
alleVIation measures may go a long way to redefine sustainable development
through reducing emissions, preserving bio-diversity, protecting Rora and fauna of
the country and wlldhfe and through pivotal acts-the AIr Act, Water Act and Forests
(Conservation) Act as well as the Environment (Protection) Act .
The Ministry having made a number of sincere efforts to lead from the front
have been striving to meet the environmental challenges with success. In this
cont ext, I am pleased to release the second KAnnual Report to the People on
Environment 2010-11
N
prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
which Is the nodal Ministry In our administ rative system for planning, promotion,
toordtnation and overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry
programmes in order to protect the envIronment and maint ain a balance between
conservation and development activities. The fi rst such report was Init iated when
the Hon'ble President of India in her i,lddress to the Joi nt Session of Parli ament on
4'" June, 2009 announced the preparation of five Annual Reports to the people,
includIng a Report on Environment.
This document is an Indicative and not an exhaustive report of the ini tiatives
taken up by the Ministry In the year 2010-11. A number of iSsues have been
highhghted so i,l S to Initiate a debate on some of the significant environmental
concerns In the country. It Is that thIS report will provide an Informative,
even If, brief reading for all who are passionately Interested In conserving
environment and we hope to receive feedback particulariy on the matters which
influence the pressing environmental challenges In our country.

",!_ ... , ........ ,.
'q'l'f 'E'i (Cfi i (
q .. r.HUI q;J ..:+ji"3 .. ml ..........
Secretary
Government of India
'fI"WIf
Dr. Tishya
Preface
The Annual Report to the People on Environment and Forests 2010-11
presents on overview of programmes, policies and major initiatives of the
Ministry of Environment and Forests in the year 2010-11 on Environment
and Forestry related issues.
The objective of the report is to generate a national debate among various
stakeholders and public at large on key environmental and forestry-related
issues and challenges ahead that need to be addressed in the overall
framework of sustainable development.
I hope the report will generate interest and the Ministry will recei ve
constructive and positive feedback resulting in strengthening the capacity
of the Ministry as well as its institutional structure to meet the future
challenges in Environment Management.
( T. Chatterjee)
Foreword
Preface
List of abbreviations
Executive Summary
Chapter 1 Mandate of the Ministry of Environment and Forests
1.1 Need for the Report
1.2 Mandate of the Ministry
1.3 Key Achievements in 2010-11
1.3.1 Climate Change
1.3.2 Green India Mission
1.3.3 Mission Clean Ganga
1.3.4 Coastal Regulation Zone
1.3.5 Initiatives for the Rights of Forest Dwellers
1.3.6 Pollution Control
1.3.7 Issues of Genetically Modified Food Crops
1.3.8 Biosafety
1.3.9 Renewed Impetus to Science
1.3.10 Western Ghats
1.3.11 Himalayas
1.3.12 Sundarbans
1.3.13 Transparency in Environmental and Forestry Clearances
1.3.14 Website
1.3.15 Biodiversity
1.3.16 Wildlife
1.3.17 National Green Tribunal
1.4 Goals for the Next Year (2011-12)
Chapter 2 State of the Environment
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Air Environment
2.2.1 Ambient Air Quality
2.2.2 Indoor Air Pollution
2.2.3 Impacts and Key Issues
2.2.4 Policy and Legal Measures
2.3 Water Environment
Content
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xiii
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Annual Report to the People on Environment and Forests
2.3.1 Impacts and Key Issues 13
2.3.2 Conservation of Rivers 13
2.3.3 Water Quality Monitoring of Rivers 13
2.3.4 Policy and Legal Measures 13
2.3.4.1 National River Conservation Plan 13
2.3.4.2 National Lake Conservation Plan 14
2.3.4.3 National Wetland Conservation Programme 14
2.3.5 Recent Initiatives 14
2.4 Solid Waste Management 14
2.4.3.1 TreatmenUDisposal Facilities 15
2.4.3.2 Co-incineration of High Calorific Value Waste 16
2.4.3.3 Hazardous Waste Management 16
2.4.3.4 Clean Technology Initiatives 16
2.4.3.5 Waste Minimisation Circles 16
2.4.3.6 Fly ash Utilisation 16
2.4.3.7 Inventory of Abandoned Dumps 16
2.4.3.8 Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities 17
2.4.3.9 Mass Awareness 17
2.5 Forestry 17
2.5.3 Externally Aided Projects 18
2.6 Biodiversity and Wildlife 18
2.7 Coastal Resource Management 20
2.8 Climate Change and its Impact 21
2.8.1 Projected Impacts 21
2.9 Biosafety 22
2.10 Environment Education, Awareness and Training 23
2.11 Environmental Information System 25
Chapter 3 Need for Inclusive Growth
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Current Initiatives
3.3 Environmental Awareness
3.4 Environmental Communication
3.5 Women Empowerment
Chapter 4 Issues for Debate
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Issues Affecting the Environment
4.3 Air Environment
4.4 Noise Environment
4.5 Water Environment
4.6 Solid Waste Management
4.7 Forestry
4.7.1 Low Productivity
4.7.2 Ownership and Management
4.8 Biodiversity and Wildlife
4.9 Biosafety
4.10 Coastal Resource Management
4.11 Climate Change
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List of abbreviations
ALRI Acute Lower Respiratory Infection
GEF Global Environment Facility
AR4 Fourth Assessment Report
GSHE Governance for Sustaining Himalayan
BFR Brominated Flame Retardants
Ecosystem
BMC Biodiversity Management Committee
CETP Common Effluent Treatment Plant
BMW Biomedical waste
HPMP HCFC Phase-out Management Plan
CCEA Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
HCF Health Care Facility
CPB Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
HFC Hydroflourocarbon
CPCB Central Pollution Control Board
liT Indian Institute ofTechnology
CZA Central Zoo Authority
INCCA Indian Network for Climate Change
Assessment
COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management
CRZ Coastal Regulation Zone
IPR Intellectual Property Rights
CSD Commission on Sustainable Development
ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain
CoP Conference of the Parties
Development
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
IPPC International Plant Protection Convention
CFC Chlorofloro Carbon
IPZ Island Protection Zone
CTC Carbon Tetrachloride
ISFR Indian State of Forest Report
DBT Department of Biotechnology
JFMC Joint Forest Management Committee
DLC District Level Committee
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
ESA Ecologically Sensitive Area
LMO Living Modified Organisms
ESCAP Economic and Social Council for Asia and
LCS Low Cost Sanitation
Pacific
MAl Mean Annual Increment
ENVIS Environmental Information System
MoA Memorandum of Agreement
EUN Essential Use Nomination
MOl Metered Dose Inhaler
GAP Ganga Action Plan
MT Metric Tonne
GEAC Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
MLD Million Litres per Day
GMO Genetically Modified Organism
MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forests
GANGES Global Advisory Network Group on
Environmental Sciences
MEC Monitoring cum Evaluation Committee
MLF Multilateral Fund RDAC Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee
MTA Metric Tonnes per Annum RCGM Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation
NAPCC National Action Plan on Climate Change REDD Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and
NAEB National Afforestation & Eco-Development
Degradation
Board RFD River Front Development
NAAMP National Ambient Air Monitoring Programme SoE State of Environment
NBA National Biodiversity Authority SSI Small Scale Industry
NCZMA National Coastal Zone Management Authority SSFE Small-Scale Forestry Enterprises
NEAMA National Environment Assessment and SICOM Society of Integrated Coastal Management
Monitoring Authority
SACEP South Asia Co-operative Environment
NEP National Environment Policy Programme
NEPA National Environment Protection Authority SAARC South Asian Association for Regional
NEERI National Environmental Engineering Research
Cooperation
Institute SAPCC State Action Plan on Climate Change
NGRBA National Ganga River Basin Authority SBB State Biodiversity Board
NGT National Green Tribunal SBCC State Biotechnology Coordination Committee
NLCP National Lake Conservation Plan SLAPCC State Level Action Plans for climate change
NMSHE National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan SPCBs State Pollution Control Boards
Ecosystem
SRCA State River Conservation Authority
NOC No Objection Certificate
TEEB The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity
NRCD National River Conservation Directorate
TSDF Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility
NRCP National River Conservation Plan
VDS Very Dense Forests
NTCA National Tiger Conservation Authority
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
NTFP Non Timber Forest Product
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on
NWCP National Wetlands Conservation Programme Climate Change
ODS Ozone Depleting Substances ULB Urban Local Bodies
ODP Ozone Depleting Potential UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment
PRI Panchayati Raj Institutions
and Development
WMC Waste Minimization Circles
PA Protected Areas
WGEEP Western Ghats Ecology Expert panel
Th e M i n i st r y o f Envi r o n m en t an d Fo r est s ( M o EF)
i m p l em en t s p o l i ci es an d p r o gr am m es r el at i n g t o
conser vat i on of t he count r y' s nat ural r esour ces, i ncl udi ng
l akes and r i ver s, bi odi ver si t y, f or est s and w i l dl i f e, ensur i ng
t he w el f ar e of ani mal s and pr event i on & abat ement of
pol l ut i on.
The ' Annual Repor t t o t he Peopl e on Envi r onment and
For est s' i s t r yi ng t o make t he ci t i zens of Indi a awar e of our
count r y' s St at e of Envi r onment and generat e gr eat er
envi r onment al consci ousness amongst t hem. The obj ect i ve
of t he r epor t , t her ef or e, i s t o act as a posi t i ve cat al yst
t o i n i t i at e a n at i o n al d eb at e t o r ai se t h e cr u ci al
envi r onment al i ssues f aci ng t he nat i on and at t empt t o seek
appr opr i at e sol ut i ons pavi ng t he way f or an eco-f r i endl y
devel opment pat h.
Thi s Repor t compr i ses of f our chapt er s. The Fi r st Chapt er
encompasses t he basi c r ol e and t he mandat e of t he
M i ni st r y and el aborat es upon t he need f or such a peopl e-
or i ent ed document . Thi s chapt er al so f ocuses on t he maj or
pol i ci es and pr ogrammes of t he M i ni st r y i t s achi evement s
f or 2010-11 and goal s f or 2011-12.
Th e Seco n d Ch ap t er u n f o l d s t h e st at e o f I n d i a' s
envi r onment . It dw el l s upon: ai r qual i t y, noi se i ssues, wat er
envi r onment , sol i d wast e management , f or est r y, bi o-
di ver si t y and w i l dl i f e, coast al r esour ce management and
cl i mat e change. These t hemes pr esent t hei r cur r ent st at e
and i ssues of concer n, r el at ed pol i ci es as w el l as l egal
measur es and r ecent i ni t i at i ves t aken by t he M i ni st r y t o
addr ess t hese chal l enges.
The Thi r d Chapt er hi ghl i ght s t he need f or i ncl usi ve gr ow t h,
w hi l e t he Four t h Chapt er pr esent s i ssues f or debat e on each
of t hese t hemes i n det ai l .
The key i ssue of ai r pol l ut i on and t he resul t ant ambi ent ai r
qual i t y can be at t r i but ed t o emi ssi ons f r om t ranspor t at i on,
i .e., r oad, rai l , shi ppi ng and ai r w ays, i ndust r i al and domest i c
act i vi t i es. The ai r qual i t y has been an i ssue of soci al concer n
i n t he backdr op of var i ous devel opment al act i vi t i es. The
nor ms f or ambi ent ai r qual i t y have been r evi si t ed and
var i ous i ndust r y-speci f i c emi ssi on st andar ds have been
evol ved af r esh and not i f i ed, as t he case may be. In f act , 446
ambi ent ai r qual i t y moni t o r i ng st at i ons have been
operat i onl i zed i n 182 ci t i es/ t ow ns i n 26 St at es and f i ve
Uni on Ter r i t or i es .
Execut i ve Summar y
xi i i
The i ssue of Noi se has been a mat t er of concer n i n ur ban
envi r onment . A bi l i ngual bookl et has been br ought out on
Noi se Pol l ut i on (Regul at i on and Cont rol ) Rul es, 2000 by
i ncor porat i ng al l amendment s i n Noi se Rul es f or cr eat i ng
mass awar eness. A begi nni ng t o moni t or ambi ent noi se has
been made dur i ng t he year, st ar t i ng f r om seven met ro
ci t i es.
Regar di ng t he vi t al i ssue of conser vat i on and cl eanl i ness of
Indi a' s w at er r eso ur ces, t he i ncr easi ng po pul at i o n,
ur bani zat i on, and gr ow i ng demand f r om agr i cul t ur e and
i n d u st r y h ave p u t a h eavy b u r d en o n o u r w at er
envi r onment . The pol l ut i on l oad on r i ver s has i ncr eased
o v e r t h e y e ar s d u e t o r ap i d u r b an i zat i o n an d
i ndust r i al i zat i on. Abst r act i on of w at er f or i r r i gat i on,
dr i nki ng, i ndust r i al use, and power -generat i on compounds
t he chal l enge.
The Nat i onal Ri ver Conser vat i on Pl an (NRCP) i ncl udes
w or ks i n 190 t ow ns al ong pol l ut ed st r et ches of 39 r i ver s
spr ead over 20 st at es. So f ar, under t he Nat i onal Lake
Conser vat i on Pl an (NLCP), a t ot al of 41 pr oj ect s f or
conser vat i on of 61 l akes have been sanct i oned i n 14 st at es
at a sanct i oned cost of Rs.1028.19 cr or es. Under t he
M i ssi on Cl ean Ganga, t he M i ni st r y ensur es t hat by 2020, no
unt reat ed muni ci pal sewage and i ndust r i al ef f l uent s f l ow
i nt o t he Ri ver Ganga. In f act , t he wat er qual i t y of Ri ver
Ganga has i mpr oved i n t er ms of BOD, despi t e t he
popul at i on i ncr ease, as a r esul t of i mpl ement at i on of
pol l ut i on abat ement w or ks.
Sol i d wast e generat i on i s pr edomi nant l y an i ndust r i al and
ur ban pr obl em, aggr avat ed due t o i ncr easi ng consumer i sm,
r esul t i ng f r om rapi d ur bani zat i on and economi c gr ow t h.
Ther e i s a need t o set up adequat e wast e col l ect i on,
pr ocessi ng, and di sposal f aci l i t i es t o cope w i t h t he r i si ng
l evel s of wast e generat i on t o pr ot ect human heal t h and t he
envi r onment . Fi nanci al assi st ance has been pr ovi ded t o
var i ous St at e Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar ds f or conduct i ng
awar eness and t rai ni ng pr ogrammes on management of
muni ci pal sol i d wast e and pl ast i c wast e. For t r eat ment and
di sposal of bi o-medi cal wast e, t her e ar e 177 common
t r eat ment and di sposal f aci l i t i es acr oss Indi a. CPCB i s
conduct i ng t r i al r uns f or co-processi ng of hazar dous and
ot her i ndust r i al wast es. M i ni st r y i s al so t aki ng st eps t o cur b
E-wast e, or el ect r oni c wast e, w hi ch may exceed ei ght l akh
An n u al Rep o r t t o t h e Peo p l e o n En v i r o n m en t an d Fo r est s
2 xi v
t o nnes by 2012. The dr af t not i f i cat i on of E-w ast e
(M anagement and Handl i ng) Rul es was publ i shed by t he
mi ni st r y i n M ay 2010. The concept of Ext ended Pr oducer
Responsi bi l i t y (EPR) i s i nt roduced i n t hese pr oposed r ul es as
t hi s st rat egy makes t he pr oducer (of el ect r oni c/ el ect r i c
equi pment ) r esponsi bl e f or t he ent i r e l i f e cycl e of t he
pr oduct , i ncl udi ng i t s r ecycl i ng and f i nal di sposal .
In or der t o deal w i t h t he cr i t i cal i ssues l i ke def or est at i on,
degradat i on of our f or est s, al ong w i t h t he sust enance of
f or est -dependent communi t i es, t he Nat i onal Af f or est at i on
and Eco-Devel opment Boar d i s pr ovi di ng suppor t , bot h i n
physi cal and capaci t y-bui l di ng t er ms, t o t he For est
Devel opment Agenci es (FDAs) t hr ough t he Nat i onal
Af f or est at i on Pr ogramme (NAP) t o pr ovi de i mpet us t o t he
i nst i t ut i onal i zat i on of Joi nt For est M anagement (JFM ). In
2010-11, St at e For est Devel opment Agency (SFDA) has
been const i t ut ed t o f aci l i t at e t he f und f l ows t o FDAs.
Bi odi ver si t y conser vat i on i s al so one of t he key i ssues of
concer n, w i t nessi ng t he r i se i n t he cases of bi o-pi racy i n
Indi a. The Convent i on on Bi ol ogi cal Di ver si t y (CBD),
adopt ed dur i ng t he Ear t h Summi t , i n 1992, i s t he f i r st
comprehensi ve gl obal agr eement addr essi ng al l aspect s
per t ai ni ng t o bi odi ver si t y. CBD hi ghl i ght s t he ur gent need t o
r esol ve compl exi t i es i n access and benef i t shar i ng of t he
avai l abl e r esour ces t o ensur e t hei r benef i t s r each t he
t r adi t i onal user s. Indi a has been ver y act i ve i n al l
i nt er nat i onal bi odi versi t y negot i at i ons, i ncl udi ng t he t ent h
bi enni al meet i ng of t he Conf er ence of Par t i es (CoP-10) t o
t he CBD, hel d i n Nagoya i n Oct ober, 2010. Consi der i ng t hat
Indi a w oul d be host i ng t he CoP-11 i n Oct ober 2012, i t has
t he oppor t uni t y t o emer ge as a w or l d l eader i n conser vat i on
and sust ai nabl e use of bi odi ver si t y, and al so set t he gl obal
agenda f or t he comi ng decade f or bi odi ver si t y i n t he cont ext
of sust ai nabl e l i vel i hoods.
' Pr oj ect Ti ger ' was l aunched i n Apr i l 1973, w i t h t he vi ew t o
pr ot ect our nat i onal ani mal and ensur e mai nt enance of
avai l abl e popul at i on of t i ger s i n Indi a f or sci ent i f i c,
aest het i c, cul t ural and ecol ogi cal val ues. The M i ni st r y i s
pr ovi di ng suppor t f or pr o t ect i on, conser vat i on and
devel opment of t i ger r eser ves.
Thi s year, t he M i ni st r y has pr ovi ded f undi ng suppor t t o 39
t i ger r eser ves i n 17 st at es; r ei nt r oduced t i ger s i n Sar i ska and
Panna t i ger r eser ves, w her e t i ger s have become l ocal l y
ext i nct ; l aunched ' M -STRIPES' - a moni t or i ng syst em f or
i nt ensi ve pr ot ect i on of t i ger s; and si gned a j oi nt r esol ut i on
t h
w i t h Nepal on 29 Jul y, 2010 f or t rans-bor der bi odi ver si t y
and t i ger conser vat i on. Of f i cer s f r om t he M i ni st r y r ecent l y
par t i ci pat ed i n t he Int er nat i onal Ti ger For um (Gl obal Ti ger
Summi t ) at St . Pet er sbur g, Russi a t o endor se t he Gl obal
Ti ger Recover y Pr ogramme f or t i ger conser vat i on at t he
gl obal l evel .
M angr oves pl ay a vi t al r ol e i n pr ot ect i ng t he coast al ar eas
f r om t he t i dal waves and t he coral r eef s pl ay a si mi l ar r ol e i n
conser vi ng t he coast al ecol ogy. But , t he exi st ence of
mangr oves and coral s seems t o be i n danger due t o several
devel opment al act i vi t i es. Indi a i s home t o some of t he best
mangr oves i n t he w or l d. The pr oj ect t i t l ed M angr oves f or
Fut ur e (M FF): a st r at egy f or pr omot i ng i nvest ment i n
Coast al Ecosyst em Conser vat i on i s bei ng coordi nat ed by
IUCN and Nat ur al Resour ces, cover i ng i ni t i al l y ei ght
count r i es (i ncl udi ng Indi a) i n sout h and Sout h East Asi a and
w est er n Indi an Ocean. The M i ni st r y has const i t ut ed a
nat i onal coordi nat i on body t o over see and gui de t he ent i r e
Indi a count r y pr ogramme under t hi s IUCN-M FF (Indi a)
Pr ogramme as w el l as t o r evi ew, moni t or and eval uat e i t s
i mpl ement at i on.
In or der t o addr ess t he coral r eef i ssue, M i ni st r y has
est abl i shed a Nat i onal Cor al Reef Resear ch Cent re at Por t
Bl ai r, under t he Int er nat i onal Cor al Reef Ini t i at i ve (ICRI),
w hi ch i s a par t ner shi p among gover nment s, i nt er nat i onal
or gani zat i ons and NGOs acr oss t he gl obe.
The M i ni st r y has been ver y act i ve i n t er ms of addr essi ng t he
Cl i mat e Change i ssue t hat i s bound t o i mpact several
nat ural and human syst ems. Indi a par t i ci pat ed i n t he
si xt eent h Conf er ence of par t i es (CoP-16) t o UNFCCC hel d at
Cancun dur i ng November 29 - December 10, 2010 and t he
Dur ban Convent i on i n Sout h Af r i ca (i n December, 2011),
r esul t i ng i n i mpor t ant deci si ons on t he gl obal i ssues under
negot i at i ons. The M i ni st r y has adopt ed t he Nat i onal Act i on
Pl an on Cl i mat e Change (NAPCC), w hi ch has a mi x of bot h
mi t i gat i on and adapt at i on measur es. The Ei ght Nat i onal
M i ssi ons, w hi ch f or m t he core of t he Nat i onal Act i on Pl an,
r epr esent mul t i -pr ol onged, l ong t er m and i nt egr at ed
st rat egi es f or achi evi ng key goal s i n t he cont ext of cl i mat e
change.
M andat e of t he M i ni st r y of
Envi r onment and For est s
CHAPTER
1.1 Need f or t he Repor t
1.2 M andat e of t he M i ni st r y
Thi s r epor t i s an annual f eat ur e of t he M i ni st r y of
Envi r onment and For est s w i t h t he vi ew t o moni t or and
r evi ew t he var i ous measur es t aken by t he Gover nment t o
st r en gt h en t h e p o l i cy an d r egu l at o r y f r am ew o r ks
per t ai ni ng t o t he envi r onment and f or est s of t he count r y. A
number of st eps have been t aken i n t he l ast one year, i n
t er ms of i nst i t ut i onal and l egi sl at i ve i ni t i at i ves. In f act , w hi l e
some of t he pr ogr ammes and schemes have been
st r engt hened/ i mpl ement ed, some of t he new ones have
al so been i ni t i at ed.
The t hr ee l aws gover ni ng t he t hr ust of t he M i ni st r y ar e -
t he Envi r onment (Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1986, t he For est
(Conser vat i on) Act , 1980 and t he Wi l dl i f e (Pr ot ect i on) Act ,
1972. These l aws not onl y pr ovi de t he appr opr i at e
l egi sl at i ve pr ot ect i on, but al so t he r equi si t e aut hor i t y t o t he
M i ni st r y t o under t ake a br oad spect r um of conser vat i on
and pr ot ect i on act i vi t i es.
The M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s i s t he nodal
agency i n t he Cent ral Gover nment f or over seei ng t he
i m p l e m e n t at i o n o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d f o r e st r y
p r o gr am m es i n o r d er t o p r o t ect t h e envi r o n m ent
and mai nt ai n a bal ance bet w een conser vat i on and
devel opment act i vi t i es.
The M i ni st r y i s al so t he nodal agency f or t he Uni t ed Nat i ons
Envi r onment Pr ogramme (UNEP), Sout h Asi a Co-oper at i ve
Envi r onment Programme (SACEP), Int er nat i onal Cent r e f or
Int egrat ed M ount ai n Devel opment (ICIM OD) and t he
Un i t e d Nat i o n s Co n f e r e n ce o n En v i r o n m e n t an d
Devel opment (UNCED). The M i ni st r y al so coor di nat es w i t h
mul t i l at eral bodi es such as t he Commi ssi on on Sust ai nabl e
Devel opment (CSD), Gl obal Envi r onment Faci l i t y (GEF) and
r egi onal bodi es such as Economi c and Soci al Counci l f or Asi a
and Paci f i c (ESCAP) and Sout h Asi an Associ at i on f or
Regi onal Cooper at i on (SAARC) on mat t er s per t ai ni ng t o
envi r onment .
The br oad obj ect i ves of t he M i ni st r y ar e:
lConser vat i on and sur vey of f l ora, f auna, f or est s and
w i l dl i f e
lPr event i on and cont r ol of pol l ut i on
lAf f or est at i on and r egenerat i on of degraded ar eas
lPr ot ect i on of t he envi r onment
lEnsur i ng t he w el f ar e of ani mal s
These obj ect i ves ar e w el l suppor t ed by a set of l egi sl at i ve
and r egul at or y measur es, ai med at t he pr eser vat i on,
conser vat i on and pr ot ect i on of t he envi r onment . Besi des
t he l egi sl at i ve measur es, t he Nat i onal Conser vat i on
St r at egy and Pol i cy St at ement on Envi r onment and
Devel opment , 1992; Nat i onal For est Pol i cy, 1988; and t he
Nat i onal Envi r onment Pol i cy, 2006 al so gui de t he M i ni st r y' s
w or k. The M i ni st r y al so ser ves as t he nodal agency f or
i nt er nat i o nal co o per at i o n o n mat t er s per t ai ni ng t o
envi r onment and nat ural r esour ce conser vat i on.
In t he year 2010-11, a number of i ni t i at i ves have been
l aunched or gi ven r enew ed i mpet us. Some sal i ent
i ni t i at i ves ar e descr i bed bel ow :
lAl l ei ght Nat i onal M i ssi ons under Nat i onal Act i on Pl an
on Cl i mat e Change (NAPCC) i n speci f i c ar eas of Sol ar
Ener gy, Enhanced Ener gy Ef f i ci ency, Sust ai nabl e
Habi t at , Wat er, Sust ai ni ng t he Hi mal ayan Eco-syst em,
Gr een Indi a, Sust ai nabl e Agr i cul t ur e and St rat egi c
know l edge f or Cl i mat e Change w ere appr oved by t he
Pr i me M i ni st er ' s Counci l on Cl i mat e Change i n M ay
2011 and ar e bei ng i mpl ement ed by t he r espect i ve
Nodal M i ni st r y.
lThe St at e Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change (SAPCC) bei ng
a mandat ed act i vi t y, M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and
For est s (M oEF) r equest ed al l t he St at e Gover nment s t o
pr epar e SAPCC. So f ar, 18 St at es (namel y, West Bengal ,
1.3 Key achi evement s i n 2010-11
1.3.1 Cl i mat e Change
1
1
2
Odi sha, Si kki m, M i zor am, M ani pur, M eghal aya, Keral a,
Andaman and Ni cobar, Ar unachal Pradesh, Assam,
Tr i pura, Lakshadweep, M ahar asht ra, Andhr a Pradesh,
Ut t r akhand, Raj ast han, M adhya Pr adesh and
Kar nat aka) have pr epar ed and submi t t ed t he dr af t
document on SAPCC t o t he M i ni st r y.
l" Cl i mat e Change and Indi a: 4x4 Assessment - A Sect or al
and Regi onal Assessment " , under t he aegi s of t he
Indi an Net w or k f or Cl i mat e Change Assessment
(INCCA), has been devi sed t o ascer t ai n cl i mat e change
i mpact s i n 2030. Thi s r epor t at t empt s t o assess
obser ved and pr oj ect ed cl i mat e change f or t he year
2030 on f our maj or cl i mat e sensi t i ve r egi ons i n Indi a
namel y, Hi mal ayan r egi on, t he Nor t h-East er n r egi on,
t he West er n Ghat s and t he Coast al Regi on f or f our key
economi c sect or s such as t he nat ural ecosyst em and
bi odi ver si t y, agr i cul t ur e, wat er and heal t h.
lThe M i ni st r y has r el eased a mul t i -i nst i t ut i onal and
m u l t i - a g e n c y Sc i e n c e Pl a n t i t l e d ' N a t i o n a l
Car bonaceous Aer osol s Pr ogramme' under t he aegi s of
t he INCCA t o moni t or aer osol s and assess t hei r i mpact
o n cl i m at e ch an ge, t h r o u gh var i o u s m o d el i n g
t echni ques.
lThe M i ni st r y has pr oposed t o devel op and i mpl ement
a pr ogramme on " Long-t er m Ecol ogi cal Obser vat or i es"
under t he aegi s of t he INCCA, w hi ch w i l l i ncl ude
act i vi t i es f or exper i ment al r esear ch i n ecol ogy. The
br oad t opi cs of r esear ch w oul d i ncl ude cl i mat e,
geol ogy and soi l sci ence, hydr ol ogy, bi odi ver si t y,
popul at i on ecol ogy, communi t y ecol ogy, ecosyst em
and l andscape-l evel dynami cs, car bon f l uxes, l anduse
change, and human ecol ogy w hi ch w i l l hel p i n
under st andi ng ecol ogy of f i r e and i nvasi ve pl ant s,
sust ai nabl e use of non-t i mber f or est pr oduct s, et c.
lIndi a has met t he f ol l ow i ng compl i ance t ar get s as per
t he cont r ol schedul e of t he M ont real Pr ot ocol :
st
qPhase-out of pr oduct i on of CFCs w i t h ef f ect f r om 1
August 2008, 17 mont hs pr i or t o t he M ont real
Pr ot ocol schedul e;
qCompl et e phase-out of pr oduct i on and
consumpt i on of CFCs, CTC and hal ons w i t h ef f ect
st
f r om 1 Januar y, 2010.
lThe Execut i ve Commi t t ee (Ex-Com) of t he M ul t i l at eral
Fund (M LF) had appr oved a t ot al of 301 pr oj ect s
i nvol vi ng M LF f undi ng of US $257,427,713 f or phase-
out of pr oduct i on and consumpt i on of 58,638 Ozone
Depl et i on Pot ent i al (ODP) t onnes.
lThe Sevent eent h Int er nat i onal Day f or t he Pr eser vat i on
of t he Ozone Layer was cel ebrat ed i n Del hi on
t h
16 Sept ember, 2011. The t heme of t hi s year ' s

Int er nat i onal Ozone Day was " HCFC phase-out - a
uni que oppor t uni t y" . Smt . Jayant hi Nat araj an, Hon' bl e
M i n i st er o f St at e f o r En v i r o n m en t & Fo r est s
(Independent Char ge) was t he Chi ef Guest . Ar ound 650
school chi l dr en, pol i cy maker s, t echnocr at s and
Gover nment of f i ci al s at t ended t he f unct i on. A st i cker,
post er and Indi a' s Success St or y w ere br ought out f or
di st r i but i on on t hi s occasi on.
nd
lThe 22 M eet i ng of t he Par t i es (M OP) of t he M ont real
t h
Pr o t o co l h e l d f r o m 8 N o v e m b e r , 2 0 1 0 t o
t h
12 November, 2010 at Bangkok, congrat ul at ed Indi a
f or i t s out st andi ng achi evement s f or not seeki ng any
CFCs f or manuf act ur i ng of M et er ed Dose Inhal er s
(M DIs) under t he Essent i al Use Nomi nat i on (EUN)
pr ovi si ons of t he M ont real Pr ot ocol f or t he year 2011
and beyond.
nd
lThe 22 M OP of t he M ont real Pr ot ocol , hel d f r om
t h t h
8 t o 12 November, 2010 at Bangkok, appr eci at ed t he
r ol e of Indi an del egat i on f or rai si ng t he i ssue of pr e-
bl ended pol yol s as a cont rol l ed subst ance and ar r i vi ng
at t he deci si on t o pr ovi de f undi ng t o t he ent er pr i ses i n
A-5 Par t i es f or conver si on f r om pr e-bl ended pol yol s
w i t h HCFC-141b t o non-Ozone Depl et i ng Subst ances
(ODS) t echnol ogi es.
lIndi a has been el ect ed as a member of t he Ex-Com of
t he M LF f or t he i mpl ement at i on of t he M ont real
Pr ot ocol f or t he year 2012.
lAn Indi a-US Task For ce on Hydr of l our ocar bons (HFCs)
was set up under t he Co-Chai r manshi p of M r. J. M .
M auskar, Speci al Secr et ar y, M oEF, Govt , of Indi a and
M r. Dani el Al an Rei f snyder, Deput y Assi st ant Secr et ar y,
Depar t ment of St at e, USA, as a f ol l ow-up of t he Indo-US
w or kshop or gani zed i n Febr uar y 2011. The M ember s of
t he Task For ce w ere dr aw n f r om t he Gover nment ,
Indust r y and sci ent i f i c communi t y f r om Indi a and USA.
A dr af t Task For ce Repor t has al r eady been pr epar ed
and i s under r evi ew by t he t w o Gover nment s.
lA dr af t document of HCFC Phase-out M anagement Pl an
(HPM P) St age-I has been pr epar ed i n consul t at i on w i t h
t he i ndust r y, i ndust r y associ at i ons and concer ned
l i ne M i ni st r i es by t he Ozone Cel l , M oEF, i n cl ose
cooperat i on w i t h UNDP as t he l ead i mpl ement i ng
agency and ot her associ at ed agenci es (UNEP, UNIDO
and Bi l at eral Agency, Govt . of Ger many). The HPM P
out l i nes t he overar chi ng st rat egy and t he sect or al
st rat egi es f or achi evi ng t he 2013 f r eeze and 2015
r educt i on t ar get s as per t he accel erat ed phase-out of
HCFCs under t he M ont real Pr ot ocol .
The Gover nment has put i n pl ace a Nat i onal M i ssi on f or a
Gr een Indi a as par t of t he count r y' s Nat i onal Act i on Pl an f or
Cl i mat e Change w i t h a budget of Rs 46,000 cror es (approx.
USD 10 bi l l i on) over a per i od of 10 year s. The overar chi ng
obj ect i ve of t he M i ssi on i s t o i ncr ease f or est and t r ee cover
i n 5 mi l l i on ha (m ha.) and i mpr ove t he qual i t y of f or est
cover i n anot her 5 m ha. Thus, t he M i ssi on w i l l hel p i n
i mpr ovi ng ecosyst em ser vi ces i n 10 mi l l i on ha. of l and, and
i ncr ease t he f l ow of f or est based l i vel i hood ser vi ces t o, and
i ncome of, about 3 mi l l i on f or est dependent househol ds.
1. A M emorandum of Agr eement (M oA) was si gned on
t h
6 Jul y, 2010 by t he M i ni st r y of Envi r onment & For est s
(M oEF) w i t h a consor t i um of seven IITs (Kanpur, Del hi ,
Chennai , M umbai , Kharagpur, Guwahat i & Roor kee) f or
t he devel opment of Ganga Ri ver Basi n M anagement
Pl an (GRBM P). The Pl an w i l l out l i ne comprehensi ve
measur es f or r est or at i on of t he Ganga, w i t h due r egar d
t o t he i ssue of compet i ng wat er uses i n t he r i ver basi n.
2. To br i dge t he vi t al def i ci t i n sewage i nf rast r uct ur e
cap aci t y an d o t h er r el at ed act i vi t i es f o r r i ver
conser vat i on i n t ow ns al ong t he Ri ver Ganga, t he f i r st
phase of pr oj ect s (w or t h Rs. 1450 cr or es) has been
appr oved f or devel opment of sewer net wor ks, sewage
t r eat ment pl ant s and sew age pumpi ng st at i ons,
el ect r i c cr emat or i a, communi t y t oi l et s, devel opment
of r i ver f r ont s, r esusci t at i on of canal s, and publ i c
campai gns.
3. The exi st i ng Nat i onal Ri ver Conser vat i on Pl an (NRCP)
f undi ng pat t er n, i .e. 70:30 bet ween t he Cent re and
St at es, i s bei ng f ol l owed f or t hese Nat i onal Ganga Ri ver
Basi n Aut hor i t y (NGRBA) pr oj ect s. The Pl anni ng
Commi ssi on has been r equest ed t o agr ee t o t he
pr oposal of shar i ng t he O& M cost s of t he asset s
cr eat ed under NGBRA by t he Cent ral and St at e
Gover nment s on a 70:30 basi s f or f i ve year s, w i t h t he
r evi ew at t he end of t w o year s. The St at es ar e expect ed
t o bui l d t he t echni cal and f i nanci al capaci t y of ULBs t o
ensur e O& M on a sust ai nabl e basi s.
4. In addi t i on t o t hese measur es, t he M i ni st r y i s
negot i at i ng a maj or l oan of about US$ 1 bi l l i on w i t h t he
1.3.2 Gr een Indi a M i ssi on
1.3.3 M i ssi on Cl ean Ganga
Wor l d Bank f or Ganga cl eani ng, w hi ch i s pr ogr essi ng on
t rack.
5. To ef f ect i vel y t ackl e t he pr obl em of i ndust r i al pol l ut i on,
a dedi cat ed cel l has been set up i n CPCB f or i nspect i on
and moni t or i ng of i ndust r i al uni t s di schar gi ng ef f l uent s
i nt o t he r i ver Ganga.
1. The M i ni st r y has i ni t i at ed t he Wor l d Bank assi st ed
Int egrat ed Coast al Zone M anagement (ICZM ) w i t h an
overal l cost of Rs. 1155.63 cr or es i n w hi ch t he Wor l d
Bank w i l l cont r i but e an amount of Rs. 897 cr or es
(77.7%), M i ni st r y Rs. 177.49 cr or es (15.5%) and t he
St at es Rs. 80.02 cr or es (6.9%). To i mpl ement t he above
pr oj ect , Soci et y of Int egrat ed Coast al M anagement
(SICOM ) has been est abl i shed as a r egi st er ed body
t h
on 15 Sept ember, 2010. Thi s Soci et y w i l l be
i mpl ement i ng t he above ICZM pr oj ect s w hi ch have
f our maj or component s namel y, Nat i onal Coast al
M anagement Pr ogramme, and t hr ee ICZM pr oj ect s i n
t hr ee St at es namel y, Guj ar at , Odi sha and West Bengal .
2. Under t he Nat i onal component , t he demar cat i on of t he
hazar d l i ne has been assi gned t o Sur vey of Indi a f or
mappi ng t he ent i r e coast l i ne of t he mai nl and coast of
t he count r y, based on t i des, waves, sea l evel r i se and
shor el i ne changes. In or der t o bui l d a capaci t y i n t he
count r y i n t he ar ea of coast al management , a Nat i onal
Cent re f or Sust ai nabl e Coast al M anagement has been
set up w i t hi n Anna Uni ver si t y, Chennai .
3. Tw o maj or i ni t i at i ves have been under t aken by SICOM
w hi ch i ncl ude i mpl ement i ng an Int egrat ed Coast al
Zone M anagement Pr oj ect at Dandi and sur r oundi ng
vi l l ages and at Vedaranyam, keepi ng i n vi ew t he
h i st o r i cal i m p o r t an ce o f t h e sa l t sa t y a g r a h a
under t aken i n t hese t w o vi l l ages by M ahat ma Gandhi
and Shr i Raj aj i , r espect i vel y.
4. W i t h r e gar d t o t h e I n t e gr at e d Co ast al Zo n e
M anagement proj ect s i n t he St at e, t he ICZM pr oj ect i s
bei ng i mpl ement ed at Gul f of Kachchh i n Guj ar at (298
cr or es), Paradi p-Dhamr a and Gopal pur -Chi l ka st r et ch
i n Odi sha (202 cr or es) and Di gha-Shankar pur and Sagar
i sl ands i n West Bengal (300 cr or es). The St at e
component s addr ess t he i ssues r el at i ng t o coast al
management , i ncl udi ng i mpr ovi ng l i vel i hood of t he
l ocal communi t i es, di sast er mi t i gat i on and pr omot i ng
sust ai nabl e al t er nat i ve l i vel i hoods.
5. The M i ni st r y had i ssued t he dr af t Isl and Pr ot ect i on
1.3.4 Coast al Regul at i on Zone
3
t h
Zone (IPZ) Not i f i cat i on on 25 Febr uar y, 2010 and t he
t h
Draf t Coast al Regul at i on Zone Not i f i cat i on, 2010 on 15
Sept ember, 2010. Af t er a ser i es of di scussi ons w i t h t he
st akehol der s, pr i or t o i ssui ng of t he above Draf t
Not i f i cat i ons and hol di ng consul t at i ons w i t h f i sher men
associ at i ons, t he above t w o Not i f i cat i ons have been
f i n al i zed an d i ssu ed o n 6t h Jan u ar y, 2011 as
Coast al Regul at i on Zone Not i f i cat i on, 2011 and IPZ
Not i f i cat i on, 2011. These t w o Not i f i cat i ons super seded
t he CRZ Not i f i cat i on, 1991.
The M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s and t he M i ni st r y of
Tr i bal Af f ai r s const i t ut ed a Joi nt Commi t t ee i n Apr i l 2010 t o
compr ehensi vel y r evi ew t he i mpl ement at i on of t he
Schedul ed Tr i bes and Ot her Tradi t i onal For est Dw el l er s
(Recogni t i on of For est Ri ght s) Act , 2006. The Commi t t ee
member s w er e sel ect ed f r om a w i de spect r um of
st akehol der s consi st i ng of r et i r ed ci vi l ser vant s, f or est
of f i cer s, t r i bal depar t ment of f i cer s and r epr esent at i ves of
Ci vi l Soci et y Or gani zat i ons and NGOs. The Commi t t ee has
submi t t ed i t s f i nal r epor t and f i ndi ngs and t he r epor t i s
avai l abl e on t he M i ni st r y' s w ebsi t e.
1. For cont r ol of ai r pol l ut i on, w i t h a vi ew t o i ni t i at e pol i cy
m easu r es an d t o p r ep ar e am b i ent ai r q u al i t y
management pl ans, 446 ambi ent ai r qual i t y moni t or i ng
st at i ons ar e operat i onal , cover i ng 182 ci t i es/ t ow ns,
i ndust r i al ar eas i n 26 St at es and f i ve Uni on Ter r i t or i es.
Pr esent l y, onl y t he cr i t er i a pol l ut ant s, namel y: sul phur
di oxi de (SO ), ni t r ogen di oxi des (NO ) and f i ne
2
par t i cul at e mat t er (PM ) ar e mo ni t o r ed under
1 0
Nat i onal Ambi ent Ai r M oni t or i ng Pr ogramme (NAAM P)
by t he Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar ds, Pol l ut i on Cont rol
Commi t t ees, Uni versi t i es and Resear ch Inst i t ut es.
Besi des, addi t i onal par amet er s f or ot her t oxi c t race
mat t er s and pol ycycl i c ar omat i c hydr ocar bons ar e al so
bei ng moni t or ed i n sel ect ed ci t i es of t he count r y. The
cont i nuous moni t or i ng has been i nt roduced i n t w ent y
seven ci t i es namel y, Agra, Ahmedabad, Bangal ur u,
Chandr apur, Chennai , Cuddal or e, Del hi , Dur gapur,
Far i dabad, Ghazi abad, Hal di a, How rah, Hyderabad,
Jai pur, Jhar i a, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kol kat a, Lucknow,
M umbai , Pani pat , Pat na, Pune, Sol apur, Tut i cor i n,
Vado dar a and Var anasi . A t ot al o f 81 manual
moni t or i ng st at i ons have been added i n t he net wor k
under NAM P dur i ng 2010-11.
1.3.5 Ini t i at i ves f or t he Ri ght s of For est Dw el l er s
1.3.6 Pol l ut i on Cont r ol
2
2. The Gover nment has publ i shed a Not i f i cat i on on t he
Revi sed Nat i onal Ambi ent Ai r Qual i t y St andar ds, 2009
t h
(NAAQS-2009) i n t he of f i ci al Gazet t e on 16 November,
2009. These ambi ent ai r qual i t y st andar ds/ l i mi t s
pr ovi de a l egal f ramewor k f or t he cont r ol of ai r

pol l ut i on and t he pr ot ect i on of publ i c heal t h. In
f ur t herance of t hese St andar ds, t he CPCB i s i n t he
pr ocess of cr eat i ng a r oadmap f or t he generat i on,
mai nt enance and moni t or i ng of r equi r ed i nf rast r uct ur e
and f or t he devel opment of pr ot ocol s.
3. The moni t or ed ambi ent ai r qual i t y dat a dur i ng t he year,
w hi l e compar i ng w i t h r evi sed NAAQS-2009, i ndi cat es
t hat t he annual average l evel s of Sul phur Di oxi de (SO )
2
ar e w i t hi n t he pr escr i bed ai r qual i t y nor ms acr oss t he
count r y and t hat of Ni t r ogen Di oxi de (NO ) ar e w i t hi n
2
t he nor ms i n most of t he ci t i es. However, t he l evel s of
f i ne par t i cul at e mat t er (PM ) exceed t he pr escr i bed
10
nor ms i n many ci t i es i ncl udi ng Del hi . PM and NO ar e
10 2
t he emer gi ng ai r pol l ut ant s.
4. ' Nat i onal Ambi ent Noi se St andar ds ar e i n pl ace i n t he
Noi se Pol l ut i on (Regul at i on and Cont rol ) Rul es, 2000.
The Noi se Rul es have been r ecent l y amended so as t o
make t he ' ni ght ' (2200 hr s - 0600 hr s) qui et er i n
r esi dent i al ar eas and si l ence zones. Nat i onal Ambi ent
Noi se M oni t or i ng Net wor k has been est abl i shed w i t h
f i ve st at i ons i n each of t he seven ci t i es, namel y, Del hi ,
Lucknow, Bengal ur u, Kol kat a, Chennai , Hyderabad and
M umbai . The ambi ent noi se l evel s ar e bei ng moni t or ed
on a 24 X 7 basi s.
5. A Cent ral l y Sponsor ed Scheme has been under t aken by
t he Gover nment f or enabl i ng t he smal l scal e i ndust r i es
(SSIs) t o set up new and upgr ade t he exi st i ng Common
Ef f l uent Tr eat ment Pl ant s (CETP) t o cover al l t he St at es
i n t he count r y.
6. The M i ni st r y of Envi r onment & For est s (M oEF) has
adopt ed a Compr ehensi ve Envi r onment al Pol l ut i on
Index (CEPI) syst em of envi r onment al assessment of
t he Indust r i al Cl ust er s, evol ved by t he Cent ral Pol l ut i on
Cont rol Boar d i n col l aborat i on w i t h IIT, Del hi . For t he
f i r st t i me, Compr ehensi ve envi r onment al assessment
has been done by CPCB & M i ni st r y f or t he 88 pr omi nent
Indust r i al cl ust er s of t he count r y on t he basi s of
Compr ehensi ve Envi r onment al Pol l ut i on Index (CEPI)
number. The pr esent CEPI syst em i s i nt ended t o be used
as an ear l y war ni ng t ool f or cat egor i zi ng i ndust r i al
cl ust er s/ ar eas i n t er ms of t he sever i t y of t he overal l
pol l ut i on l evel s
4
7. The M i ni st r y has not i f i ed t he new Draf t Bi o-M edi cal
Wast e (M anagement & Handl i ng) Rul es, 2011 under
t he Envi r onment (Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1986 t o r epl ace t he
ear l i er Rul es (1998) and t he amendment s t her eof.
Genet i c engi neer i ng (moder n bi ot echnol ogy) pr omi ses
r emar kabl e advances i n medi ci ne, agr i cul t ur e, and ot her
f i el ds. However, bei ng a r el at i vel y new f i el d, much about
t he i nt eract i on of Genet i cal l y M odi f i ed Or gani sms (GM Os)
w i t h bot h bi ot i c and abi ot i c envi r onment i s yet t o be know n.
Thi s rai ses appr ehensi ons about t he new t echnol ogy, w hi ch
i ncl udes i t s pot ent i al adver se ef f ect s on bi ol ogi cal di ver si t y
and r i sks t o human heal t h. Gover nment of Indi a i s one of
t he ear l y mover s i n acknow l edgi ng t hese r i sks and
addr essi ng i t t hough a r obust l egal f r amewor k. Genet i cal l y
m o d i f i ed o r gan i sm s (GM Os) an d p r o d u ct s t h er eo f,
i ncl udi ng GM cr ops, ar e regul at ed i n Indi a by t he ' Rul es f or
t he M anuf act ur e, Use/ Impor t / Expor t and St or age of
Hazar dous M i cr o Or gani sms/ Genet i cal l y Engi neer ed
Or gani sms or Cel l s, 1989 not i f i ed under t he Envi r onment
(Pr ot ect i on) Act ' , 1986. These r ul es and r egul at i ons,
commonl y r efer r ed as Rul es 1989, cover ar eas of r esear ch
as w el l as l ar ge scal e appl i cat i ons of GM Os and t hei r
pr oduct s. These r ul es and r egul at i ons ar e i mpl ement ed by
M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s (M oEF), Depar t ment
of Bi ot echnol ogy (DBT) and St at e Gover nment s t hr ough
var i ous commi t t ees.
The Nagoya-Kual a Lumpur Suppl ement ar y Pr ot ocol on
Li abi l i t y and Redr ess t o t he Car t agena Pr ot ocol on Bi osaf et y
(CPB) was adopt ed i n Oct ober 2010 at Nagoya af t er si x year s
of i nt ense negot i at i ons. The Suppl ement ar y Pr ot ocol f ul f i l s
t he commi t ment set f or t h i n Ar t i cl e 27 of t he CPB t o
el aborat e i nt er nat i onal r ul es and pr ocedur es on l i abi l i t y
and r edr essal f or damage t o bi odi ver si t y, r esul t i ng f r om
t rans-boundar y movement s of LM Os. The Pr ot ocol has
been opened f or si gnat ur e at t he Uni t ed Nat i ons
t h t h
Headquar t er s i n New Yor k f r om 7 M ar ch, 2011 t o 6 M ar ch
2012. As of dat e, 36 count r i es ar e si gnat or i es t o t he
Suppl ement ar y Pr ot ocol . The Pr ot ocol w i l l ent er i nt o f or ce
t h t h
on t he 19 day af t er t he dat e of deposi t of t he 40
i n st r u m ent o f r at i f i cat i o n , accept an ce, ap p r o val o r
accessi on. Indi a has si gned t he suppl ement ar y Pr ot ocol on
Oct ober 11, 2011.
1.3.7 Issues of Genet i cal l y M odi f i ed Food Cr ops
1.3.8 Bi osaf et y
1.3.9 Renew ed Impet us t o Sci ence
1.3.10 West er n Ghat s
1. The M i ni st r y of Envi r onment & For est s announced a
ser i es of measur es t o st r engt hen t he sci ent i f i c base
under l yi ng t he act i vi t i es of t he M i ni st r y, i ncl udi ng a
Gl obal Advi sor y Net wor k Gr oup on Envi r onment al
Sci ences (GANGES), a Nat i onal Envi r onment al Sci ences
Fel l ows Pr ogramme, an Exper t Commi t t ee t o Enhance
t he Sci ent i f i c Capaci t y and an Act i on Pl an t o Enhance
For est r y Sci ence.
2. Indi an Net w or k f or Cl i mat e Change Assessment
(INCCA), est abl i shed by t he M i ni st r y i n Oct ober 2009, i s
a n et w o r k- b ased p r o gr am m e t o m ake sci en ce,
par t i cul ar l y t he 3 M s - M easur i ng, M odel i ng and
M oni t or i ng - t he essence of our pol i cy-maki ng i n t he
cl i mat e change space. It br i ngs t oget her over 120
i nst i t ut i ons and over 220 sci ent i st s f r om acr oss t he
count r y.
1. The West er n Ghat s Ecol ogy Exper t panel (WGEEP)
under t he Chai r manshi p of Pr of M adhav Gadgi l has
been const i t ut ed by t he M i ni st r y w i t h t he mai n
obj ect i ves of i dent i f i cat i on and management of
ecol ogi cal l y sensi t i ve ar eas i n t he West er n Ghat s and t o
r ecommend measur es f or conser vat i on, pr ot ect i on
and r ej uvenat i on of t he West er n Ghat s r egi on f ol l ow i ng
a comprehensi ve consul t at i on pr ocess w i t h t he peopl e
and t he Gover nment .
2. A w eb si t e w w w.w est er nghat si ndi a.or g has been
devel oped by t he Panel , w hi ch ser ves as a medi um of
exchange and r eposi t or y of i nf or mat i on on ecol ogy of
West er n Ghat s r egi on.
3. The East er n and West er n Ghat s Resear ch Pr ogramme
addr esses i t sel f t o l ocat i on-speci f i c pr obl ems of
r esour ce management i n t he East er n and West er n
Ghat s r egi ons of t he count r y. The r egi on i s suf fer i ng
f r om dest r uct i on of habi t at s of i t s uni que pl ant and
ani mal l i f e due t o f l oods, def or est at i on, et c., besi des
shor t age of f ood, f odder and f uel f or t he r ural
popul at i on and shor t age of raw mat er i al f or t he
i ndust r i es. Under t hi s pr ogramme, st udi es r el at i ng t o
Bi o-di ver si t y, l and use, i mpact of devel opment al
act i vi t i es et c. ar e t aken up t o r est or e t he envi r onment al
qual i t y of t he r egi on. Dur i ng t he year, under East er n
and West er n Ghat s Resear ch Pr ogramme, one new
pr oj ect was i ni t i at ed, 14 st udi es w ere compl et ed and
21 pr oj ect s w ere r evi ew ed and moni t or ed f or t hei r
pr ogr ess.
5
1.3.11 Hi mal ayas
1.3.12 Sundar bans
1.3.13 Tr anspar ency i n Envi r onment al and For est r y
Cl ear ances
Consi der i ng t he f ragi l i t y and i mpor t ance of t he Hi mal ayas, a
Nat i onal M i ssi on f or Sust ai ni ng t he Hi mal ayan Ecosyst em
(NM SHE) has been i ncl uded i n t he ei ght Nat i onal M i ssi ons
of t he Nat i onal Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change (NAPCC) w i t h
t he obj ect i ve of conser vi ng and pr ot ect i ng Hi mal ayan
gl aci er s and i t s ecosyst em. It i s t he onl y ar ea-speci f i c
M i ssi on. It s speci f i c act i on ar ea i s t o i mpr ove t rans-
boundar y exchange of i nf or mat i on t hr ough mut ual l y
agr eed mechani sms and ICIM OD (bei ng an i ndependent
' M ount ai n Lear ni ng and Know l edge Cent re' ) can pl ay an
i mpor t ant r ol e i n st r engt heni ng such t r ans-boundar y
exchange of i nf or mat i on among t he ei ght r egi onal member
count r i es of t he Hi ndu Kush Hi mal ayas ar ea.
Indi a has a l ar ge grant pr oj ect i n t he Sundar bans M angr oves
w i t h t he West Bengal For est Depar t ment f or 300,000 USD.
The pr oj ect i s under f or mal i zat i on and t he f ocus of t he
pr oj ect i s t he r educt i on i n ant hropogeni c pr essures on t he
mangr ove f or est r esour ces t hr ough t he pr ovi si on of
al t er nat i ve l i vel i hoods and i ncome generat i ng opt i ons and
i t seeks t o pi l ot di sast er pr epar edness i ni t i at i ve and r educe
t he r i sk of damage t o l i ves and l i vel i hoods f r om f l oodi ng and
ot her r el at ed nat ural di sast er s t hat t he ar ea i s pr one
t o. Inst i t ut i onal bui l di ng/ st r engt heni ng i s al so a key
component of t he pr oj ect .
The M i ni st r y has i ni t i at ed a pr oposal t o est abl i sh a Nat i onal
Envi r o n m ent Assessm ent an d M o n i t o r i n g Au t h o r i t y
(NEAM A) t o st r engt hen t he r egul at or y f ramewor k and t o
i mpr ove t he envi r onment al gover nance i n t he count r y,
par t i cul ar l y i n t he f i el ds of envi r onment i mpact assessment
and coast al zone management . The ear l i er Nat i onal
Envi r onment Pr ot ect i on Aut hor i t y (NEPA) has been
r echr i st ened as NEAM A i n l i ne w i t h i t s pr oposed mandat e. A
concept not e on NEPA was upl oaded on t he M i ni st r y' s
t h
w ebsi t e on 25 M ay, 2010 f or suggest i ons and as a par t of
t he consul t at i on pr ocess. A meet i ng was hel d i n M ay, 2010
i n New Del h i i n w h i ch r ep r esen t at i ves o f St at e
Gover nment s, St at e Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar ds/ Pol l ut i on
Cont rol Commi t t ees, Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d and
l i ne M i ni st r i es par t i ci pat ed. A pr oj ect t i t l ed ' Scope,
St r uct ur e and Pr ocess of NEAM A was awar ded by M oEF t o
Indi an Inst i t ut e of Technol ogy (IIT), Del hi and t he dr af t st udy
r epor t has been upl oaded on t he M i ni st r y' s w ebsi t e on
t h
26 November, 2010 f or comment s. NEAM A i s a par t of t he
l ar ger envi r onment al r egul at or y r ef or m agenda of t he
M i ni st r y.
1. As par t of a cont i nuous and ongoi ng pr ocess t o br i ng
mor e t ranspar ency and ci t i zen-f r i endl i ness i nt o i t s
f unct i oni ng and t o become a mor e account abl e and
t ranspar ent M i ni st r y, a new w ebsi t e was l aunched w i t h
t h
a br and new i nt er f ace on 29 Sept ember 2009. ENVIS
Fo cal Po i nt i n t h e M i n i st r y i s r esp o n si b l e f o r
mai nt enance and updat i on of t he w ebsi t e of t he
M i ni st r y (URL: ht t p:/ / w w w.moef.gov.i n).
w ebsi t e has been r evamped w i t h bet t er l ook, cont ent
and desi gn, adopt i ng l at est t echnol ogi es.
2. The w ebsi t e has been l i nked w i t h t he var i ous Di vi si ons
of t he M i ni st r y i n or der t o have up-t o-dat e i nf or mat i on
on t he subj ect concer ned. Besi des, t he w ebsi t e i s al so
r egul ar l y pr ovi di ng i nf or mat i on on t he new updat es of
t he M i ni st r y, r esponse t o medi a r epor t s and ot her
i mpor t ant i ssues of t he M i ni st r y f r om t i me t o t i me w i t h
t he obj ect i ve of di ssemi nat i ng such i nf or mat i on t o al l
concer ned.
3. In t he spi r i t of ensur i ng gr eat er t ranspar ency, t he
Nat i onal Af f or est at i on & Eco-Devel opment Boar d
(NAEB) has l aunched an enhanced w ebsi t e
(w w w.naeb.ni c.i n) w hi ch pr ovi des i nf or mat i on on al l
schemes and pr ogrammes of NAEB, gui del i nes, st at us
of pr oposal s, sanct i ons and eval uat i ons.
1. Indi a i s a par t y t o t he Convent i on on Bi ol ogi cal Di ver si t y
(CBD), w hi ch was adopt ed dur i ng t he Ri o Ear t h Summi t
i n 1992. M i ni st r y i s host i ng t he CoP-11 t o t he CBD i n
Hyderabad on 1-19 Oct ober, 2012. CoP-11 i s expect ed
t o be t he l ar gest such conf er ence t o be hel d i n t he
count r y, w i t h par t i ci pat i on of t housands of del egat es
f r om al l count r i es of t he w or l d, i ncl udi ng Heads of
St at e/ Gover nment s, M i ni st er s/ Vi ce-M i ni st er s, seni or
Gover nment of f i ci al s, heads and seni or of f i cer s of UN
and mul t i l at eral agenci es, pr i vat e sect or, academi a,
ci vi l soci et y or gani zat i ons et c. The event pr ovi des Indi a
w i t h an oppor t uni t y t o consol i dat e, scal e-up and
showcase our i ni t i at i ves and st r engt hs on bi odi ver si t y.
Indi a w i t h a st r ong i nst i t ut i onal , l egal and pol i cy
f ramewor k, has t he pot ent i al and capabi l i t y t o emer ge
1.3.14 Websi t e
1.3.15 Bi odi ver si t y
M i ni st r y' s
6
as t he w or l d l eader i n conser vat i on and sust ai nabl e use
of bi odi ver si t y, and al so t o set t he gl obal agenda on
bi odi ver si t y i n t he cont ext of sust ai nabl e l i vel i hoods
dur i ng t he UN Decade on Bi odi ver si t y 2011-2020.
2. The M i ni st r y has i ni t i at ed a maj or new pr ogramme t o
val ue t he i mmense w eal t h of nat ural r esour ces and
bi odi ver si t y i n Indi a. Col l aborat i ng w i t h The Economi cs
of Ecosyst ems and Bi odi ver si t y (TEEB) st udy, t he
M i ni st r y has begun t he process of val uat i ng i t s nat ur al
capi t al and ecosyst em ser vi ces i n t er ms of economi c
val ue.
1. The f i nal dr af t of t he Wi l d Li f e (Pr ot ect i on) Amendment
Bi l l 2010 has been pr epar ed, t aki ng i nt o consi derat i on
t he numer ous suggest i ons r ecei ved f r om var i ous st ake
hol der s. Thi s dr af t i s now pr oposed t o be put bef or e t he
Nat i onal Board of Wi l dl i f e f or t hei r consi derat i on once
i t i s r econst i t ut ed.
2. The Nat i onal Ti ger Conser vat i on Aut hor i t y (NTCA) has
been st r engt hened / decent ral i zed w i t h t hr ee Regi onal
Of f i ces; AIGs post ed at Nagpur and Bengal ur u Regi onal
Of f i ces. Pr ocess i s under w ay f or post i ng IGFs i n t he
t hr ee Regi onal Of f i ces, besi des an AIG at Guwahat i .
3. The Pr oj ect Ti ger coverage has expanded w i t h 40 t i ger
r eser ves spr ead out i n 17 St at es w i t h t he core ar eas
amount i ng t o al most 1% of t he count r y' s geographi cal
ar ea. The f i nal appr oval has been accorded by t he NTCA
f or cr eat i on of a new Ti ger Reser ve (namel y, Kawal ) i n
Andhr a Pradesh. In pr i nci pl e, appr oval has been
accorded by t he NTCA f or t he f ol l ow i ng f i ve t i ger
r eser ves: i ) Pi l i bhi t (Ut t ar Pr adesh), i i ) Rat apani
( M ad hya Pr ad esh ) , i i i ) Su n ab ed a ( Od i sh a) , i v)
M ukundar a Hi l l s (i ncl udi ng Dar rah, Jawahar Sagar and
Chambal Wi l dl i f e Sanct uar i es) (Raj ast han), v) and
Kudr emukh (Kar nat aka).
4. St at es have been advi sed t o send pr oposal s f or
decl ar i ng t he f ol l ow i ng ar eas as Ti ger Reser ves:
i ) Bor (M ahar asht ra),
i i ) Suhel wa (Ut t ar Pradesh),
i i i ) Nagzi ra-Navegaon (M ahar asht ra)
i v) Sat yamangal am (Tami l Nadu),
v) Gur u Ghasi das Nat i onal Par k (Chhat t i sgar h),
vi ) M hadei Sanct uar y (Goa) and
vi i ) Sr i vi l l i put hur Gr i zzl ed Gi ant Squi r r el / M egamal ai
1.3.16 Wi l dl i f e
Wi l dl i f e Sanct uar i es / Var ushanadu Val l ey (Tami l
Nadu).
5. Det ai l ed r evi sed gui del i nes have been i ssued f or t he
i mpl ement at i on of Pr oj ect Ti ger and r el ocat i on of
vi l l ages vi s-a-vi s t he pr ovi si ons of t he Wi l dl i f e
(Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1972 and t he Schedul ed Tr i bes and
Ot her For est Dw el l er s (Recogni t i on of For est Ri ght s)
Act , 2006.
6. The second r ound of count r y l evel assessment (2010)
r el at i ng t o st at us of t i ger s, co-predat or s and t hei r pr ey
t h
was r el eased on 28 Jul y, 2011. Thi s i s a sequel t o t he
pr el i mi nar y f i ndi ngs r el eased i n M ar ch t hi s year. Thi s
st udy r epor t s a count r yw i de i ncr ease of 20% i n t i ger
number s i n 2010 w i t h an est i mat ed number of 1706
(1520-1909) t i ger s. The 2006 est i mat i on was 1411
(1165-1657) t i ger s. The second r ound of i ndependent
assessment based on r ef i ned cr i t er i a was done i n 2010-
11 f or 39 t i ger r eser ves. Thi s assessment i s based on
t he gl obal l y used f ramewor k, as adapt ed t o Indi an
condi t i ons. Fi ve i ndependent t eams conduct ed t he
eval uat i on usi ng 30 i ndi cat or s. The f ramewor k consi st s
of si x el ement s: cont ext , pl anni ng, i nput s, pr ocess,
out put s and out comes. The 39 t i ger r eser ves w ere
gr ouped i n same l andscape cl ust er s as done i n t i ger
est i mat i on. An addi t i onal cat egor y compr i si ng of t i ger s
i n ' r ed cor r i dor ' has been i ncl uded, besi des a separat e
cat egor y f or r eser ves w her e t i ger s have gone l ocal l y
ext i nct . Out of 39 t i ger r eser ves, 15 w ere rat ed as ' ver y
good' , 12 as ' good' , 8 as ' sat i sf act or y' and 4 as ' poor ' . In
al l , 28 t i ger r eser ves w ere compared w i t h t he M EE
rat i ngs of 2005-06. It i s i nf er r ed t hat t he ' ver y good'
cat egor y i ncr eased by 4%, ' good' cat egor y i ncr eased by
3% and ' sat i sf act or y' decr eased by seven per cent .
7. Appr oval of t he CCEA was obt ai ned f or an upwar d
r evi si on of t he cost est i mat es f or t he ongoi ng Cent ral l y
t h
Sponsor ed Scheme of Pr oj ect Ti ger dur i ng t he Xl Pl an
per i od f r om Rs.650 cr or es t o Rs.1216.86 cr or es of
cent ral assi st ance. The upwar d r evi si on has been
necessi t at ed due t o t he i ncr eased act i on f or r el ocat i on
of vi l l ages f r om t he not i f i ed cor e/ cr i t i cal t i ger habi t at s
of t i ger r eser ves, besi des i ncl usi on of addi t i onal
component s.
8. The Cent ral Zoo Aut hor i t y (CZA) i s a st at ut or y body of
M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s, Gover nment of
Indi a, const i t ut ed i n 1992 under t he Wi l d Li f e
(Pr ot ect i on), Act , 1972 t o pr ovi de t echni cal and ot her
assi st ance t o zoos i n Indi a. The CZA i s i n t he pr ocess of
f i n al i zi n g t h e f o l l o w i n g gu i d el i n es f o r b et t er
management of zoos i n Indi a:
7
lPr ot ocol on t r anspor t at i on of w i l d ani mal s: Thi s
document w i l l gui de zoos r egar di ng t ranspor t at i on
of w i l d ani mal s f r om one zoo t o ot her and w hat
ar rangement t o be made bef or e and dur i ng t he
t ranspor t at i on of ani mal s. The det ai l s on man-
power, vehi cl e, and cage r equi r ement , anest hesi a
t o t he ani mal s, age and sex of ani mal s, vet er i nar y
care of ani mal s, and necessar y per mi ssi on i s gi ven
i n t he document .
lGu i d el i n es f o r Dev el o p i n g Fr a m ew o r k
M ech a n i sm f o r M o b i l i zi n g Co r p o r a t e
Fi n a n ci a l Su p p o r t f o r Su p p l em en t i n g
M anagement of Zoos: Thi s document w oul d gui de
t he zoos on devel opi ng f ramewor k mechani sm f or
m o b i l i zi n g co r p o r at e f i n an ci al su p p o r t f o r
suppl ement i ng management of zoos. It has det ai l s
on ways of f und rai si ng f or zoos, act i vi t i es t hat can
b e f o l l o w e d u n d e r f u n d r ai si n g sch e m e ,
const i t ut i on of char i t abl e soci et i es by zoos t o
pl ough back t he r evenue ear ned by t he zoos and
how one can mar ket i t s zoo f or t he pur pose of
i ncr easi ng r evenue and f und rai si ng et c.
lGui del i nes f or t he Ut i l i zat i on of Vol unt eer s i n Zoo
M anagement i n Indi a: Thi s document w oul d gui de
t he zoos t o pr epar e t hem f or ut i l i zi ng ser vi ces of a
vol unt eer f or bet t er management of zoos i n Indi a.
Thi s document r ef l ect s t he det ai l s on t he act i vi t i es
and f i el ds w her e a zoo can empl oy t he vol unt eer,
nat ure of j obs, st i pend and honor ar i um i ncl udi ng
cer t i f i cat es, vol unt eer et hi cs, di scl ai mer on r i sk and
i nj ur y t o vol unt eer, and assumpt i on of r i sk,
sel ect i on/ r e-engagement cr i t er i a.
lGui del i nes on M i ni mum Di mensi on of Encl osur es
f or Housi ng Exot i c Ani mal s of Di f f er ent Speci es: The
Cent ral Zoo Aut hor i t y has f ramed gui del i nes on
mi ni mum di mensi on on housi ng f or t he ani mal s
l i st ed i n t he schedul e 1 and 2 of t he Wi l d Li f e
(Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1972 but di d have t he gui del i nes
f or t he exot i c ani mal s such as gi raf f e, hi ppo, zebra,
et c. Thi s document gi ves mi ni mum di mensi on of
encl osur e f or housi ng of exot i c ani mal s bei ng kept
i n zoos i n Indi a.
The Nat i onal Gr een Tr i bunal (NGT) has been est abl i shed
t h
under t he Nat i onal Gr een Tr i bunal Act , 2010 on 18
Oct ober, 2010 f or t he ef f ect i ve and expedi t i ous di sposal of
1.3.17 Nat i onal Gr een Tr i bunal
cases r el at ed t o envi r onment al pr ot ect i on and conser vat i on
o f f o r est s an d o t h er n at u r al r eso u r ces i n cl u d i n g
enf or cement of any l egal r i ght r el at i ng t o envi r onment and
gi vi ng r el i ef and compensat i on f or damages t o per sons and
pr oper t y and f or mat t er s connect ed t her ew i t h or i nci dent al
t her et o. It i s a speci al i zed body equi pped w i t h t he necessar y
exper t i se t o handl e envi r onment al di sput es i nvol vi ng
m u l t i d i sci p l i n ar y i ssu es. Th e Tr i b u n al ' s d ed i cat ed
j ur i sdi ct i on i n envi r onment al mat t er s shal l pr ovi de speedy
j ust i ce and hel p r educe t he bur den of l i t i gat i on i n t he hi gher
Cour t s. The Tr i bunal i s mandat ed t o make an endeavour f or
f i nal di sposal of appl i cat i ons and appeal s w i t hi n si x mont hs
of f i l i ng of t he same. Fi ve pl aces of si t t i ng have been not i f i ed
f or NGT. New Del hi i s t he Pr i nci pal pl ace f or si t t i ng of t he
Tr i bunal and Bhopal , Pune, Kol kat a and Chennai ar e t he
ot her pl aces f or si t t i ng of t he Tr i bunal . It w i l l al so f ol l ow
ci r cui t pr ocedur e f or maki ng i t sel f mor e accessi bl e. The
Tr i bunal has commenced i t s hear i ngs f r om Jul y, 2011.
The key pol i cy i ni t i at i ves and ot her i mpor t ant measur es
pl anned f or t he next year (2011-12) i ncl ude t he f ol l ow i ng:
1. Pr epar i ng St at e Act i on Pl ans on Cl i mat e Change
(SAPCC) consi st ent w i t h t he st rat egy out l i ned i n t he
Nat i onal Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change (NAPCC).
2. Ensur e i mpl ement at i on of hazar dous wast es
(M anagement Handl i ng and Tr ansboundar y
M ovement ) Rul es, 2008 and M anuf act ur e, St or age and
Impor t of Hazar dous Chemi cal s Rul es, 1989 (amended
2000).
3. Impl ement at i on and moni t or i ng of st andar ds, set t i ng
up of net wor k of wat er, ai r and noi se moni t or i ng
st at i ons, i dent i f i cat i on of cr i t i cal l y pol l ut ed ar eas and
p o l l u t an t s, p r ep ar at i o n o f p l an s, p r o gr am m es,
sci ent i f i c i nvent or i zat i on, st udi es and pr oj ect s.
4. Ser i es of pr ogrammes t o pr ot ect bi odi ver si t y i n t he
Int er nat i onal Year of Bi odi ver si t y (2010). As a mar k of
i t s commi t ment t o bi odi ver si t y conser vat i on, Indi a w i l l
al so host t he El event h Conf er ence of Par t i es t o t he
Convent i on on Bi odi ver si t y i n Oct ober 2012.
5. Conser vat i on act i vi t i es f or r i ver s on a r i ver basi n
appr oach. Pr i or i t i zi ng and i mpl ement i ng act i on f or
t ackl i ng pol l ut i on i n maj or t ow ns of Ganga. Adopt i on of
new sewage t r eat ment t echnol ogy.
6. St r engt heni ng of i nt egrat ed devel opment of w i l dl i f e
habi t at s and pr ovi di ng adequat e f unds and t r ai ni ng t o
f or est per sonnel .
1.4 Goal s f or t he Next Year (2011-12)
8
7. Set t i ng up a Nat i onal Cent re f or Cl i mat e Change
Resear ch t hat w oul d ser ve as an ar m of t he Cl i mat e
Change Di vi si on of t he M i ni st r y and pr ovi de advi sor y
and t echni cal suppor t ser vi ces i n t he ar eas of Cl i mat e
Change M odel i ng, NATCOM , Negot i at i ons and ot her
t echni cal w or ks.
8. Set t i ng up Envi r onment al Inf or mat i on Syst em' w i t h
CPCB f or cont i nuous wat er and ai r pol l ut i on moni t or i ng
on GIS pl at f or m.
9. Pr ovi de f i nanci al and t echni cal assi st ance t o 365 PAs i n
st at es/ UTs, t o under t ake 5 r ecover y pr ogrammes f or
cr i t i cal l y endangered speci es and f or management of
10 conser vat i on and communi t y r eser ves.
10. Cr eat i on of dat abase f or cl ean t echnol ogi es avai l abl e i n
Indi a and abr oad.
11. Launch of pr oj ect on assessment of bl ack car bon and
i t s i mpact on envi r onment i n consul t at i on w i t h ot her
agenci es of t he Gover nment .
12. The Int ensi f i cat i on of For est Pr ot ect i on Scheme, ai mi ng
at st r engt heni ng of f or est i nf rast r uct ur e w i t h i ncr eased
ef f ect i veness i n cont r ol of f or est f i r es, i l l i ci t f el l i ng,
encr oachment s, sci ent i f i c management of f or est s and
i nvol vement of l ocal communi t i es i n pr ot ect i on of
f or est s.
9
cr i t er i a pol l ut ant s namel y, Sul phur Di oxi de (SO ), Ni t r ogen
Di oxi de (NO ) and par t i cul at e mat t er (PM ) ar e moni t or ed
2 10
under Nat i onal Ambi ent Ai r M oni t or i ng Pr ogr amme
(NAAM P) by t he Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar ds, Pol l ut i on Cont rol
Commi t t ees, Uni versi t i es and Resear ch Inst i t ut es. Besi des,
addi t i onal par amet er s f or ot her t oxi c t race mat t er s and
Pol ycycl i c Ar omat i c Hydr ocar bons (PAHs) ar e al so bei ng
moni t or ed i n sel ect ed ci t i es of t he count r y. Cont i nuous
moni t or i ng has been i nt roduced i n 27 ci t i es. Apar t f r om
t hese, a t ot al of 91 manual moni t or i ng st at i ons have been
added t o t he net wor k under NAAM P dur i ng 2010-11.
Tr end i n per cent age of l ocat i ons (Resi dent i al ar eas t i l l 2009
and r esi dent i al / i ndust r i al / r ural / ot her s f or 2010, adequat e
dat a) w i t h l ow, moderat e, hi gh and cr i t i cal l evel s of SO , NO ,
2 2
PM i s depi ct ed i n Fi gur e bel ow. Wi t h r espect t o SO ,
10 2
per cent age of l ocat i ons ar e l i mi t ed t o l ow and moderat e
cat egor y t hough f l uct uat i ng over t he year s. Thi s i ndi cat es a
l ow SO pol l ut i on l evel (Fi gur e a). NO l evel s showed a
2 2
r educt i on i n t he l ow cat egor y and an i ncr ease i n moderat e,
hi gh and cr i t i cal l evel i ndi cat i ng an i ncr ease i n t he pol l ut i on
l evel (Fi gur e b). Locat i on w i t h r espect t o PM showed
10
si mi l ar t r end i n 2010 w i t h a r educt i on i n t he l ow cat egor y
(Fi gur e c)
Fi gur e: Year l y Tr ends of Low, M oderat e, Hi gh and Cr i t i cal
l evel s of a. SO , b. NO and c. PM (Resi dent i al ar eas;
2 2 10
per cent age of l ocat i on)
2
St at e of t he Envi r onment
CHAPTER
2.1 Int r oduct i on
2.2 Ai r Envi r onment
2.2.1 Ambi ent Ai r Qual i t y
The mai n obj ect i ve of t he St at e of Envi r onment r epor t i ng i s
t o depi ct t he t r ends and st at e of t he envi r onment and act as
t he basi s f or gui del i nes and st rat egi es f or our nat i onal
envi r onment al act i on pl anni ng. Thi s chapt er al so pr ovi des
an i nsi ght on var i ous pr i or i t y i ssues f or Indi a r el at ed t o t he
cur r ent st at us of envi r onment and nat ural r esour ces, t he
pr essur es behi nd envi r onment al changes, and hi ghl i ght s
t he i ssues and chal l enges al ong w i t h measur es under t aken
by t he M i ni st r y t o addr ess t hese i ssues and t hei r associ at ed
i mpact s.

The pr esent chapt er f ocuses on t he cur r ent st at e
of envi r onment , per t ai ni ng t o maj or envi r onment al
ar eas l i ke ai r pol l ut i on, wat er pol l ut i on, sol i d wast e
management , f o r est r y, bi o di ver si t y, w i l dl i f e, co ast al
r esour ce management , cl i mat e change, and envi r onment al
educat i on & awar eness.
Ai r pol l ut i on and t he r esul t ant i mpact s i n Indi a coul d be
br oadl y at t r i but ed t o t he emi ssi ons f r om vehi cul ar,
i ndust r i al and domest i c act i vi t i es. Indi a' s i ncr easi ng
popul at i on, coupl ed w i t h rapi d ur bani zat i on and
i ndust r i al i zat i on has pl aced si gni f i cant pr essur e on i t s
i nf rast r uct ur e and nat ural r esour ces. Apar t f r om t he
out door ai r pol l ut i on i n ci t i es due t o vehi cul ar exhaust s and
i ndust r i al emi ssi ons, maxi mum r ural househol ds suf fer
f r om i ndoor ai r -pol l ut i on st emmi ng f r om bur ni ng of f uel -
w ood, dung cakes and cr op r esi dues i n t hei r t radi t i onal cook
st oves f or meet i ng t hei r cooki ng and ener gy needs.
The nor ms f or ambi ent ai r qual i t y have been r evi si t ed and
var i ous i ndust r y-speci f i c emi ssi ons st andar ds ar e evol ved
af r esh or r evi si t ed and not i f i ed f r om t i me t o t i me. For
cont r ol of ai r pol l ut i on, w i t h a vi ew t o i ni t i at e pol i cy
measur es and t o pr epar e ambi ent ai r qual i t y management
pl ans, 456 ambi ent ai r qual i t y moni t or i ng st at i ons ar e
operat i onal cover i ng 190 ci t i es / t ow ns, i ndust r i al ar eas i n
26 St at es and f i ve Uni on Ter r i t or i es. Pr esent l y, onl y t he
11
2
2001
%

o
f

l
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
Year
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Sul phur di oxi de
Low Hi gh M oderat e Cr i t i cal
88
90
92
94
96
98
100
a
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
%

o
f

l
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Low
Hi gh
M oderat e
Cr i t i cal
PM
10
c
12
2.2.2 Indoor Ai r Pol l ut i on
In Indi a, t he househol d sect or i s t he second l ar gest ener gy
consumer, af t er t he i ndust r i al sect or. M or e t han 70 per cent
of Indi an househol ds use sol i d f uel s and ar ound 90 per cent
of t he r ural househol ds do t he same. In f act , 60 per cent of
Indi an househol ds depend on t radi t i onal bi omass f uel s f or
cooki ng and heat i ng. Bur ni ng of t radi t i onal f uel s l i ke dung
cakes and f i r ewood gi ves out a huge amount of Car bon
Di oxi de w hen t he combust i on i s compl et e, but i f t her e i s an
i ncompl et e combust i on f ol l owed by oxi dat i on t hen Car bon
M onoxi de i s pr oduced, al ong w i t h hydr ocar bons, w hi ch i s
hazar dous t o human heal t h.
The M i ni st r y has publ i shed a not i f i cat i on on t he Revi sed
Nat i onal Ambi ent Ai r Qual i t y St andar ds, 2009 (NAAQS-
2009). These ambi ent ai r qual i t y st andar ds pr ovi de a l egal
f ramewor k f or cont r ol l i ng ai r pol l ut i on and pr ot ect i ng
publ i c heal t h. The CPCB i s al so i n t he pr ocess of cr eat i ng a
r oadmap f or t he generat i on, mai nt enance and moni t or i ng
of r equi r ed i nf rast r uct ur e and f or t he devel opment of
pr ot ocol s.
2.2.3 Impact s and Key Issues
2.2.4 Pol i cy and Legal M easur es
2.3 Wat er Envi r onment
Pol l ut ed ai r can i mpact bot h human heal t h and t he
ecosyst em. Thi s r esul t s i n hi gher l evel s of r espi rat or y
sympt oms and r educed l ung f unct i on. Hi gh l evel s of ozone
can cause ser i ous damage t o t he cr ops w hi ch i ncl udes f ol i ar
i nj ur y, accel erat ed agei ng, decr eased pl ant gr ow t h, al t er ed
pl ant met abol i sm, and r educed cr op yi el d. In humans, i t
causes Induct i on of r espi rat or y sympt oms, decr ement s i n
l ung f unct i on, Inf l ammat i on of ai r w ays. Ai r pol l ut ant s can
al so cause consi derabl e vi si bi l i t y r educt i on and aest het i c
damage.
Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d i s execut i ng a nat i on-w i de
Nat i onal Ai r Qual i t y M oni t or i ng Pr ogramme (NAQM P). The
moni t or i ng under t he NAQM P i s bei ng car r i ed out w i t h t he
hel p of Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d; Zonal Of f i ces; St at e
Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar ds; Pol l ut i on Cont rol commi t t ees and
Nat i onal Envi r onment al Engi neer i ng Resear ch Inst i t ut e
(NEERI), Nagpur. The t r end i n annual average concent rat i on
i n SO l evel s i n var i ous ci t i es shows a decr easi ng t r end i n
2
Del hi , Kol kat a, M umbai , Chennai et c., dur i ng t he l ast f i ve
year s. The decr easi ng t r end i n Sul phur Di oxi de l evel s may
be due t o var i ous measur es t aken such as r educt i on of
sul phur i n di esel , use of LPG i nst ead of coal as domest i c f uel ,
conver si on of di esel vehi cl es t o CNG, et c. The annual
average concent rat i on i n NO l evel s i n var i ous M et ropol i t an
2
ci t i es has been f ound t o be w i t hi n t he nat i onal st andar ds.
Var i ous measur es such as i mpl ement at i on of Bhar at St age-
III nor ms have been t aken t o mi t i gat e ambi ent NO bui l d-up.
2
The i ssue of noi se has been a mat t er of concer n i n ur ban
envi r onment . A bi l i ngual bookl et has been br ought out on
Noi se Pol l ut i on (Regul at i on and Cont rol ) Rul es, 2000 by
i ncor porat i ng al l amendment s i n Noi se Rul es f or cr eat i ng
mass awar eness. M oni t or i ng of ambi ent noi se has been
st ar t ed dur i ng t he year i n seven met ro ci t i es.
Incr easi ng popul at i on, ur bani zat i on and gr ow i ng demand
of wat er f or agr i cul t ur e, i ndust r y, dr i nki ng wat er and
hydr oel ect r i ci t y have sever el y i mpact ed t he wat er qual i t y
of r i ver s. CPCB has i dent i f i ed 150 pol l ut ed r i ver st r et ches i n
t he count r y based on anal ysi s of wat er qual i t y dat a over
2002 t o 2008. Pr esent l y, t her e i s a huge capaci t y def i ci t
i n t h e sew er age n et w o r k an d sew age t r eat m en t
i nf rast r uct ur e. Agai nst sewage generat i on of over 38,000
Sour ce: CPCB, 2011
b
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
Ni t r ogen di oxi de
%

o
f

l
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Low
Hi gh
M oderat e
Cr i t i cal
13
mi l l i on l i t r es per day (M LD) i n t he Cl ass-I and Cl ass-II t ow ns,
t r eat ment capaci t y of onl y about 12,000 ml d exi st s.
M ost human act i vi t i es, w het her domest i c, agr i cul t ural or
i ndust r i al , have an i mpact on wat er and t he ecosyst ems.
Wat er bor ne di seases can be, t o a l ar ge ext ent , cont r ol l ed by
managi ng human consumpt i on and pr oduct i on pat t er ns. It
i s t her ef or e per t i nent t o have an under st andi ng of human
act i vi t i es, i ncl udi ng wat er management i ni t i at i ves, and
t hei r i mpact s on wat er and t he envi r onment .
The r i ver cl eani ng pr ogramme i n t he count r y has i ni t i at ed
w i t h t he l aunchi ng of t he Ganga Act i on Pl an (GAP) i n 1985.
The Ganga Act i on Pl an w as expanded t o cover ot her r i ver s
under Nat i onal Ri ver Conser vat i on Pl an (NRCP) i n t he year
1995. NRCP pr esent l y cover s pol l ut ed st r et ches of 39 r i ver s
i n 190 t ow ns spr ead over 20 St at es at a sanct i oned cost of
Rs.7639 cr or es. The pol l ut i on abat ement w or ks ar e
i mpl ement ed on a cost shar i ng basi s bet ween t he Cent re
and St at e Gover nment s. The w or ks i ncl ude col l ect i on,
t ranspor t at i on and t r eat ment of muni ci pal sewage, Ri ver
Fr ont Devel opment (RFD), Low Cost Sani t at i on (LCS),
El ect r i c Cr emat or i a, Impr oved Wood Based Cr emat or i a, et c.
So f ar, sewage t r eat ment capaci t y of 4417 mi l l i on l i t r es per
day has been cr eat ed under t he Pl an. Pr event i on and
cont r ol of i ndust r i al pol l ut i on i s bei ng addr essed by t he
Cent r al and St at e Pol l ut i on Cont r ol Boar ds/ Pol l ut i on
Cont rol Commi t t ee.
Nat i onal Wat er Qual i t y M oni t or i ng Pr ogramme compr i ses
of 1700 st at i ons, spr ead over 27 St at es and si x Uni on
Ter r i t or i es. The moni t or i ng net wor k cover s 353 r i ver s, 107
l akes, ni ne t anks, 44 ponds, 15 cr eeks/ seawat er, 14 canal s,
18 dr ai ns and 490 w el l s. Out of 1700 st at i ons, 980 ar e on
r i ver s, 117 on l akes, 18 on dr ai ns, 27 on canal s, ni ne on
t anks, 15 on cr eeks/ seawat er, 44 on ponds and 490 ar e
gr oundwat er st at i ons. Bi o-moni t or i ng i s al so car r i ed out on
speci f i c l ocat i ons. In vi ew of manpower and r esour ce
const r ai nt s, or gani c pol l ut i on r el at ed par amet ers ar e
chosen f or f r equent moni t or i ng i .e. mont hl y or quar t er l y
w hi l e maj or cat i ons, ani ons, ot her i nor gani c i ons and mi cr o
pol l ut ant s (t oxi c met al s & PoPs) ar e anal yzed once i n a year
t o keep t rack of wat er qual i t y over a l ar ge per i od of t i me.
2.3.2 Conser vat i on of Ri ver s
2.3.3 Wat er Qual i t y M oni t or i ng of Ri ver s
2.3.4.1 Nat i onal Ri ver Conser vat i on Pl an
The Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d (CPCB) and t he St at e
Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar ds (SPCBs) moni t or compl i ance of
ef f l uent di schar ge st andar ds by t he i ndust r i es. CPCB has
i dent i f i ed Gr ossl y Pol l ut i ng Indust r i es w hi ch ar e di schar gi ng
BOD l oad of 100 kg per day or mor e i n t he Ganga Basi n.
Act i on i s bei ng t aken agai nst t he def aul t i ng i ndust r i es by
CPCB and SPCBs under r el evant pr ovi si ons of Wat er
(Pr event i on & Cont r ol of Pol l ut i on) Act , 1974 and
Envi r onment (Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1986.
The Nat i onal Ri ver Conser vat i on Di r ect or at e (NRCD),
f unct i oni ng under t he M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s
i s engaged i n i mpl ement i ng t he Ri ver and Lake Act i on Pl ans
under t he Nat i onal Ri ver Conser vat i on Pl an (NRCP) and
Nat i onal Lake Conser vat i on Pl an (NLCP) by pr ovi di ng
f i nanci al assi st ance t o t he St at e Gover nment s. The
obj ect i ve of NRCP i s t o i mpr ove t he wat er qual i t y of t he
r i ver s, w hi ch ar e t he maj or wat er sour ces i n t he count r y,
t hr ough t he i mpl ement at i on of pol l ut i on abat ement w or ks,
t o t he l evel of desi gnat ed best use. At pr esent , t he Nat i onal
Ri ver Conser vat i on Pl an (NRCP) i ncl udes w or ks i n 190 t ow ns
al ong pol l ut ed st r et ches of 39 r i ver s spr ead over 20 st at es.
The r i ver s ar e:
The pol l ut i on abat ement w or ks t aken up so f ar under t he
NRCP i ncl ude:
lInt er cept i on and di ver si on w or ks t o capt ur e t he raw
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Adyar
Beas
Bet wa
Beehar
Bhadr a
Brahmani
Cauver y
Cooum
Chambal
Damodar
Dhi pu & Dhansi r i
Ganga
Godavar i
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Gomat i
Khan
Kr i shna
Kshi pra
M ahanadi
M andovi
M andaki ni
M ahananda
M usi
Nar mada
Pennar
Pamba
Panchganga
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
Rani Chu
Sabar mat i
Sat l uj
Subar nar ekha
Tapt i
Tapi
Tunga
Tungabadr a
Tamrabar ani
Vai gai
Vennar
Wai nganga
Yamuna
S.
No
S.
No
S.
No
Ri ver Ri ver Ri ver
14
sewage f l ow i ng i nt o t he r i ver t hr ough open dr ai ns and
di ver t t hem f or t r eat ment .
lSet t i ng up Sewage Tr eat ment Pl ant s f or t r eat i ng t he
di ver t ed sewage.
lConst r uct i on of Low Cost Sani t at i on t oi l et s t o pr event
open defecat i on on r i ver banks.
lConst r uct i on of El ect r i c cr emat or i a and Impr oved
Wood Cr emat or i a t o conser ve t he use of w ood.
lRi ver Fr ont Devel opment w or ks such as i mpr ovement
of bat hi ng ghat s.
lAf f or est at i on on t he r i ver banks, Publ i c Par t i ci pat i on &
Awar eness et c.
The M i ni st r y i s i mpl ement i ng t he scheme of Nat i onal Lake
Conser vat i on Pl an (NLCP) si nce June, 2001 f or conser vat i on
and management of pol l ut ed and degraded l akes i n ur ban
and semi -ur ban ar eas of t he count r y w her e degradat i on i s
pr i mar i l y on account of di schar ge of wast e wat er i nt o t he
l ake, t hr ough an i nt egrat ed ecosyst em appr oach. The
mandat e of t he NLCP Scheme i s pol l ut i on pr event i on and
conser vat i on of per enni al l akes. So f ar under NLCP, a t ot al of
41 pr oj ect s f or conser vat i on of 61 l akes have been
sanct i oned i n 14 St at es at a sanct i oned cost of Rs. 1028.19
cr or es. Conser vat i on w or ks f or 18 l akes have been
compl et ed so f ar, w her eas i n some cases t he pr oj ect
i mpl ement at i on i s i n l ast st ages of compl et i on. Fundi ng
pat t er n under NLCP i s on a 70:30 cost shar i ng bet ween t he
Cent ral and St at e Gover nment .
Cent ral Gover nment not i f i ed t he Wet l ands (Conser vat i on
and M anagement ) Rul es - 2010 vi de not i f i cat i on no. GSR-
951(E) dat ed 4t h December, 2010. As per t he pr ovi si on
under Rul e 5 of t hese w et l ands r ul es, Cent ral Wet l ands
Regul at or y Aut hor i t y (CWRA) has been const i t ut ed under
t he chai r manshi p of Secr et ar y (E& F). An Exper t Gr oup on
Wet l ands (EGOW) has al so been set up f or exami ni ng
management act i on pl ans of new l y i dent i f i ed w et l and and
al so i dent i f i cat i on of new w et l ands f or t he conser vat i on and
management .
The r evi sed gui del i nes on Common Ef f l uent Tr eat ment
Pl ant (CETP) have been appr oved by t he M i ni st r y and t he
Pl anni ng Commi ssi on. The sal i ent f eat ur es of t he r evi sed
CETP gui del i nes ar e as f ol l ows:
2.3.4.2 Nat i onal Lake Conser vat i on Pl an
2.3.4.3 Nat i onal Wet l and Conser vat i on Pr ogr amme
2.3.5 Recent Ini t i at i ves
(I) Cent ral subsi dy i s pr oposed t o be enhanced.
(i i ) Al l t he t hr ee l evel s of t r eat ment : Pr i mar y, Secondar y
and Ter t i ar y ar e t o be cover ed f or assi st ance.
Pr ogr essi ve t echnol ogi es l i ke Zer o Li qui d Di schar ge and
M embrane Fi l t rat i on w i l l al so be consi dered f or
assi st ance, subj ect t o t he cei l i ng.
(i i i ) The management of t he CETP i s t o be ent r ust ed t o a
Sp e ci al Pu r p o se Ve h i cl e r e gi st e r e d u n d e r an
appr opr i at e st at ut e.
(i v) Per f or mance guarant ee at f ul l desi gn l oad i s t o be
ensur ed upf ront .
The Pl anni ng Commi ssi on i n a meet i ng hel d on 18.11.2010
has agr eed t o enhance t he Cent ral subsi dy f r om 25 % t o
50%, subj ect t o a cei l i ng of Rs. 20 cr or es per CETP i n or der t o
make t he scheme of CETPs pr act i cal and i n t une w i t h t he
gr ound r eal i t i es. The M emorandum f or t he r evi sed scheme
of CETPs has been pr epar ed and sent f or t he comment s of
al l t he concer ned M i ni st r i es / Depar t ment s.
The pr obl em of sol i d wast e management has al so got
exacer bat ed over t he year s, due t o changi ng l i f e st yl es,
i ncr easi ng consumer i sm, r api d ur bani zat i on and economi c
gr ow t h. Ther e i s a cr i t i cal def i ci ency i n most ci t i es i n t er ms
of wast e col l ect i on, pr ocessi ng and di sposal f aci l i t i es.
M anagement of pl ast i c bags and PET bot t l es i s a f or mi dabl e
chal l enge. Wast e st r eams ar e becomi ng i ncr easi ngl y
compl ex, r equi r i ng speci al i zed t r eat ment . Accordi ng t o
r ecent est i mat es 6.23 mi l l i on t onnes of hazar dous i ndust r i al
wast e i s bei ng generat ed annual l y i n t he count r y agai nst
w hi ch t he t r eat ment capaci t y i s onl y about 35%. Heal t h care
f aci l i t i es need t o be equi pped f or segr egat i on of bi o-
medi cal wast e and t r eat ment and i nci nerat i on of i nf ect i ous
component s i n dedi cat ed f aci l i t i es.
M uni ci pal Sol i d Wast e
The M i ni st r y has r evi ew ed t he pr escr i bed l i mi t s f or non-
paper r ecycl abl e mat er i al i n wast e paper consi gnment s
bei ng i mpo r t ed f r o m o t her co unt r i es. The r evi sed
gui del i nes and speci f i cat i ons f or non-r ecycl abl e mat er i al i n
wast e paper consi gnment have been not i f i ed. Fi nanci al
assi st ance has been pr ovi ded t o var i ous St at e Pol l ut i on
Cont rol Boar ds f or or gani zi ng t rai ni ng w or kshops and publ i c
awar eness on management of muni ci pal sol i d wast e.
Bi omedi cal Wast e
For t r eat ment and di sposal of Bi omedi cal wast e (BM W)
2.4 Sol i d Wast e M anagement
15
generat ed i n t he count r y, t her e ar e 177 common t r eat ment
and di sposal f aci l i t i es i n operat i on w hi ch w ere devel oped by
t he pr i vat e ent repr eneur s. These ar e i n addi t i on t o t he
11,921 capt i ve t r eat ment and di sposal f aci l i t i es devel oped
w i t h i n h eal t h car e f aci l i t i es ( HCFs) . Fo r ef f ect i ve
management of bi o-medi cal wast e generat ed f r om Heal t h
Car e Faci l i t i es (HCFs), Gover nment of Indi a pr omul gat ed
Bi omedi cal Wast e (M anagement & Handl i ng) Rul es i n Jul y
1998 (her eaf t er r efer r ed as BM W Rul es) under t he
Envi r onment (Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1986.
E-wast e
The t r emendous gr ow t h and t echnol ogi cal advancement s
i n t he el ect r oni c dat a management and communi cat i ons
have spur r ed economi c gr ow t h and i mpr oved l i vi ng
st andar d s. How ever, t he dependence on el ect r oni c
pr oduct s has gi ven r i se t o a new ar ea of concer n i .e.
el ect r oni c wast e. The hi gh rat es of obsol escence of
pr oduct s i n use i n t he domest i c sect or such as TVs,
r ef r i gerat or s, washi ng machi nes and mobi l e phones as w el l
as comput er s gi ve r i se t o subst ant i al E-wast e generat i on
and t hi s i s goi ng up st eadi l y, gi ven t he hi gh gr ow t h r at es i n
t hese segment s. Based on a sur vey car r i ed out by CPCB, i t
was est i mat ed t hat 1,46,800 t onnes of E-wast e was
generat ed i n t he count r y i n t he year 2005. It has been
est i mat ed t hat t he quant i t y of E-wast e (washi ng machi ne,
r ef r i gerat or s, comput er s, mobi l e phones and TV) w i l l
i ncr ease t o 8, 00,000 t onnes by 2012. It was al so f ound t hat
si xt y-f i ve ci t i es i n Indi a generat e mor e t han 60% of t he t ot al
E-wast e generat ed i n Indi a. Ten st at es generat e 70% of t he
t ot al e-wast e generat ed i n Indi a. E-wast e cont ai ns mat er i al s
t hat ar e bot h t oxi c and val uabl e such as l ead, cadmi um,
m er cu r y, p o l ych l o r i n at ed b i - p h enyl s ( PCBs) , et ch ed
chemi cal s, br omi nat ed f l ame r et ar dant s (BFR), ar seni c,
asbest os and ni ckel et c. and al so r ecoverabl e mat er i al s such
as pl ast i cs, i r on, gl ass, al umi num, copper and pr eci ous
met al s such as si l ver, gol d, pl at i num, and pal l adi um, et c.
E-wast e, i f not handl ed i n an envi r onment al l y sound
manner poses r i sk t o human heal t h and envi r onment .
Il l egal pr ocessi ng of E-wast e i s bei ng car r i ed out i n some
pl aces of t he count r y w her e t he E-wast e i s bur nt openl y f or
r ecover y of met al s. Br omi nat ed f l ame r et ar dant s (BFR), can
gi ve r i se t o di oxi ns and f ur ans dur i ng i nci nerat i on. Ar seni c
or asbest os may act as a cat al yst t o i ncr ease t he f or mat i on
of di oxi ns dur i ng i nci nerat i on. The di oxi ns are car ci nogeni c
i n nat ure.
2.4.3.1Tr eat ment / di sposal Faci l i t i es
In Sept ember 2008, Hazar dous Wast e (M anagement ,
Handl i ng and Transboundar y M ovement ) [ M W (M H2TM )]
Rul es 2008 w ere not i f i ed and E-wast e was i ncl uded i n
Schedul e IV of t he r ul es at ser i al number 18. By i ncl usi on i n
schedul e IV means any person or uni t desi rous of r ecycl i ng
of E-wast e has t o obt ai n r egi st rat i on f r om concer ned
SPCBs/ PCCs. The r egi st rat i on i s grant ed by SPCBs/ PCCs onl y
af t er ensur i ng t hat t he uni t has envi r onment al l y sound
r ecycl i ng f aci l i t i es. Thi s i ncl usi on of E-wast e under t he
schedul e IV of t he [ M W (M H2TM )] Rul es, 2008 al so ensur es
t hat handl i ng of E-wast e has t o be done by t he r egi st er ed
r ecycl er s o n l y. As an o u t co m e o f t h i s r egu l at o r y
i nt er vent i on, pr esent l y 47 E-wast e r ecycl i ng f aci l i t i es have
been grant ed r egi st rat i on by di f f er ent SPCBs/ PCCs as on
dat e. The t ot al r ecycl i ng capaci t y of t hese r egi st er ed
r ecycl er s i s 2,19,000 M TA (about 27 % of t he t ot al E-wast e
generat i on i n Indi a). The r emai ni ng E-wast e generat i on i s
goi ng i nt o unor gani zed mar ket f or cr ude di smant l i ng,
r ecover y and r euse, cr eat i ng havoc on envi r onment al
qual i t y as w el l as occupat i onal heal t h.
The E-wast e (M anagement & Handl i ng) Rul es, 2011 was
not i f i ed i n M ay 2011, w hi ch w i l l t ake ef f ect f r om M ay 2012.
Co n cep t o f Ext en d ed Pr o d u cer Resp o n si b i l i t y w as
i nt roduced i n t hi s r ul e, maki ng pr oducer s r esponsi bl e f or
envi r onment al l y sound management of t hei r end of l i f e
pr oduct s i ncl udi ng col l ect i on and t hei r channel i zat i on t o
r egi st er ed di smant l er or r ecycl er. These r ul es w i l l appl y t o
ever y pr oducer, consumer or bul k consumer i nvol ved i n t he
manuf act ur e, sal e, and pur chase and pr ocessi ng of
el ect r i cal and el ect r oni c equi pment or component s as
speci f i ed i n schedul e I, col l ect i on cent r e, di smant l er and
r ecycl er of E-wast e.
The M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s not i f i ed t he draf t
Pl ast i cs (M anuf act ur e, Usage and Wast e M anagement )
Rul es, 2009 t o r epl ace t he Recycl ed Pl ast i cs M anuf act ur e
and Usage Rul es, 1999 (amended i n 2003) t o r egul at e t he
manuf act ur e and usage of pl ast i c car r y bags. The dr af t r ul es
w ere w i del y publ i shed f or publ i c comment s. An exper t
commi t t ee was const i t ut ed by t he M i ni st r y t o exami ne
t hese comment s and t o suggest economi c i nst r ument s.
These Rul es w ere f i nal i zed as Pl ast i c Wast e (M anagement
and Handl i ng) Rul es 2011 and not i f i ed on 04.02.2011.
At pr esent , Common Tr eat ment , St or age and Di sposal
16
Faci l i t i es (TSDFs) have been devel oped f or t he di sposal of
l and di sposabl e Hazar dous Wast e (HW) at 29 di f f er ent
pl aces i n 16 St at es namel y, Andhr a Pradesh (2), Daman, Di u,
Dadr a & Nagar Havel (1), Guj ar at (8), Har yana (1), Hi machal
Pradesh (1), Kar nat aka (1), Keral a (1), M adhya Pr adesh (1),
M ahar asht ra (4), Odi sha (1), Punj ab (1), Raj ast han (1), Tami l
Nadu (1), Ut t ar Pradesh (3), Ut t arakhand (1) and West
Bengal (1). Tot al wast e handl i ng capaci t i es (di sposal
capaci t y) of t hese f aci l i t i es i s 34.21 mi l l i on M T. Out of t hese,
14 f aci l i t i es i n ei ght st at es have i nci ner at or s w i t h
i nci ner at i on capaci t y of 0.2 mi l l i on M T per annum
(28.05M T/ hr ). Si x TSDFs ar e under const r uct i on.
The M i ni st r y has appr oved t he pr oj ect on ' Tr i al r uns f or Co-
pr ocessi ng of Hazar dous Wast es and ot her wast es i n
Cement Pl ant s, Power Pl ant s, Ir on and St eel i ndust r i es' f or a
t ot al cost of Rs. 5.04 cr or es. The f i r st i nst al l ment of Rs. 2.00
cr or es has been r el eased t o CPCB f or car r yi ng out t r i al r uns
f or ei ght cat egor i es of hazar dous w ast e i n f our pl ant s each
of cement , t her mal power pl ant s, i r on and st eel i ndust r i es
dur i ng t he year 2010-11.
As per i nf or mat i on of Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d
(CPCB), t her e ar e 40,000 i ndust r i es i n t he count r y
generat i ng about 7.66 mi l l i on M et r i c Tonnes (M T) of
hazar dous wast e ever y year, of w hi ch Landf i l l abl e wast e i s
3.39 mi l l i on M T (44.26%), i nci nerabl e 0.65 mi l l i on M T
(8.50%) and Recycl abl e Hazar dous Wast e 3.61 mi l l i on M T
(47.13%). A nat i onal st rat egy on hazar dous wast es i s bei ng
pr epar ed t o f aci l i t at e i mpl ement at i on of an act i on pl an f or
management of hazar dous wast e and t o f ul f i l l obl i gat i ons
under t he Basel Convent i on on t ransboundar y movement
o f h azar d o u s w ast e i n cl u d i n g t h ei r m i n i m i zat i o n ,
envi r onment al l y sound management and act i ve pr omot i on
of cl eaner t echnol ogy.
Adopt i on of cl eaner t echnol ogi es and cl eaner pr oduct i on
st rat egi es i s consi dered t o pr ovi de a bal ance bet ween
Devel opment and Envi r onment t hr ough economi c benef i t s
by way of i ncr eased r esour ce ef f i ci ency, i nnovat i on and
r ed u ced co st f o r envi r o n m ent al m an agem ent . Key
i ni t i at i ves t aken by t he M i ni st r y ar e:
lFi ve days st r uct ur ed Trai ni ng Pr ogrammes on Capaci t y
Bui l di ng of Envi r onment al M anager s on Cl eaner
Pr oduct i on/ Technol ogy was or gani zed at New Del hi ,
Hyderabad, Pune, Goa and Jai pur dur i ng t he cur r ent
2.4.3.2 Co-i nci ner at i on of Hi gh Cal or i f i c Val ue Wast e
2.4.3.3 Hazar dous Wast e M anagement
2.4.3.4 Cl ean Technol ogy Ini t i at i ves
f i nanci al year. A t ot al of 165 Envi r onment al M anagers
of di f f er ent sect or s of i ndust r i es w ere t rai ned.
lFi nanci al assi st ance w as pr ovi ded f or pi l ot -scal e
demonst rat i on pr oj ect s t o r esear ch i nst i t ut i ons of t he
count r y f or devel opment and pr omot i on of cl ean
t echnol ogy.
lTh e M i n i st r y o f Envi r o n m ent an d Fo r est s h as
sanct i oned a pr oj ect t o Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d
t o cr eat e a Dat a Base on t he avai l abl e cl eaner
t echnol ogi es i n t he count r y as w el l as abr oad.
lDur i ng 2010-11, f ol l ow i ng envi r onment al st andar ds
have been not i f i ed, i .e., Inci nerat or f or Dyes and Dyes
I nt er m ed i at es I n d u st r y; I n ci n er at o r f o r Or gan i c
Chemi cal s M anuf act ur i ng Indust r y; Ir on Or e M i ni ng;
Cashew Seed Pr ocessi ng Indust r y; and Revi si on i n
nor ms f or Oi l and Gr ease under General St andar ds. Thi s
i s i n l i ne w i t h devel opment s i n ot her sect or s and t o
cont r ol ai r and wat er pol l ut i on at sour ce.
To r educe and ut i l i ze t he wast e generat ed by SM Es, wast e
mi ni mi zat i on ci r cl es (WM Cs) have been est abl i shed. These
ai m t o r educe bot h r esour ce and ener gy i nt ensi t y i n t he
par t i ci pat i ng SM E uni t s i n a hol i st i c manner. A t ot al of 157
WM Cs have been est abl i shed t i l l dat e i n 41 i ndust r i al
sect or s.
The pr oj ect i ons made by Pl anni ng Commi ssi on as w el l as
M i ni st r y of Power upt o 2031-32 i ndi cat e t hat t w o-t hi rd of
power generat i on i n t he count r y w oul d cont i nue t o depend
on coal . The annual generat i on of f l y ash i s expect ed t o be
ar ound one hundr ed sevent y f i ve mi l l i on t onnes by t he end
t h
of XI Fi ve Year Pl an Per i od, t w o hundr ed t w ent y f i ve mi l l i on
t h
t onnes by end of XII Fi ve Year Pl an Per i od and ar ound f i ve

hundr ed mi l l i on t onnes by 2031-32. The Fl y Ash Ut i l i zat i on
Not i f i cat i on was i ssued by M i ni st r y i n Sept ember 1999 t o
r egul at e t he di sposal of f l y ash and ensur e i t s pr oper
ut i l i zat i on. Rest r i ct i on was i mposed t o t he ext ent t hat al l
br i ck ki l ns w i t hi n t he radi us of f i f t y ki l omet r es f r om
coal / l i gni t e based t her mal power pl ant s shoul d use 25% f l y-
ash w hi l e maki ng t he br i cks. A second Not i f i cat i on maki ng
amendment s was i ssued i n August , 2003 i ncr easi ng t he
radi us f r om t he t her mal power pl ant s t o 100 kms.
Invent or y of abandoned dumps was car r i ed out by SPCBs.
Ther e ar e at pr esent 92 abandoned dumps spr ead acr oss
2.4.3.5 Wast e M i ni mi zat i on Ci r cl es
2.4.3.6 Fl y ash Ut i l i zat i on
2.4.3.7 Invent or y of Abandoned Dumps
17
var i ous st at es. Rehabi l i t at i on of t hese wast e dumps has
been i ni t i at ed by r espect i ve SPCBs. A pi l ot pr oj ect f or
r emedi at i on of cont ami nat ed si t es and t o dr aw up t he
Nat i onal Act i on Pl an, w i t h t he assi st ance of t he Wor l d Bank,
has been under t aken.
For ef f ect i ve management of bi o-medi cal wast e generat ed
f r om Heal t h Car e Faci l i t i es (HCFs), Gover nment of Indi a
pr omul gat ed Bi omedi cal Wast e (M anagement & Handl i ng)
Rul es i n Jul y 1998 (her eaf t er r efer r ed as BM W Rul es) under
t he Envi r onment (Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1986. Ther e has been
i ncr ease i n t he number of CBWTFs over t he year s. Pr esent l y
t her e ar e 177 CBWTFs t o f aci l i t at e pr oper t r eat ment and
di sposal of bi o-medi cal wast e i n t he count r y. Cent ral Boar d
const i t ut ed an exper t commi t t ee f or eval uat i on of t he new
st at e of t he t r eat ment t echnol ogi es f or di sposal of Bi o-
M edi cal Wast e of Occupat i onal Envi r onment and Heal t h,
M aul ana Azad M edi cal Col l ege, New Del hi
Cent ral Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d l aunched a w eekl y TV
t h
pr ogram ' Par yavaran Dar shan' on 5 June 2010 on t he
occasi on of Wor l d Envi r onment Day. The pr ogram i s bei ng
t el ecast by nat i onal br oadcast i ng agency vi z. Door dar shan
t hr ough DD Nat i onal (t ot al 19 channel s) and 18 r egi onal
cent r es. The Regi onal Kendra br oadcast shal l be i n t he l ocal
l anguage and cover r egi on speci f i c envi r onment al i ssues
w i t h co-operat i on f r om t he St at e Pol l ut i on Cont rol Boar d.
For est s ar e not j ust t r ees, but par t of an ecosyst em t hat
under pi ns l i f e, economi es and soci et i es. For est s pr ovi de a
w i de range of ser vi ces w hi ch i ncl ude pr event i on of soi l
er osi on, f l oods, l andsl i des, mai nt enance of soi l f er t i l i t y, and
f i xi ng car bon f r om t he at mosphere as bi omass and soi l -
or gani c car bon.
As per t he Indi a St at e of For est Repor t (ISFR) 2011, t he
For est and Tr ee Cover of t he count r y i s 78.29 m ha. w hi ch i s
23.81% of t he geographi cal ar ea of t he count r y. Thi s
i ncl udes 2.76% of t r ee cover. The ar ea cover ed by Ver y
2
Dense For est s (VDF) i s 83,471 km (2.54%), t hat w i t h
2
M oderat el y Dense For est s (M DF) i s 320,736 km (9.76%)
2
and Open For est s i s 287,820 km (8.75%).
2.4.3.8 Common Bi omedi cal Wast e Tr eat ment Faci l i t i es
2.4.3.9 M ass Aw ar eness
2.5 For est r y
Po p u l at i o n p r essu r e, d ep r i vat i o n an d i n ad eq u at e
i nst i t ut i onal f ramewor k have of t en been vi ewed as t he
pr edomi nant under l yi ng causes of f or est depl et i on and
degradat i on i n Indi a. Popul at i on and l i vest ock pr essur es
and t he r equi r ement s of f or est pr oduct s f or essent i al
devel opment generat e pr essur e on f or est r esour ces l i ke
f uel -wood, f odder, t i mber, l umber, paper, w hi ch i n t ur n
t r i gger s def or est at i on. Over -expl oi t at i on of t he f or est
r esour ces, as compared t o i t s i ncr ement al and r egenerat i ve
capaci t i es, escal at es t he f or est depl et i on and degradat i on
pr ocess.
The Nat i onal For est Pol i cy, 1988 ai ms t o i ncr ease t he ar ea
Tabl e: For est and Tr ee cover of Indi a i n 2011
For est Cover
a) Ver y Dense For est
b) M oder at el y Dense For est
c) Open For est
Tot al For est Cover *
Scr ub
Non f or est
Tot al Geographi cal Area
83,471
3,20,736
2,87,820
6,92,027
42,177
2,553,059
3,287,263
2.54
9.76
8.75
21.05
1.28
77.67
100
Cl ass
2
Ar ea (km )
% of
Georaphi cal
Ar ea
2
(* i ncl udes 4662 Km ar ea under mangr oves)
Non For est
77.67%
Ver y dense
For est 2.54%
M od. Dense
For est 9.76%
Open For est
8.75%
Scr ub
1.28%
Sour ce: Indi a St at e of For est Repor t 2011
Tot al For est Cover 21.05%
18
under f or est s i n t he count r y t o 33% t hr ough massi ve
af f or est at i on pr ogrammes and pr ot ect i on of t he exi st i ng
f or est cover, r egul at i ng management of f or est based
i ndust r i es and bui l di ng on t he symbi ot i c r el at i onshi p
bet ween f or est s and t he f or est dw el l er s.
The M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s and t he M i ni st r y of
Tr i bal Af f ai r s const i t ut ed a Joi nt Commi t t ee i n Apr i l 2010 t o
r evi ew t he i mpl ement at i on of t he Schedul ed Tr i bes and
ot her Tradi t i onal For est Dw el l er s (Recogni t i on of For est
Ri ght s) Act , 2006 popul ar l y know n as For est s Ri ght s Act
(FRA) i n t he count r y w i t h a speci f i c TOR out l i ned f or t he
pur pose. The Commi t t ee member s w ere sel ect ed f r om a
w i de spect r um of backgr ound and exper t i se consi st i ng of
r et i r ed ci vi l ser vant s, f or est of f i cer s, t r i bal depar t ment
of f i cer s and r epr esent at i ves of Ci vi l Soci et y Or gani zat i ons
and NGOs.
Indi a i s pl ayi ng a posi t i ve r ol e and has t aken a f i r m st ance i n
f avour of a comprehensi ve REDD+ appr oach. It has
pr esent ed an ambi t i ous Gr een Indi a M i ssi on pr ogramme
under i t s Nat i onal Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change. The
M i ssi on w i l l hel p i n i mpr ovi ng ecosyst em ser vi ces i n 10
mi l l i on ha. of l and, and i ncr ease f l ow of f or est based
l i vel i hood ser vi ces t o, and i ncome of, about 3 mi l l i on f or est
dependent househol ds.
The M i ni st r y, i n or der t o suppl ement t he ef f or t s t o i ncr ease
t he f or est cover, i s al so i mpl ement i ng el even st at e-sect or
ext er nal l y ai ded pr oj ect s t hr ough t en di f f er ent st at e
gover nment s and one cent ral -sect or capaci t y bui l di ng
pr oj ect w i t h a t ot al out l ay of Rs. 6678 cr or es, w i t h f i nanci al
ai d f r om Japan Int er nat i onal Cooper at i on Agency (JICA).
These pr oj ect s ar e r ei mbur sed t hei r act ual expendi t ur e as
per t he l oan agr eement s. The f unds ar e ut i l i zed f or
r ehabi l i t at i on of f or est l and w i t h t he ai m t o i ncr ease f or est
cover and t o i mpr ove t he l i vel i hood of peopl e i n t he vi l l ages
adj oi ni ng t he f or est s by ensur i ng peopl e' s par t i ci pat i on.
These measur es i ncl ude st r engt heni ng JFM i nst i t ut i ons,
augment i ng t he suppl y of f uel -wood and f odder, pr omot e
f ar m f o r est r y, agr o - f o r est r y an d su st ai n ab l e NTFP
col l ect i on, soi l and wat er conser vat i on measur es w i t h t he
ai m t o sust ai nabl e management of f or est s, i ncr easi ng
pr oduct i vi t y f r om f or est s as w el l as di ver t i ng pr essur e f r om
nat ural f or est s so t hat t hey can per f or m t hei r l egi t i mat e
envi r onment al ser vi ces.
lPr esent l y, t her e ar e mor e t han one l akh JFM Cs
2.5.3 Ext er nal l y Ai ded Pr oj ect s
managi ng an ext ent of 22 mha i nvol vi ng mor e t han 23
mi l l i on peopl e r esi di ng w i t hi n t he per i pher y of f or est
ar ea. The XI pl an out l ay f or t he scheme i s Rs. 600 cr or es.
The al l ocat i on f or t he year 2010-11 i s Rs. 65 cr or es.
lDur i ng t he year 2009-10, t he t ot al 1507 pr oposal s
i nvol vi ng about 86,967 ha. f or est s l and have been
accorded cl ear ance under t he f or est conser vat i on act .
Si mi l ar l y, dur i ng f i rst ni ne mont hs of t he f i nanci al year
2010-11, t ot al 1700 pr oposal s i nvol vi ng about 35,530
ha f or est l and have been accorded cl earance.
lThe new st at e pl an scheme t i t l ed ' Accel er at ed
Pr ogramme of Rest or at i on and Regenerat i on of For est
Cover ' has been i nt roduced dur i ng 2009-10, f or
pr ovi di ng addi t i onal cent ral assi st ance t o af f or est at i on
ef f or t s.
lFor managi ng mangr oves mor e ef f ect i vel y, t he M i ni st r y
has deci ded t o w or k out modal i t i es f or set t i ng-up a
' Nat i onal Inst i t ut e f or Resear ch i n M angr oves and
Coast al Bi o r esour ces' i n West Bengal , i n pr oxi mi t y t o
t he Sundar bans.
lAn i ni t i at i ve st ar t ed by The M i ni st r y i n November 2005,
t he f or est f i r e dat a generat ed by M ODIS sat el l i t e
syst em i s over l ai d on t he f or est cover map made by
i nt er pr et at i on of sat el l i t e i mages. The coordi nat es of
t he f or est f i r e poi nt s ar e l i st ed and upl oaded on t he
For est s Sur vey of Indi a (FSI) w ebsi t e (w w w.f si .ni c.i n). In
M ar ch 2010, a sms/ emai l al er t ser vi ce was l aunched
under w hi ch i f any Int er net user get s r egi st er ed on t he
FSI w ebsi t e w i t h mobi l e number and emai l addr ess
t hen t he user get s an sms/ emai l al er t ever y day,
summar i zi ng t he f or est f i r e poi nt s det ect ed i n hi s ar ea
of i nt er est i n t he l ast 24 hour s. The ser vi ce has been
r ecei ved w el l and pr el i mi nar y f eedback suggest s over
95% accuracy l evel .
Indi a i s a r ecogni zed megadi ver se count r y r i ch i n
bi odi ver si t y and associ at ed t radi t i onal know l edge, w i t h j ust
2.4% of t he l and ar ea. Indi a account s f or near l y 7% of t he
r ecorded speci es even w hi l e suppor t i ng al most 18% of
human popul at i on. It i s home t o over 91,200 speci es of
ani mal s and 45,500 speci es of pl ant s and has f our i dent i f i ed
hot spot s. Indi a i s al so home t o about 7.6% of al l mammal i an
speci es, 12.6% of avi an speci es, 6.2% of r ept i l i an speci es,
and 6.0% of f l ower i ng pl ant speci es. Due t o i ncr easi ng
ant hropogeni c pr essur es, many speci es ar e under t hr eat . A
net wor k of 668 Pr ot ect ed Ar eas (PAs) has been est abl i shed,
ext endi ng over 1,61,221.57 sq. kms. (4.90% of t ot al
geographi c ar ea), compr i si ng 102 Nat i onal Par ks, 515
2.6 Bi odi ver si t y and Wi l dl i f e
19
Wi l dl i f e Sanct uar i es, 47 Conser vat i on Reser ves and 4
Communi t y Reser ves. In al l , 40 Ti ger Reser ves and 28
El ephant Reser ves have been desi gnat ed f or speci es
speci f i c management of t i ger and el ephant habi t at s.
UNESCO has desi gnat ed f i ve pr ot ect ed ar eas as Wor l d
Her i t age Si t es, i n vi ew of t hei r uni queness and r i chness i n
f l ora and f auna. As t he ecosyst ems and speci es do not
r ecogni ze pol i t i cal bor der s, t he concept of Transboundar y
Pr ot ect ed Ar eas has been i ni t i at ed f or coor di nat ed
conser vat i on of ecol ogi cal uni t s and cor r i dors w i t h bi l at eral
and/ or mul t i l at eral cooperat i on of t he nei ghbor i ng nat i ons.
Ther e ar e f our cat egor i es of t he Pr ot ect ed Ar eas vi z,
Nat i onal Par ks, Sanct uar i es, Conser vat i on Reser ves and
Communi t y Reser ves.
Tradi t i onal and subst ant i al dependence on bi odi ver si t y
r esour ces f or f odder, f uel w ood, t i mber and mi nor f or est
pr oduce has been an accept ed way of l i f e f or t he r ural
popul at i on t hat account s f or near l y 74 per cent of Indi a' s
popul at i on. Wi t h radi cal demographi c changes, t he l and t o
man rat i o and f or est t o man rat i o has rapi dl y decl i ned. The
l i f est yl es and t he bi omass r esour ce needs havi ng r emai ned
unchanged, t he r emnant f or est s have co me under
r el ent l ess pr essur e of encr oachment f or cul t i vat i on, and
unsust ai nabl e r esour ce ext r act i on r ender i ng t he ver y
r esour ce base unpr oduct i ve and depl et ed of i t s bi odi ver si t y.
Al t hough a number of pol i cy, l egal and admi ni st rat i ve
measur es ar e i n pl ace t o addr ess var i ous aspect s of
bi odi ver si t y conser vat i on [ i ncl udi ng Wi l dl i f e (Pr ot ect i on)
Act , 1972, For est (Conser vat i on) Act , 1980, Bi ol ogi cal
Di ver si t y Act , 2002, et c.] , t her e i s a need t o pr omot e gr eat er
har mony and syner gy i n t hese measur es. Ef f ect i ve
enf or cement of exi st i ng l aws needs at t ent i on. For t r i bal
domi nat ed areas, t he i mpl ement at i on of exi st i ng l aw s i s t o
be gauged i n t he l i ght of si xt h schedul e of t he Const i t ut i on.
The Wi l d Li f e (Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1972 est abl i shes t he l egal
f ramewor k f or t he pr ot ect i on and conser vat i on of var i ous
speci es of pl ant s and ani mal s and t he pr oper management
of t hei r habi t at s. The Act i ncl udes, but i s not l i mi t ed t o, t he
r egul at i on and cont r ol of t rade i n par t s and pr oduct s
der i ved f r om such speci es.
Under t he Nat i onal Bi odi ver si t y Act , a t hr ee t i er st r uct ur e
has been est abl i shed, namel y, Nat i onal Bi odi ver si t y
Aut hor i t y (NBA), St at e Bi odi ver si t y Boar ds (SBBs) and
Bi odi ver si t y M anagement Commi t t ees (BM Cs) t o conser ve
bi odi ver si t y and pr omot e i t s sust ai nabl e use and t o ensur e
f ai r and equi t abl e shar i ng of t he benef i t s der i ved f r om t he
use of genet i c r esour ces i ncl udi ng t radi t i onal know l edge.
A Nat i onal Boar d f or Wi l dl i f e (NBWL), chai r ed by t he Pr i me
M i ni st er of Indi a pr ovi des f or pol i cy f ramewor k f or w i l dl i f e
conser vat i on i n t he count r y. The Nat i onal Wi l dl i f e Act i on
Pl an (2002-2016) was adopt ed i n 2002, emphasi zi ng t he
peopl e' s par t i ci pat i on and t hei r suppor t f or w i l dl i f e
conser vat i on.
The Govt . of Indi a const i t ut ed a st at ut or y body, t he Wi l dl i f e
t h
Cr i me Bur eau on 6 June 2007, by amendi ng t he Wi l dl i f e
(Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1972, a speci al act t o pr ot ect t he w i l dl i f e i n
t he count r y. The bur eau w oul d compl ement t he ef f or t s of
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35.
St at e/ UT
No. of
Nat i onal
Par ks
Andhra Pradesh
Ar unachal Pradesh
Assam
Bi har
Chhat i sgar h
Goa
Guj arat
Har yana
Hi machal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmi r
Jhar khand
Kar nat aka
Keral a
M adhya Pradesh
M aharasht ra
M ani pur
M eghal aya
M i zoram
Nagal and
Odi sha
Punj ab
Raj ast han
Si kki m
Tami l Nadu
Tr i pura
Ut t ar Pradesh
Ut t aranchal
West Bengal
Andaman & Ni cobar
Chandi gar h
Dadar & Nagar Hawel i
Lakshadweep
Daman & Di u
Del hi
Pondi cher r y
6
2
5
1
3
1
4
2
5
4
1
5
6
9
6
1
2
2
1
2
0
5
1
5
2
1
6
5
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
102
21
11
18
12
11
6
23
8
32
15
11
22
16
25
35
1
3
8
3
18
12
25
7
21
4
23
6
15
96
2
1
1
1
1
1
515
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
34
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
47
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
S.
No
No.
of Wi l dl i f e
Sanct uar i es
No. of
Conser vat i on
Reser ves
No. of
Communi t y
Reser ves
TOTAL
St at e-w i se det ai l s of t he Pr ot ect ed Ar ea Net wor k of t he count r y
20
t he st at e gover nment s, pr i mar y enf or cer s of t he w i l dl i f e
(Pr ot ect i on) Act , 1972 and ot her enf or cement agenci es of
t he count r y. The f unct i on of t hi s act i ncl udes col l ect i on of
i nt el l i gence, est abl i shi ng of nat i onal cr i me dat abase,
coordi nat i on, i mpl ement at i on of i nt er nat i onal convent i on,
cap aci t y b u i l d i n g f o r sci e n t i f i c an d p r o f e ssi o n al
i nvest i gat i on and assi st i ng t he st at e gover nment s t o ensur e
success i n pr osecut i on.
As per t he f i ndi ngs of t he r ecent (2011) al l Indi a est i mat i on
of t i ger s usi ng t he r ef i ned met hodol ogy, t he t ot al count r y-
l evel popul at i on of t i ger s i s 1706 (mi d-val ue); t he l ower and
upper l i mi t s bei ng 1571 and 1875 r espect i vel y. The r ecent
assessment of t he t i ger popul at i on i s based on det er mi ni ng
spat i al occupancy of t i ger s t hr oughout pot ent i al t i ger
f or est s and sampl i ng such f or est s usi ng camera t raps i n a
st at i st i cal f ramewor k. Thi s assessment i s not comparabl e t o
t he ear l i er t ot al count usi ng pugmar ks ow i ng t o several
shor t comi ngs i n t he l at t er met hod. The new f i ndi ngs
i ndi cat ed t he evi dence of new ar eas popul at ed by t i ger s,
e.g. Kuno-Pal pur Wi l dl i f e Sanct uar y and Shi vpur i Nat i onal
Par k i n M adhya Pradesh. The posi t i ve t r ends i n t i ger
popul at i on est i mat es i n sour ce si t es ar e encouragi ng. The
f act t hat bet t er pr o t ect ed t i ger so ur ce si t es have
mai nt ai ned vi abl e t i ger popul at i ons under scor es t he
i mpor t ance of st r ong manager i al suppor t . However, t he
ar ea occupi ed by t i ger s out si de pr ot ect ed ar eas has gone
dow n consi derabl y. Thi s hi ghl i ght s t he need f or secur i ng
cor r i dors f or t i ger s t o move bet ween sour ce si t es.
M i ni st r y has al so const i t ut ed a Nat i onal Tr i -St at e-Chambal
Sanct uar y M anagement and Coor di nat i on Commi t t ee
( NTRI S- CASM ACC) f o r p r o t ect i o n , co n ser vat i o n an d
r eco ver y o f cr i t i cal l y en d an ger ed Ghar i al ( Gavi al i s
ganget i cus) i n i t s nat ural habi t at s i n Chambal and Gi r w a
r i ver s i n t hr ee St at es of M adhya Pradesh, Raj ast han and
Ut t ar Pradesh.
The coast al envi r onment pl ays a vi t al r ol e i n a Nat i on' s
eco nomy. The Indi an co ast l i ne har bour s pr oduct i ve
habi t at s and r i ch bi odi ver si t y al l al ong t he 7500 km st r et ch,
i ncl udi ng t he oceani c i sl ands of Andaman & Ni cobar and
Lakshadw eep. The M i ni st r y has publ i shed a Coast al
t h
Regul at i on Zone (CRZ) Not i f i cat i on, 2011 on 6 Januar y,
2011 w hi ch decl ar es cer t ai n coast al zone as Isl and
pr ot ect i on Zone and i mposes a number of r est r i ct i ons on
t he set t i ng up and expansi on of i ndust r i es, operat i ons or
2.7 Coast al Resour ce M anagement
pr ocesses i n or der t o pr ovi de l i vel i hood secur i t y t o t he l ocal
communi t i es, i ncl udi ng t he f i sher f ol k and t r i bal s, t o
pr omot e conser vat i on and pr ot ect i on of Isl ands, uni que
envi r onment and i t s mar i ne ar ea and t o pr omot e
devel opment t hrough sust ai nabl e i nt egrat ed management
pl an based on sci ent i f i c pr i nci pl es t aki ng i nt o account t he
vul nerabi l i t y of t he coast t o nat ural hazar ds .
Cent ral Gover nment has decl ar ed t he coast al st r et ches of
seas, bays, est uar i es, cr eeks, r i ver s and back wat er s w hi ch
ar e i nf l uenced by t i dal act i on (i n t he l andwar d si de) up t o
500 m f r om t he Hi gh Ti de Li ne (HTL) and t he l and bet w een
t he Low Ti de Li ne (LTL) and t he HTL as Coast al Regul at i on
Zone (CRZ), on 19.2.1991.
M i n i st r y h as i ssu ed t h e Co ast al Regu l at i o n Zo n e
Not i f i cat i on, 2011 i n super sessi on of Coast al Regul at i on
Zone Not i f i cat i on, 1991 af t er a ser i es of consul t at i ons w i t h
t h e var i o u s st akeh o l d er s i n cl u d i n g t h e f i sh er m en
communi t y. The obj ect i ve of t he new Not i f i cat i on i s t o
ensur e l i vel i hood secur i t y t o f i shi ng and ot her l ocal
communi t i es l i vi ng i n coast al ar eas, t o conser ve/ pr ot ect
coast al st r et ches and t o pr omot e devel opment based on
sci ent i f i c pr i nci pl es.
The not i f i cat i on cover s t he cat egor i zat i on of CRZ ar eas,
per mi ssi bl e and pr o hi bi t ed act i vi t i es, r egul at i o n o f
per mi ssi bl e act i vi t i es i n CRZ ar eas, pr ocedur e f or cl earance,
p r ep ar at i o n o f Co ast al Zo n e M an agem en t Pl an s,
demar cat i on of hazar d l i ne al ong t he coast l i ne i ncl udi ng
shor el i ne change, mappi ng and ar eas r equi r i ng speci al
consi derat i on et c.
Keepi ng i n mi nd t he changi ng scenar i o of t he coast al
envi r onment and i mpact of cl i mat e change, t he M i ni st r y i s
t aki ng t he f ol l ow i ng st eps f or coast al management :
lA nat i onal t r ai ni ng pr ogr amme f or conser vat i on
of mangroves f or manager s and r esear cher s hel d f r om
st t h
1 t o 4 Apr i l 2010, sponsor ed by M oEF at GEER
f oundat i on, Gandhi nagar, Guj ar at .
lA dr af t Isl and Pr ot ect i on Zone Not i f i cat i on has been
i ssued, pr ovi di ng speci al di spensat i on f or Andaman
and Ni cobar and Lakshadw eep Isl ands, i nvi t i ng
suggest i ons.
lI n v i ew o f t h e l i vel i h o o d secu r i t y o f co ast al
communi t i es, t he M i ni st r y has i ni t i at ed an Int egrat ed
21
Coast al Zone M anagement Pr oj ect w i t h t he Wor l d Bank
assi st ance at an out l ay of about Rs. 1153 cr or es. Under
t hi s pr oj ect var i ous component s i ncl udi ng mangr ove
af f or est at i on, coral r est or at i on, shor el i ne pr ot ect i on,
hazar d mi t i gat i on, al t er nat i ve l i vel i hood ar e bei ng
i mpl ement ed. To i mpl ement t he above pr oj ect , Soci et y
of Int egrat ed Coast al M anagement (SICOM ) has been
est abl i shed as a r egi st er ed body. Thi s Soci et y w i l l be
i mpl ement i ng t he Coast al Zone M anagement pr oj ect s
havi ng f our maj or component s namel y, (i ) Nat i onal
Coast al M anagement Pr ogramme, and t hr ee ICZM
pr oj ect s i n t hr ee St at es namel y, Guj ar at , Odi sha and
West Bengal .
Cl i mat e Change i s r ecogni zed as a gl obal envi r onment al
Phenomenon t hat r equi r es ur gent at t ent i on. It i s hi gh on
t he pol i t i cal agenda of t he i nt er nat i onal communi t y as
t her e i s a r eal i zat i on t hat human-i nduced gl obal war mi ng i s
an exi st ent i al t hr eat t o t he pl anet . In general , t he i mpact s of
cl i mat e change w i l l be di spr opor t i onat el y hi gher f or
devel opi ng count r i es and t he poor of al l count r i es, t hus
exacer bat i ng i nequi t i es i n access t o adequat e f ood, cl ean
wat er, and ot her r esour ces. Indi a, w i t h i t s geo-physi cal and
cl i mat e charact er i st i cs, i s vul nerabl e t o t he occur r ence of
ext r eme event s. The count r y i s hi ghl y suscept i bl e t o cl i mat e
change, not onl y because of hi gh physi cal exposur e, but
al so because l i vel i hoods and economi c act i vi t i es ar e cl osel y
t i ed t o t he nat ural r esour ce base. Int er nat i onal communi t y
i s, t her ef or e, engaged i n f i ndi ng ways t o enhance gl obal and
nat i onal act i ons t o addr ess t he pr obl em i n a cooperat i ve
manner.
As a par t of Indi a' s Ini t i al Nat i onal Communi cat i on t o t he
UNFCCC, i mpact s of cl i mat e change on wat er r esour ces,
agr i cul t ur e, nat ural ecosyst ems and f or est r y, human heal t h,
i nf rast r uct ur e and ener gy w ere assessed and r epor t ed f or
t he 2050s and 2080s. The assessment di d not speci f i cal l y
ar t i cul at e i mpact s at sub nat i onal l evel , especi al l y t he
i mpact s on cl i mat e sensi t i ve r egi ons i n Indi a.
The INCCA r epor t br i ngs t oget her a r evi ew of w hat i s know n
about t he i mpact s of cl i mat e var i abi l i t y i n t he f our maj or
cl i mat e sensi t i ve r egi ons i n Indi a, namel y, t he Hi mal ayan
r egi on, t he Nor t h-East er n r egi on, t he West er n Ghat s and
t he Coast al r egi on. Fur t her, i t pr esent s an assessment of t he
i mpact s of cl i mat e change i n t he 2030s on f our key sect or s
2.8 Cl i mat e Change and i t s Impact
2.8.1 Pr oj ect ed Impact s
of t he economy t hat ar e cl i mat e dependent , namel y,
Agr i cul t ur e, Wat er, Nat ur al Ecosyst ems and Bi odi ver si t y and
Human Heal t h. The i mpact of cl i mat e var i abi l i t y i n t he f our
maj or cl i mat e sensi t i ve r egi ons ar e depi ct ed bel ow :
Temperat ur e: An overal l war mi ng rangi ng f r om 1.7C t o
2.0C by t he 2030s f or al l t he r egi ons i s pr oj ect ed w i t h t he
maxi mum i ncr ease i n Nor t h-east er n and Coast al r egi ons of
Indi a.
Pr eci pi t at i on: Al l r egi ons of Indi a ar e pr oj ect ed t o
exper i ence an i ncr ease i n pr eci pi t at i on i n 2030s w i t h
r espect t o 1970s w i t h t he maxi mum i n t he Hi mal ayan
r egi on and mi ni mum i n t he Nor t h East er n r egi on. The
ext r eme pr eci pi t at i on event s ar e l i kel y t o i ncr ease by 5-10
days i n al l t he r egi ons.
Agr i cul t ur e: The r epor t w hi ch has assessed i mpact s of
cl i mat e change f or f our maj or cr ops such as mai ze and
sor ghum, r i ce, appl e and coconut has pr oj ect ed a decr ease
i n yi el d of mai ze and sor ghum, r i ce and appl e, w her eas i t
has pr oj ect ed an i ncr ease i n t he coconut yi el d.
Wat er : Wat er yi el d i s pr oj ect ed t o i ncr ease i n t he
Hi mal ayan Regi on w her eas i t i s var i abl e acr oss t he ot her
t hr ee r egi ons.
Heal t h: The r epor t has pr oj ect ed t hat mal ar i a di sease i s
subj ect ed t o spr ead i n new ar eas and t her e ar e chances of
i t s t ransmi ssi on t o r each a w i der r egi on.
Nat ural Ecosyst em and Bi odi ver si t y: The r epor t has
pr oj ect ed a modi f i cat i on of var yi ng degr ees i n t he
composi t i on of t he f or est w i t h i ncr ease i n Net Pr i mar y
Pr oduct i vi t y i n t he range of 20-60%.
Indi a has al r eady t aken a number of act i ons on a vol unt ar y
basi s w i t h i t s ow n r esour ces i n pur suance of a sust ai nabl e
devel opment st rat egy. Indi a f i r ml y bel i eves t hat t he i ssue of
cl i mat e change and gl obal war mi ng i s not count r y-speci f i c
but i s i nt er -dependent i n nat ure and r equi r es cooperat i on
among nat i ons at t he i nt er nat i onal , r egi onal and bi l at eral
l evel . To achi eve t hi s goal , Indi a has f ol l owed a number of
pr o-act i ve domest i c pol i ci es. Some of t hese ar e out l i ned
bel ow.
lAdopt i on of Nat i onal Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change
w hi ch has a mi x of bot h mi t i gat i on and adapt at i on
measur es. The Ei ght Nat i onal M i ssi ons w hi ch f or m t he
core of t he Nat i onal Act i on Pl an r epr esent mul t i -
pr ol onged, l ong t er m and i nt egrat ed st rat egi es f or
achi evi ng key goal s i n t he cont ext of cl i mat e change.
Adapt at i on i s t he f ocus of t he NAPCC.
22
lIndi a has announced a domest i c goal of r educi ng t he
emi ssi on i nt ensi t y or our out put by 20-25% by 2020 i n
compar i son w i t h t he 2005 l evel . Thi s w i l l be achi eved
t hr ough a mul t i sect or sust ai nabl e devel opment
t h
st rat egy t hr ough t he 12 Fi ve Year Pl an. The Pl an w i l l
i ncl ude an ambi t i ous pr ogr amme f or suppor t i ng
act i ons ai med at addr essi ng cl i mat e change bot h at t he
Nat i onal and St at e l evel s.
lAct i on on several nat i onal mi ssi ons has pi cked up pace.
The Nat i onal M i ssi on f or Enhanced Ener gy Ef f i ci ency i s
desi gned t o i mpl ement a scheme f or t radi ng i n energy
ef f i ci ency cer t i f i cat es t hat w i l l cover about 700
i ndust r i al uni t s and achi eve a savi ng of al most 17,000
M Ws of ener gy by 2017. A pr ocess of set t i ng up ener gy
ef f i ci ency nor ms f or bui l di ngs and i mpl ement i ng a
st andar ds and l abel i ng syst em f or several appl i ances i s
a par t of t he M i ssi on. Fuel ef f i ci ency nor ms w i l l al so be
adopt ed. Sol ar M i ssi on w i l l generat e 20,000 M Ws of
power by 2020.
lUnder st andi ng t he sci ence of cl i mat e change i s key t o
t aki ng ef f ect i ve act i on. M i ni st r y has est abl i shed an
Indi an Net w or k f or Cl i mat e Change Assessment
(INCCA) t o car r y out sci ent i f i c st udi es of var i ous aspect s
of Cl i mat e Change. INCCA has come up w i t h a 4x4
assessment of cl i mat e change of f our maj or sect or s i n
f our ecol ogi cal r egi ons of t he count r y. An updat ed
i nvent or y of t he GHG emi ssi ons was al so br ought out i n
2010. Our f i r st Nat i onal Communi cat i on (NATCOM )
was gi ven t o t he i nt er nat i onal communi t y i n 2004. The
second one i s under pr eparat i on and w i l l be submi t t ed
i n 2012.
lIndi a i s among t he f ew count r i es w her e t he f or est cover
i s act ual l y i ncr easi ng. M i ni st r y has t aken st r ong
measur es t o conser ve f or est s. Our f or est cover i s
i ncr easi ng by 0.8 mi l l i on hect ar es ever y year and i s
hel pi ng t o neut ral i ze annual l y mor e t han 10 per cent of
Indi as gr eenhouse gas emi ssi ons. Indi a i s l aunchi ng an
ambi t i ous Gr een Indi a M i ssi on t o i ncr ease t he qual i t y
and quant i t y of f or est cover i n 10 mi l l i on hect ar es of
l and.
lA maj or new pr ogramme on coast al zone management
has al so been l aunched r ecent l y. Besi des pr ot ect i ng
envi r onment i n coast al ar eas, t he pr ogramme w i l l al so
hel p over 300 mi l l i on peopl e i n our count r y t hat l i ve i n
vul nerabl e ar eas near our coast l i ne.
lGover nment has been engaged i n bui l di ng coal i t i on of
l i ke mi nded count r i es at t he i nt er nat i onal l evel t o pr ess
f or const r uct i ve sol ut i ons t o t hi s gl obal pr essi ng i ssue
and enhance bi l at eral cooperat i on. Indi a t ook l ead i n
or gani zi ng t he conf er ence of BASIC M i ni st er s i n
Febr uar y 2011 t o di scuss and coordi nat e such ef f or t s.
Genet i c engi neer i ng (moder n bi ot echnol ogy) pr omi ses
r emar kabl e advances i n medi ci ne, agr i cul t ur e, and ot her
f i el ds. However, bei ng a r el at i vel y new f i el d much about t he
i nt eract i on of Genet i cal l y M odi f i ed Or gani sms (GM Os) w i t h
bot h bi ot i c and abi ot i c envi r onment i s yet t o be know n. Thi s
rai ses appr ehensi ons about t he new t echnol ogy w hi ch
i ncl ude i t s pot ent i al adver se ef f ect s on bi ol ogi cal di ver si t y
and r i sks t o human heal t h.
Gover nment of Indi a i s one of t he ear l y mover s i n
ack n o w l e d gi n g t h e p o t e n t i al r i sk s f r o m m o d e r n
bi ot echnol ogy and addr essi ng i t t hr ough a r obust l egal
f ramewor k w hi ch came i nt o f or ce i n t he year 1989 i t sel f i .e.
much bef or e t he r ecogni t i on of t he i ssue at i nt er nat i onal
l evel . The Car t agena Pr ot o co l on Bi osaf et y t o t he
Convent i on on Bi ol ogi cal Di ver si t y i s an i nt er nat i onal
agr eement w hi ch ai ms t o ensur e t he saf e handl i ng,
t ranspor t and use of l i vi ng modi f i ed or gani sms (LM Os)
r esul t i ng f r om moder n bi ot echnol ogy t hat may have
adver se ef f ect s on bi ol ogi cal di ver si t y, t aki ng al so i nt o
t h
account r i sks t o human heal t h. It was adopt ed on 29
t h
Januar y, 2000 and ent er ed i nt o f or ce on 11 Sept ember,
2003. Indi a i s a par t y t o t he Pr ot ocol .
Genet i cal l y modi f i ed or gani sms (GM Os) and pr oduct s
t her eof, i ncl udi ng GM cr ops, ar e r egul at ed i n Indi a by t he
' Rul es f or t he M anuf act ur e, Use/ Impor t / Expor t and
St or age of Hazar dous M i cr o Or gani sms/ Genet i cal l y
Engi neer ed Or gani sms or Cel l s, 1989 not i f i ed by t he
M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s t hr ough t hei r
Not i f i cat i on No. 621 i n Of f i ci al Gazet t e of Govt . of Indi a on
t h
5 Decem b er, 1989 u n d er t h e p r o vi si o n s o f t h e
' Envi r onment al Pr ot ect i on Act ' , 1986. These r ul es and
r egul at i ons commonl y r efer r ed as Rul es 1989 cover ar eas of
r esear ch as w el l as l ar ge scal e appl i cat i ons of GM Os and
t h ei r p r o d u ct s. Th ese r u l es an d r egu l at i o n s ar e
i mpl ement ed by M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s
De p a r t m e n t o f Bi o t e c h n o l o gy ( DBT) a n d St at e
Gover nment s t hr ough var i ous commi t t ees.
The Gover nment Not i f i cat i on mandat es t he cr eat i on of si x
co mmi t t ees. Whi l e t he Reco mbi nant DNA Advi sor y
2.9. Bi osaf et y
23
Commi t t ee (RDAC) i s of advi sor y nat ur e i n i t s f unct i on, t he
Revi ew Commi t t ee on Genet i c M ani pul at i on (RCGM )
est abl i shed under t he DBT, super vi ses r esear ch act i vi t i es
i ncl udi ng smal l scal e f i el d t r i al s. Appr oval s f or l ar ge scal e
t r i al s, r el eases and commerci al i zat i on of GM Os ar e gi ven by
t he Genet i c Engi neer i ng Appr oval Commi t t ee (GEAC), t he
apex body est abl i shed under t he M oEF. The St at e
Bi ot echnol ogy Coor di nat i on Commi t t ee (SBCC) and Di st r i ct
Level Commi t t ees (DLCs) have a maj or r ol e i n moni t or i ng.
The Rul es, 1989 al so mandat es t hat ever y i nst i t ut i on
engaged i n GM O r esear ch est abl i sh an Inst i t ut i onal
Bi osaf et y Commi t t ee (IBSC) t o over see such r esear ch and t o
i nt er f ace w i t h t he RCGM i n r egul at i ng i t . In addi t i on t o t he
above, a M oni t or i ng cum Eval uat i on Commi t t ee (M EC) has
been set up by t he RCGM t o moni t or t he compl i ance and
f i el d per f or mance of GM cr ops.
Rul es, 1989 i s suppor t ed by t he f ol l ow i ng bi o-saf et y
gui del i nes w hi ch ar e r egul ar l y updat ed, keepi ng i n t une
w i t h t he i nt er nat i onal pr act i ces and devel opment s i n
bi ot echnol ogy:
lRecombi nant DNA Safet y Gui del i nes, 1990 & 1994
lRevi sed Gui del i nes f or Resear ch i n Transgeni c Pl ant s
and Gui del i nes f or Toxi ci t y and al l er geni ci t y Eval uat i on,
1998
lGui del i nes and SOPs f or t he conduct of Conf i ned Fi el d
Tr i al s of Transgeni c Pl ant , 2008
lGui del i nes f or t he Safet y Assessment of GM Foods,
2008
lPr o t o co l f o r Saf et y Assessm en t o f Gen et i cal l y
Engi neer ed Pl ant s / Cr ops, 2008.
These gui del i nes and pr ot ocol s ar e bei ng r egul ar l y updat ed
t hr ough a consul t at i ve appr oach and f ol l ow i ng t he
i nt er nat i onal nor ms pr escr i bed by t he Or gani zat i on f or
Economi c Co-oper at i on and Devel opment (OECD), CODEX
Al i m en t ar i u s Co m m i ssi o n an d I n t er n at i o n al Pl an t
Pr ot ect i on Convent i on (IPPC).
The Gover nment of Indi a i s f ol l ow i ng a pol i cy of case by case
appr oval of GM cr ops. Any company i nvol ved i n t he
devel opment of GM cr ops has t o under t ake ext ensi ve
bi osaf et y assessment w hi ch i ncl udes envi r onment al saf et y
assessment as w el l as f ood and f eed saf et y even i f i t has
been appr oved f or commer ci al cul t i vat i on i n ot her
count r i es.
As of dat e, t he GEAC has appr oved envi r onment al r el ease of
onl y Bt cot t on, expr essi ng si x event s, w hi ch i s under
commerci al cul t i vat i on i n Indi a i n mor e t han 90 l akhs
hect ar e of l and ar ea. M or at or i um w as i mposed on
t h
commerci al cul t i vat i on of Bt br i nj al on 9 Febr uar y, 2010,
f ol l ow i ng a seven-ci t y publ i c consul t at i on pr ocess, t hus
t h
put t i ng on hol d t he 14 Oct ober, 2009 r ecommendat i on of
t he Genet i c Engi neer i ng Appr oval Commi t t ee (GEAC) f or
commerci al r el ease of Bt br i nj al . Fur t her consul t at i on on
t he i ssue i s i n pr ogr ess. In addi t i on, 20 t ransgeni c cr ops ar e
under var i ous st ages of r esear ch and f i el d t r i al .
The Genet i c Engi neer i ng Appr oval Commi t t ee (GEAC), t he
apex body under Rul es, 1989 has t he mandat e t o accord
appr oval of act i vi t i es i nvol vi ng (i ) l ar ge scal e use of GM OS i n
r esear ch and (i i ) envi r onment al r el ease of GM Os. Rul es,
1989 i s i mpl ement ed t hr ough bi osaf et y gui del i nes and i s
cont i nuousl y upgr aded, t aki ng i nt o account sci ent i f i c
devel opment s i n bi ot echnol ogy, i nt er nat i onal exper i ences
an d co m m i t m en t . Th e r ecen t i n i t i at i ves t o w ar d s
st r engt heni ng of t he bi osaf et y management syst em i ncl ude
t he f ol l ow i ng:
lRevi ew of t he Rul es, 1989 t o ensur e har moni zat i on
w i t h t he commi t ment under CPB i s i n pr ogr ess.
lDr af t gu i d an ce d o cu m ent f o r i n f o r m at i o n / d at a
generat i on f or saf et y assessment of GE pl ant s dur i ng
Bi osaf et y Resear ch Tr i al s Level I (BRL-I) and BRL-II has
been f or mul at ed and awai t i ng GEAC appr oval .
lCapaci t y bui l di ng i ni t i at i ves t o st r engt hen t he l egal and
admi ni st rat i ve measur es t o suppor t t he pr oposed
r ef or ms i s i n pr ogr ess.
lThe GEAC w ebsi t e i s bei ng compl et el y r evamped t o
ascer t ai n easy onl i ne avai l abi l i t y of al l t he i nf or mat i on
per t ai ni ng t o GM Os and GEAC appr oval s i ncl udi ng
mi nut es, bi osaf et y dat a, gui del i nes et c.
lUnder t he Rul es, 1989 St at e gover nment has an
i mpor t ant r ol e i n moni t or i ng of t he GM Cr op f i el d t r i al .
Accor di ngl y, GEAC i n i t s meet i ng on 06.07.2011
deci ded t hat t he pr ocur ement of No Obj ect i on
Cer t i f i cat e (NOC) f r om St at e Gover nment f or conduct
of GM cr op f i el d t r i al s i n t he St at e i s a pr e-r equi si t e f or
get t i ng appr oval f r om GEAC.
The emer gence of envi r onment al i ssues at t he t op of t he
gl obal agenda i n t he cont ext of cl i mat e change concer ns
2.10 Envi r onment Educat i on, Awar eness
and Trai ni ng
24
under l i ne t he need f or col l ect i ve endeavour f or pr ot ect i on
of envi r onment . Thi s war rant s i nf or med and vol unt ar y
par t i ci pat i on of al l sect i ons of t he peopl e i n t he movement
f or conser vat i on and par t i ci pat i on of envi r o nment .
Awar eness of peopl e about emer gi ng envi r onment al i ssues
and t he i nt er connect i ons bet ween t he l i f e st yl es and
envi r o n m ent i s an essent i al p r er eq u i si t e f o r su ch
par t i ci pat i on.
Po p u l at i o n i n cr ease, r ap i d u r b an i zat i o n an d
i ndust r i al i sat i on, i ncr easi ng needs of ener gy et c., have
i mpact ed t he avai l abi l i t y of nat ural r esour ces besi des
dent i ng t he qual i t y of envi r onment . The envi r onment al
damage al r eady i nf l i ct ed cannot be r ever sed unl ess t her e i s
col l ect i ve t hi nki ng, w i l l and ef f or t . These cal l f or publ i c
aw ar e n e ss an d p ar t i ci p at i o n f o r b r i n gi n g ab o u t
an at t i t udi nal change and f i nal l y r est r i ct i ng f ur t her damage
t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . Ef f e c t i v e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n
o f e n v i r o n m e n t al m an age m e n t an d co n se r vat i o n
pr ogrammes depends on educat i on, awar eness rai si ng and
t rai ni ng i n t he r el evant ar eas. Wi t hout an adequat e
aw ar en ess o f t h e i m p en d i n g ch al l en ges an d t h ei r
i mpl i cat i ons, f ew peopl e w oul d be mot i vat ed t o par t i ci pat e
act i vel y i n pr ogrammes on envi r onment al conser vat i on.
Envi r onment educat i on and awar eness t hus assumes
cr i t i cal i mpor t ance.
The Envi r onment al Educat i on, Awar eness and Trai ni ng i s a
f l agshi p scheme of t he M i ni st r y f or enhanci ng t he
under st andi ng of peopl e at al l l evel s about t he r el at i onshi p
bet ween human bei ngs and t he envi r onment and t o
devel op capabi l i t i es/ ski l l s t o i mpr ove and pr ot ect t he
envi r onment .
The f l agshi p pr ogrammes under envi r onment al educat i on
an d aw ar en ess i n cl u d e t h e Nat i o n al Envi r o n m en t
Awar eness Campai gn (NEAC) and t he Nat i onal Gr een Cor ps
(NGC) Pr ogramme w hi ch ar e i mpl ement ed al l over t he
count r y i n a decent ral i zed mode.
Nat i onal Envi r onment Awar eness Campai gn
The Nat i onal Envi r onment Awar eness Campai gn (NEAC) i s
l aunched al l over t he count r y ever y year on an agr eed
envi r o n m ent al t h em e i n w h i ch m o r e t h an 10, 000
or gani sat i ons i ncl udi ng cent ral and st at e gover nment
depar t ment s, educat i on i nst i t ut i ons, NGOs and ot her
vol unt ar y agenci es par t i ci pat e. Di ver se t ar get gr oups
encompassi ng st udent s, yout hs, t eacher s, t r i bal s, f ar mer s,
ot her r ural popul at i on, pr of essi onal s and t he general publ i c
ar e cover ed under NEAC. The pr ogramme i s i mpl ement ed
t hr ough desi gnat ed Regi onal Resour ce Agenci es (RRAs)
appoi nt ed f or speci f i c St at es/ Regi ons of t he count r y. The
NEAC t heme f or 2010-11 i s bi odi ver si t y conser vat i on.
Nat i onal Gr een Cor ps Pr ogramme
Nat i onal Gr een Cor ps (NGC) Pr ogramme i s a know l edge-
based pr ogr amme i n w hi ch know l edge empow er ed
t eacher -i n-char ge of Eco-cl ubs t ransmi t s awar eness t o
chi l dr en t hr ough var i ous act i vi t i es. In l ess t han t en year s,
t hat t he pr ogramme has been i n operat i on, i t has been
cat apul t ed i nt o a mass movement of chi l dr en f or
mai nt ai ni ng and pr eser vi ng t he envi r onment . 1,30,931 Eco-
cl ubs have so f ar been est abl i shed i n NGC School s acr oss t he
count r y.
Nat i onal M useum of Nat ural Hi st or y
The Nat i onal M useum of Nat ur al Hi st or y (NM NH), New
Del hi i s an i nst i t ut i on devot ed t o Envi r onment al Educat i on
(EE). The M useum was opened t o t he publ i c i n 1978 on June
5 on t he occasi on of Wor l d Envi r onment Day. The M useum
u n d er t akes EE t h r o u gh t h e m ean s o f Exh i b i t i o n
pr ogrammes and Educat i onal act i vi t i es. Even t hough t he
pr i mar y t ar get audi ence of t he M useum i s school st udent s,
i t has devel oped pr ogrammes f or ot her cat egor i es of peopl e
as w el l . The NM NH i s t he pi oneer M useum w hi ch has
i ni t i at ed several speci al i zed pr ogrammes t o cat er t o t he
needs of per sons w i t h di f f er ent abi l i t i es.
Par yavaran M i t ra Pr ogramme
Par yavaran M i t ra, one of t he l ar gest sust ai nabi l i t y and
cl i mat e change educat i on pr ogrammes i n t he w or l d, was
l aunched on 24 Jul y 2010. Par yavaran M i t ra i s a pr ogramme
f or st udent s t hat envi si on cr eat i ng Par yavaran M i t ra
(Fr i ends of t he Envi r onment ) i n school s acr oss Indi a. The
goal of t he pr ogramme i s t o cr eat e a net wor k of young
peopl e acr oss t he nat i on w ho has t he know l edge,
awar eness and commi t ment t o meet t he chal l enges of
gl obal ci t i zenshi p and cl i mat e change.
Ganges Ri ver Dol phi n Conser vat i on Educat i on
M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s has i ni t i at ed a t w o-
year pr oj ect on Ganges Ri ver Dol phi n Conser vat i on
Educat i on Pr ogramme i n t he nor t h, nor t h east er n and
east er n r egi on of Indi a. A t ot al of 20 l ocat i ons have been
i dent i f i ed i n Assam, Bi har, Ut t ar Pradesh and West Bengal t o
conduct school act i vi t i es i n each l ocat i on w i t h 25 cl ust er s of
school s. To f aci l i t at e act i vi t i es, par t ner NGOs have been
sel ect ed f or car r yi ng out educat i on act i vi t i es f ocusi ng on
r i ver dol phi ns.
25
Gl obal Lear ni ng and Obser vat i ons t o Benef i t t he
Envi r onment
The Gl obal Lear ni ng and Obser vat i ons t o Benef i t t he
Envi r onment (GLOBE) Pr ogr amme an Int er nat i onal
Sci ence and Educat i on pr ogramme pr ovi des a uni que
oppor t uni t y t o t he school st udent s t o car r y out var i ous
measur ement s so t hat t hey can l ear n about sci ent i f i c
pr ot ocol s and per f or m envi r onment al l ear ni ng act i vi t i es,
w hi ch have al r eady been i nt roduced as t heor y i n t he
t ext books. The GLOBE pr ogramme not onl y hel ps t he
st udent s t o appr eci at e t he cont ent s of t he t ext books
t hr ough bet t er under st andi ng but al so assi st s t hem i n
gai ni ng compl et e know l edge of envi r onment .
Real i zi ng t he need f or envi r onment i nf or mat i on, t he
M i ni st r y set up an Envi r onment al Inf or mat i on Syst em
2.11 Envi r onment al Inf or mat i on Syst em
( ENVI S) i n 1983 as a co m p r eh en si ve n et w o r k o n
i nf or mat i on col l ect i on, col l at i on, st or age, r et r i eval , and
di ssemi nat i on t o var i ous user s i ncl udi ng deci si on-maker s,
r esear cher s, academi ci ans, and pol i cy pl anner s. ENVIS
net wor k at pr esent consi st s of a chai n of 67 net wor k
par t ner s, out of w hi ch 39 ar e on subj ect -speci f i c and 28 ar e
on St at e/ UT r el at ed i ssues. These net w or k par t ner s
ar e cal l ed ENVI S Cent r es an d ar e l o cat ed i n t h e
not abl e or gani zat i ons/ i nst i t ut i ons/ St at e/ UT Gover nment
Depar t ment s/ Uni ver si t i es t hr oughout t he count r y. The
Focal Poi nt of ENVIS i s l ocat ed i n t he M i ni st r y and
coordi nat es t he act i vi t i es of al l t he ENVIS net wor k par t ner s
t o make ENVIS a w eb enabl ed comprehensi ve i nf or mat i on
syst em. ENVIS Focal Poi nt i n t he M i ni st r y i s r esponsi bl e f or
mai nt enance and updat i on of t he w ebsi t e of t he M i ni st r y
( URL: h t t p : / / w w w . m o ef . g o v. i n ) an d d i sse m i n at i n g
i nf or mat i on t hr ough t he w ebsi t e t o al l concer ned.
CHAPTER
27
3
3.2 Cur r ent Ini t i at i ves
Incl usi ve gr ow t h ensur es t hat any devel opment or
economi c gr ow t h i n t he count r y i s equi t abl e and r educes
t h e d i sp ar i t i es b et w een r i ch an d p o o r an d o t h er
mar gi nal i zed sect i ons of soci et y. Whi l e t he nat i on needs t o
move t owar ds a economy t hat r educes envi r onment al r i sks
and ecol ogi cal scarci t i es, t her e i s an i mmedi at e need t o
i mpr ove soci al equi t y and human w el l bei ng. Thi s can onl y
be done t hr ough t he el i mi nat i on of pover t y and f ul f i l l ment
of al l basi c needs. Pr ot ect i on of t he envi r onment has t o be a
cent ral par t of any sust ai nabl e i ncl usi ve gr ow t h st rat egy.
Popul at i on gr ow t h, ur bani zat i on, and ant hr opogeni c
devel opment w hi ch l ar gel y empl oy ener gy-i nt ensi ve
t echnol ogi es have r esul t ed i n i nj ect i ng a heavy l oad of
pol l ut ant s i nt o t he envi r onment .
An i mpor t ant f eat ur e of any envi r onment al st rat egy i s t hat
envi r onment al obj ect i ves r equi r e act i on i n several ar eas,
w hi ch t ypi cal l y l i e i n t he pur vi ew of di f f er ent mi ni st r i es. The
M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s has t he i mpor t ant r ol e
o f m o n i t o r i n g t h e d evel o p m en t p r o cess an d i t s
envi r onment al i mpact i n a per spect i ve of sust ai nabl e
devel opment and t o devi se sui t abl e r egul at or y st r uct ur es t o
achi eve t he desi r ed r esul t s. Whi l e t hi s r ol e i s cr uci al ,
envi r o n m ent al o b j ect i ves can o n l y b e ach i eved i f
envi r onment al concer ns ar e i nt er nal i zed i n pol i cymaki ng i n
a l ar ge number of sect or s. Thi s w oul d r equi r e shar i ng of
r esponsi bi l i t y at al l l evel s of gover nment and acr oss sect or s
w i t h r espect t o moni t or i ng of pol l ut i on, enf or cement of
r egu l at i o n s, an d d evel o p m en t o f p r o gr am m es f o r
mi t i gat i on and abat ement . Regul at or y enf or cement must
al so be combi ned w i t h i ncent i ves, i ncl udi ng mar ket and
f i scal mechani sms t o encourage bot h i ndust r y and peopl e i n
t hei r day-t o-day w or ki ng l i ves t o act i n a manner r esponsi ve
t o envi r onment al concer ns. Sust ai nabl e use of nat ural
r eso ur ces r equi r es co mmuni t y par t i ci pat i o n w i t h a
r esp o n si b l e r o l e assi gn ed t o t h e co m m u n i t i es f o r
conser vat i on.
To meet t he basi c needs of t he poor, el i mi nat e t he vi ci ous
cycl e of pover t y and achi eve t he M i l l i neum Devel opmemt
Goal s (M DGs) t her e ar e several i ni t i at i ves bei ng t aken by
t he gover nment i n t er ms of educat i on, access t o saf e wat er
and sani t at i on and i mpr oved housi ng. It i s of t en t he poor
w ho ar e di r ect l y dependent on nat ural r esour ces f or t hei r
l i vel i hoods, w het her i t i s agr i cul t ur e, f or est pr oduce or f r esh
wat er and coast al r esour ces. Thus, t he poor ar e al so most
vul nerabl e t o cl i mat e change and i t s i mpact s. The need of
t he hour i s t o ensur e t hat sust ai nabl e j obs ar e cr eat ed and
ecosyst ems ar e made mor e r esi l i ent t o suppor t l i vel i hoods.
Ini t i at i ves t o ensur e t hi s t hat ar e al r eady i n pl ace i ncl ude t he
M ahat ma Gandhi Nat i onal Rur al Empl oyment Gurant ee
Scheme (M NREGA), t he Nat i onal Rur al Li vel i hoods M i ssi on,
Int egrat ed Wat er shed Devel opment Pr ogramme (IWM P)
and Int egrat ed Coast al Zone M anagement (ICZM ).
Ther e i s al so a si gni f i cant di spar i t y bet ween ur ban and r ural
consumpt i on of r esour ces, especi al l y ener gy. Recongni zi ng
t hi s di spar i t y, one of t he pi l l ar s of t he 12t h f i ve year pl ans i s
l ow car bon i ncl usi ve gr ow t h t hat w i l l enhance t he
accessi bi l i t y of ener gy i n r ural ar eas.
Ther e w i l l be new chal l enges f aced by t he poor and
vul nerabl e due t o adver se envi r onment r el at ed i mpact s.
These i ncl ude w eat her r el at ed di sast er s, changes i n rai nf al l
pat t er ns i ncl udi ng scarci t y of wat er, sea l evel r i se and
changes i n speci es composi t i on, i ncl udi ng a decl i ne of
i mpor t ant speci es. Ther e ar e several i ni t i at i ves i n pl ace or i n
t he pi pel i ne t hat ar e i n pl ace t o bui l d r esi l i ence of
communi t i t es t o adapt t o cl i mat e change such as t he
Nat i onal Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change (NAPCC) and St at e
Act i on Pl an on Cl i mat e Change (SAPCC). To t ake i nt o
account speci f i c l ocal l evel r eal i t i es, t hese pl ans can be
compl i ment ed by Local Adapt at i on Pl an of Act i on (LAPAs),
w hi ch ar e bei ng f or mul at ed on a pi l ot basi s i n ot her
devel opi ng count r i es.
Whi l e uncer t ai nt i es exi st i n t er ms of cl i mat e change
i mpact s, t her e ar e cer t ai n measur es t hat can be put i n pl ace
t hat w i l l l ead t o t he devel opment of t he poor and
mar gi nal i sed and be ef f ect i ve i n adapt i ng t o cl i mat e change.
These opt i ons w i l l depend on t he eco-syst em, however
cer t ai n st eps l i ke t he set t i ng up of ear l y war ni ng syst ems,
l i v e l i h o o d d i v e r si f i c a t i o n , w a t e r m a n a g e m e n t ,
Need f or Incl usi ve Gr ow t h
conser vat i on i ni t i at i ves and t he di ver si f i cat i on of speci es
ar e some ef f ect i ve opt i ons. Ot her opt i ons t o ensur e f ood
secur i t y i ncl ude cr op i nsur ance, seed banks, ef f i ci ent
i r r i gat i on met hods l i ke dr i p and spr i nkl er and rai n wat er
har vest i ng, agr o-f or est r y and ot her met hods of cr op
di ver si f i cat i on.
Several opt i ons al so exi st t o i ncr ease r esour ce ef f i ci ency
such as wast e management i ncl udi ng wast e t o w eal t h
i ni t i at i ves, r ecycl i ng, r enewabl e ener gy, eco housi ng, cl ean
t echnol ogy pr omot i on i n t he mi cr o, smal l and medi um
i ndust r i es as w el l as envi r onment al l y r esponsi bl e i ni t i at i ves
f r om l ar ge i ni t i at i ves.
M i ni st r y of Envi r onment and For est s i s w el l awar e of t he
f act t hat i t i s vi t al t o i nvol ve t he l ocal peopl e i n t he deci si on-
maki ng pr ocess of envi r onment al conser vat i on i n a
sust ai nabl e manner. In envi r onment al t er ms, communi t y-
based i ni t i at i ves, al ong w i t h pol i cy r ef or ms, coul d go a l ong
way i n pr ot ect i ng t he envi r onment and enhanci ng t he
pr oduct i vi t y of our nat ural r esour ces. To deal w i t h Indi a' s
envi r onment al pr obl ems i n an ef f ect i ve way, i t i s i mpor t ant
t o empower peopl e t hr ough awar eness i ni t i at i ves so t hat
t hey can t ake col l ect i ve deci si ons t o benef i t t hem and t he
l ocal envi r onment .
It has been seen t hat sol ut i ons at t i mes emer ge easi l y w hen
go ver n m ent s i nvo l ve p eo p l e, u si n g a p ar t i ci p at o r y
appr oach t o sol ve pr obl ems. Cent ur i es of caref ul t endi ng of
l and on w hi ch peopl e depend, i s an exampl e of t hei r abi l i t y
t o coexi st har moni ousl y w i t h nat ure, and each generat i on
has passed on i t s t radi t i onal under st andi ng of managi ng
nat ural r esour ces t o t hose w ho have f ol l owed. It has been
w i t nessed t hat such a par t i ci pat or y appr oach at t he
communi t y l evel i s as cr uci al i n t er ms of envi r onment al
pr ot ect i on, as has been pr oved by t he success of Indi a' s
j oi nt f or est management i ni t i at i ves.
Under st andi ng t hi s di r e need f or i ncl usi ve gr ow t h, t he
M i ni st r y i nvol ves i nvar i abl y (w her ever necessar y) al l
possi bl e st akehol der s i n t hi s par t i ci pat or y pr ocess w hi ch
encompasses t he ent i r e spect r um of l ocal communi t y
r ep r esen t at i ves, ci vi l so ci et y o r gan i zat i o n s/ NGOs,
devel opment sect or, i ndust r i al sect or / busi ness houses,
l ocal and st at e gover nment bodi es and cent ral gover nment
agenci es.
The envi r onment al damage al r eady i nf l i ct ed cannot be
3.3 Envi r onment al Awar eness
r ever sed unl ess t her e i s col l ect i ve act i on. Thi s cal l s f or
publ i c awar eness and par t i ci pat i on f or br i ngi ng about an
at t i t udi nal change and f i nal l y r est r i ct i ng f ur t her damage t o
t he envi r onment . Ef f ect i ve envi r onment al management
and conser vat i on depends on educat i on, awar eness rai si ng
and t rai ni ng i n t he r el evant ar eas. Wi t hout adequat e
aw ar en ess o f t h e i m p en d i n g ch al l en ges an d t h ei r
i mpl i cat i ons, f ew peopl e w oul d be mot i vat ed t o par t i ci pat e
act i vel y i n pr ogrammes on envi r onment al conser vat i on.
Envi r onment al educat i on and awar eness t hus assume
cr i t i cal i mpor t ance.
Pr omot i ng envi r onment al awar eness among al l sect i ons of
t he soci et y ent ai l s f ul f i l l i ng t he f ol l ow i ng obj ect i ves:
lM obi l i zi ng peopl e' s par t i ci pat i on f or pr eser vat i on and
conser vat i on of envi r onment .
lSpr eadi ng envi r onment al educat i on, especi al l y i n t he
non-f or mal syst em among var i ed sect i ons of t he
soci et y.
lFaci l i t at i ng devel opment of envi r onment al educat i on
t rai ni ng mat er i al s and ai ds i n t he f or mal educat i on
sect or.
lPr omot i ng envi r onment al educat i on t hr ough exi st i ng
educat i onal i nst i t ut i ons.
lEnsur i ng t rai ni ng and manpower devel opment f or
envi r onment al educat i on, awar eness and t rai ni ng.
The cr ux of envi r onment al communi cat i on i s t o convi nce
peopl e t hat t her e ar e a number of pr obl ems t hat need
ur gent at t ent i on. Thi s spel l s out t he need f or r eachi ng t he
peopl e w i t h myr i ad channel s of communi cat i on, rangi ng
f r om pr i nt and el ect roni c medi a t o f ol k ar t and communi t y
communi cat or s such as vol unt ar y or gani zat i ons (NGOs) and
act i on gr oups t o pr omot e envi r onment al awar eness among
t he masses.
It i s essent i al t o i nvol ve women, especi al l y i n r ural Indi a, i n
t he deci si on maki ng pr ocesses per t ai ni ng t o envi r onment al
conser vat i on. M i ni st r y i s w el l awar e of t he si gni f i cant r ol e
of w omen i n househol d sani t at i on and heal t h. It i s t he
w omen of r ural Indi a w ho under st and t he i mpor t ance of
wat er scarci t y as t hey ar e t he dr awer s, car r i er s and
househol d managers of wat er. Ther e i s need t o ensur e
access t o i nf or mal envi r onment al educat i on f or w omen i n
3.4 Envi r onment al Communi cat i on
3.5 Women Empower ment
28
our count r y. M ost envi r onment al t rai ni ng pr ogrammes on
soi l r egenerat i on, af f or est at i on, ener gy-savi ng and wat er
management do not pr ovi de l ear ni ng oppor t uni t i es f or
w omen. Hence, w omen need bet t er oppor t uni t i es t o
t ransl at e t hei r know l edge and i ni t i at i ves i nt o concret e
act i on and cont r ol over nat ural r esour ces, such as wat er, as
w el l as t hei r ow n l i ves. Envi r onment al management i s
bound t o be ver y ef f ect i ve i f w omen ar e of fer ed mor e
oppor t uni t i es i n t he f i el ds of educat i on, economi c and
pol i t i cal l i f e and i n t he deci si on-maki ng pr ocess. Al l pl ans
and pol i ci es need t o be made mor e gender i ncl usi ve.
Summi ng up t he i ssue of i ncl usi ve gr ow t h, communi t y
par t i ci pat i on coul d be successf ul l y at t ai ned t hr ough mass
aw ar eness r egar d i ng envi r o nment al chal l enges. The
M i n i st r y i s ed u cat i n g p eo p l e r egar d i n g em er gi n g
envi r onment al i ssues and t he i nt er connect i ons bet ween
l i f e st yl es and envi r onment f or mass mobi l i zat i on t owar ds
t aki ng a gr een U-Tur n f or cr eat i ng a mor e humane and
envi r onment -f r i endl y w or l d.
29
Issues f or Debat e
CHAPTER
4.2 Issues Af f ect i ng t he Envi r onment
To addr ess Indi a' s envi r onment al chal l enges, i t i s essent i al
t o f ocus on di ver se r esponse opt i ons and i nst r ument s f or
di scover i ng t he possi bl e sol ut i ons. Emphasi s must be
pl aced on i ncr easi ng t he col l ect i ve r esponsi bi l i t y and
account abi l i t y of al l t he st akehol der s and pr omot i ng mor e
co-operat i ve ef f or t s f or ensur i ng a heal t hy envi r onment .
Spr eadi ng awar eness and empower i ng peopl e t o t ake
deci si ons, at t he l ocal l evel , i s an ef f ect i ve way of deal i ng
w i t h t he envi r onment al pr obl ems. In t hi s chapt er, some of
t h e cr i t i cal i ssu es f o r t h e co u n t r y' s envi r o n m en t
conser vat i on ef f or t s have been put f or w ar d bef or e var i ous
st akehol der s and peopl e at l ar ge f or t hei r at t ent i on and
suggest i ons t her e on.
1. Int er nal i zat i on of envi r onment al cost s/ benef i t s i nt o
Economi c Pol i cy
Su st ai n ab l e Devel o p m en t i n vo l ves val u i n g t h e
envi r onment , t hus pl aci ng pr oper val ues on t he
ser vi ces pr ovi ded by nat ural envi r onment s. The cent ral
pr obl em i s t hat many of t hese ser vi ces ar e pr ovi ded
" f r ee" . They have zer o pr i ce si mpl y because no mar ket
exi st s w her e t hei r t r ue val ues coul d be r eveal ed
t hr ough t he act of buyi ng and sel l i ng (e.g bi odi ver si t y i n
a t r opi cal f or est ). Zer o/ l ow pr i ce r esul t s i n excessi ve
expl oi t at i on of t hese nat ural r esour ces, r esul t i ng i n
envi r onment al degradat i on. Hence, t her e i s a need t o
t ake t he f ol l ow i ng measur es:
lGr eat er use of mar ket based i nst r ument s can f aci l i t at e
b et t er r ef l ect i o n o f envi r o n m en t al co st s, t h u s
i nt er nal i zi ng envi r onment al aspect s i n economi c
pol i cy-maki ng.
lEf f or t s t o i nt egrat e envi r onment al val ues i nt o appr ai sal
of publ i c i nvest ment pr oj ect s need t o be i nt roduced,
bot h at t he l evel of under st andi ng envi r onment al
ef f ect s and at t he l evel of val ui ng t hose ef f ect s.
2. Nat ural Resour ce M anagement
M any envi r onment al r esour ces have become scarce
and some have near l y r eached t hr eshol d l evel s. In each
l ocat i on, causes f or degradat i on of nat ural r esour ces
must be assessed; compar i son of demand on t he
nat ural r esour ce w i t h i t s car r yi ng/ assi mi l at i ve capaci t y
be made; and t hen pl ans be made f or sust ai nabl e use
of t he r esour ce. The det er i orat i on i n envi r onment al
r esour ces hur t s t he poor mor e t han t he r i ch because of
t he dependence of poor peopl e on t he r esour ce base
f or t hei r l i vel i hood and t hei r i nabi l i t y t o under t ake t he
aver t i ng expendi t ur es. To meet t hese chal l enges,
f ol l ow i ng measur es shoul d be t aken:
lNat ur al Resour ce Account i ng and scope f or desi gni ng
user char ges f or envi r onment al ser vi ces t hat si gnal
user s about t hei r scarci t y val ues.
lPer ver se subsi di es on r esour ces shoul d be w i t hdraw n.
lAs f ar as possi bl e, nat ural r esour ces pr i ces shoul d
r ef l ect t hei r soci al cost s; and subsi di es shoul d be
t ar get ed onl y f or t he poor.
lGr een Account i ng, as t he i dea of pl aci ng st at i st i cal
coverage of envi r onment al concer ns i n a nat i onal
account s f ramewor k needs t o be expl or ed
3. Legal r ef or m f or pol l ut i on pr event i on and cont r ol
Al l our envi r onment al l egi sl at i ons come under cr i mi nal
l aws. In i mpl ement at i on of t he l aws as w el l as i n j udi ci al
deci si ons, t he i ssue i s compl i ance or non-compl i ance,
and not t he ext ent of compl i ance. The penal t i es f or
non-compl i ance ar e unr el at ed t o t he compl i ance cost s.
On t he ot her hand, t he economi c compl i ance cost
i ncr eases w i t h t he l evel of pol l ut i on pr event i on or
abat ement . Thi s t ype of pol l ut i on cont r ol r egi me
cr eat es an oppor t uni t y f or cor r upt i on and r ent -seeki ng.
lAmendment s t o t he envi r onment al l aws may be
needed t o i nt roduce pol l ut i on char ges and ot her
economi c i nst r ument s, t hus per mi t t i ng use of mor e
j udi ci ous mi x of t he t w o r egi mes.
4. Admi ni st rat i ve and i nst i t ut i onal i mpr ovement s
Envi r onment i nvol ves cr oss cut t i ng i ssues and hence i t
i s necessar y t o br i ng syner gy i n var i ous Depar t ment s f or
bet t er i mpl ement at i on of t he envi r onment al pr obl ems.
Fol l ow i ng measur es shoul d be t aken f or i mpr ovi ng
admi ni st rat i ve and i nst i t ut i onal f unct i oni ng:
lNeed t o r em o ve t h e b ar r i er s b y exch an ge o f
i nf or mat i on, vi si t s, meet i ng, et c, so as t o ensur e bet t er
coordi nat i on f or t i mel y act i on f or i mpl ement at i on of
pr ogrammes and act i vi t i es.
4
31
lSt r engt heni ng of i nst i t ut i ons w hi ch, i nt er al i a, i ncl udes
t echni cal manpower, know l edge-base and i nt egrat i ng
sci ence based appr oaches.
lNeed t o r evi ew our appr oach t o t he pl anni ng and
management by mai nst reami ng t he el ement of newer
t echnol ogi es and sound sci ence so as t o make i t mor e
r esponsi ve t o t he emer gi ng envi r onment al chal l enges.
lPr ovi di ng mor e accurat e and f ast er syst ems, t he need
t o use GIS, GPS, ITeS et c becomes cr i t i cal not onl y t o t he
managers of t he r esour ces but al so f or f ast er and
si mpl er ways of di ssemi nat i ng i nf or mat i on.
The ai r pol l ut i on and t he r esul t ant ai r qual i t y can be
at t r i but ed t o emi ssi ons f rom t ranspor t at i on, i ndust r i al and
domest i c act i vi t i es. The ai r qual i t y has been, t her ef or e, an
i ssue of soci al concer n i n t he backdr op of var i ous act i vi t i es.
The nor ms f or ambi ent ai r qual i t y have been r evi si t ed and
var i ous i ndust r y-speci f i c emi ssi ons st andar ds ar e evol ved
af r esh or r evi si t ed and not i f i ed f r om t i me t o t i me.
lAccel erat i on of nat i onal pr ogrammes f or di ssemi nat i ng
Inf or mat i on on i mpr oved f uel wood st oves, smokel ess
chul l as, sui t ed t o l ocal cooki ng pr act i ces and bi omass
r esour ces.
lSt r engt heni ng of envi r onment al moni t or i ng syst em.
lEnf or cement of emi ssi on St andar ds and pr eparat i on
and i mpl ement at i on of act i on pl ans f or bot h poi nt and
non-poi nt sour ces.
lPr omot i ng r ecl amat i on of wast el ands t hr ough ener gy
pl ant at i ons f or r ural ener gy, t hr ough mul t i -st akehol der
par t ner shi ps i nvol vi ng t he l and- ow ni ng agenci es, l ocal
communi t i es, and i nvest or s.
lSt r engt heni ng ef f or t s f or par t i al subst i t ut i on of
f ossi l f uel s by bi o-f uel s, t hr ough pr omot i on of bi o-
f u e l p l an t at i o n , p r o m o t i n g r e l evan t r e se ar ch
and devel opment , and st r engt heni ng r egul at or y
cer t i f i cat i on of new t echnol ogi es.
lRecycl i ng of paper, pl ast i c, gl ass bot t l es, cardboar d, and
al umi num cans. Thi s conser ves ener gy and r educes
pr oduct i on emi ssi ons.
Key Chal l enges i dent i f i ed f or mai nt ai ni ng t he accept abl e
l evel of ambi ent noi se and t o i mpr ove t he qual i t y of l i f e ar e -
r el i gi ous f unct i ons, f est i val s, mar r i ages, pr ocessi ons
i ndust r i al act i vi t i es, use o f publ i c addr ess syst em,
4.3 Ai r Envi r onment
4.4 Noi se Envi r onment
const r uct i on act i vi t i es; use of generat or set s f or cel l phone
t ower s and st andby sour ce of el ect r i ci t y; vehi cl es and
pr essur e hor ns; and bur st i ng of f i r e cracker s. The noi se
l evel s have been pr escr i bed f or generat or set s and f i r e
cracker s. Use of hor ns has been banned i n r esi dent i al ar eas
dur i ng ni ght t i me and si l ence zones. Noi se bar r i er s ar e
pl aced on f l yover s, et c. i n ur ban ar eas t o absor b or r ef l ect
t he noi se, as t he case may be. Apar t f r om t hi s, M i ni st r y has
i ssued var i ous r egul at i ons f r om t i me t o t i me t o cont r ol
n o i se p o l l u t i o n i n am b i ent ai r, at so u r ce an d at
manuf act ur i ng st age.
The core chal l enge of wat er r esour ces devel opment and
management i n Indi a i s one of bet t er management . Ther e i s
a need t o bui l d/ st r engt hen t he i nst i t ut i on t o ensur e
ef f i ci ent and equi t abl e di st r i but i on of wat er r esour ces.
Wi t h gr ow i ng popul at i on and i ncreasi ng economi c act i vi t y,
t he pr essur es on t hi s basi c but i ncr easi ngl y scarce r esour ce
have gr ow n much f ast er t han t he abi l i t y of communi t i es and
hi gher l evel j ur i sdi ct i ons t o cope w i t h t hem. The bul k of t he
day-t o-day envi r onment al and soci al pr obl ems i n Indi a' s
ci t i es and vi l l ages emanat e f r om t hi s core chal l enge. The
sol ut i on l i es i n how qui ckl y and how w el l communi t i es l ear n
t o decent ral i ze t hei r management syst ems and mobi l i ze
communi t y ow ner shi p and par t i ci pat i on i n deci si on
maki ng. Oper at i onal l y, t he envi r onment al chal l enges
i ncl ude:
lImpr ovi ng ef f i ci enci es and mi ni mi zi ng l osses i n
ext r act i on, t ranspor t and use of wat er.
lAddr essi ng t he spat i al and t emporal var i at i ons of
avai l abl e rai nf al l and devi si ng t he means t o opt i mi ze i t s
avai l abi l i t y, now and f or t he f ut ur e.
lPl anni ng and desi gni ng wat er -r el at ed pr oj ect s as
e n v i r o n m e n t al i m p r o v e m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o
maxi mi ze t he overal l benef i t s, not si mpl y t o mi ni mi ze
negat i ve i mpact s.
lInt er nal i zi ng wast e wat er mi ni mi zat i on, r euse and
r ecycl i ng as an i nt egral f eat ur e of al l wat er r el at ed
pr oj ect s. M ost pr oj ect s have t ended t o i ncr ease
suppl i es, w i t hout adequat e at t ent i on t o demand si de
management .
lEn su r i n g ad e q u at e r e se r v e s f o r e co sy st e m
r equi r ement s.
Whi l e M i ni st r y have a r obust r egul at or y f ramewor k i n pl ace,
4.5 Wat er Envi r onment
4.6 Sol i d Wast e M anagement
32
33
t he mai n chal l enge i s t o ensur e ef f ect i ve i mpl ement at i on
f or sust ai nabl e wast e management . Some of t he pr i or i t y
ar eas t hat need t o be consi dered ar e:
lLocal bodi es ar e r equi r ed t o i dent i f y and sel ect wast e
pr ocessi ng and di sposal si t es w hi ch shoul d be abl e t o
t ake care f or 20-25 year s.
lImpr ovement i n t he exi st i ng l andf i l l si t es shoul d be
t aken up on pr i or i t y.
lFi nanci al i nst i t ut i ons may be appr oached f or seeki ng
l oans and St at e Gover nment s may make ar rangement s
w i t h such i nst i t ut i ons f or t he assi st ance of l ocal bodi es.
lLocal bodi es shoul d seek aut hor i zat i on f r om concer ned
SPCB and i nt eract w i t h SPCB f or seeki ng assi st ance f or
ensur i ng pr oper management of M SW.
lTrai ni ng programmes/ wor kshops shoul d be or gani zed
j oi nt l y by Di r ect o r at e of Local / M uni ci pal
Admi ni st rat i on and SPCB f or benef i t of st af f at al l l evel .
lLo cal b o d i es sh o u l d o r gan i ze aw ar en ess an d
i nt eract i on pr ogrammes w i t h NGOs and ci t i zen f or ums
f or i mpr ovi ng exi st i ng syst ems.
lTher e i s need t o st r engt hen capaci t y by pr ovi di ng
adequat e i nf rast r uct ur e of CPCB, SPCBs and ur ban l ocal
bodi es f or bet t er sol i d wast e management . Ther e i s a
need of enf or ci ng compl i ance of var i ous r ul es.
The f or est pr oduct i vi t y i n Indi a i s l ow compared t o t he
gl obal average. The M ean Annual Incr ement (M AI), a
measur e of f or est pr oduct i vi t y, i s 0.7 cu m/ ha. f or Indi an
f or est s as agai nst t he w or l d average of 2.1 cu m/ ha. Thi s has
r esul t ed i n a demand-suppl y gap i n var i ous f or est pr oduct s,
t hus l eadi ng t o f or est degradat i on.
Th o u gh o w n er sh i p o f f o r est s i s l ar gel y w i t h t h e
Gover nment , w i t h f or est depar t ment s bei ng t he bi ggest
cu st o d i an , t h er e i s an i n cr easi n g i nvo l vem en t o f
communi t i es i n management of f or est s over t he year s. The
JFM p r o gr am m e i s e m e r gi n g as t h e al t e r n at i v e
management st rat egy i n Indi a. It i s est i mat ed t hat ar ound
one l akh Joi nt For est M anagement Commi t t ees (JFM Cs)
f or med under JFM ar e managi ng ar ound 28% of t he t ot al
f or est ar ea of t he count r y, i n col l aborat i on w i t h t he st at e
f or est depar t ment s. However, 69% of t he f or est ar ea
co n t i n u e s t o b e m a n a ge d b y t h e go v e r n m e n t ,
pr edomi nant l y by t he f or est depar t ment s.
4.7 For est r y
4.7.1 Low Pr oduct i vi t y
4.7.2 Ow ner shi p and M anagement
4.8 Bi odi ver si t y and Wi l dl i f e
4.9 Bi osaf et y
Human act i vi t i es, bot h di r ect l y and i ndi r ect l y, r esponsi bl e
f or cur r ent hi gh r at es of bi odi ver si t y l oss ar e - habi t at l oss;
f r agm ent at i o n an d d egr ad at i o n d u e t o agr i cu l t u r al
act i vi t i es; ext r act i on (i ncl udi ng mi ni ng, f i shi ng, l oggi ng and
h ar vest i n g); an d d evel o p m ent (h u m an set t l em ent s,
i ndust r y and associ at ed i nf rast r uct ur e). Habi t at l oss and
f ragment at i on l eads t o t he f or mat i on of i sol at ed, smal l and
scat t er ed popul at i ons. Some of t he maj or i ssues ar e:
lPoachi ng, hunt i ng, smuggl i ng and i l l egal t rade i n
w i l dl i f e and i t s der i vat i ves
lCont rol and Er adi cat i on of For est Invasi ve speci es
lFor est f i r e cont r ol and management
lOver -expl oi t at i on of w i l d bi o r esour ces
lConser vat i on and Rest or at i on of Uni que Veget at i on &
Ecosyst ems
lPol l ut i on of at mosphere, wat er , soi l and Gl obal cl i mat e
change
lM ai nst r eam t he concer ns of t i ger i n t he l andscape
sur r oundi ng such sour ce si t es t hr ough r est or at i ve
act i ons, w hi l e pr ovi di ng l i vel i hood opt i ons t o l ocal
peopl e t o r educe t hei r dependency on f or est s.
lSt r engt heni ng of ant i -poachi ng act i vi t i es, i ncl udi ng
speci al st rat egy f or monsoon pat rol l i ng, by pr ovi di ng
f undi ng suppor t t o t i ger r eser ve st at es, f or depl oyment
of ant i -poachi ng squads i nvol vi ng ex-ar my per sonnel /
home guar ds, apar t f r om w or kf or ce compr i si ng
l o cal p eo p l e, i n ad d i t i o n t o st r en gt h en i n g o f
communi cat i on/ w i r el ess f aci l i t i es.
Bi ot echnol ogy i s a ver y new f i el d, and much about t he
i nt eract i on of GM Os w i t h var i ous ecosyst ems i s not yet
know n. Some of t he concer ns about t he new t echnol ogy
i ncl ude i t s pot ent i al adver se ef f ect s on bi ol ogi cal di ver si t y
i ncl udi ng agr o-bi odi ver si t y and pot ent i al r i sks t o human
heal t h. Pot ent i al ar eas of concer n mi ght be uni nt ended
changes i n t he compet i t i veness, vi r ul ence, or ot her
charact er i st i cs of t he t ar get speci es; t he possi bi l i t y of
adver se i mpact s on non-t ar get speci es (such as benef i ci al
i nsect s) and ecosyst ems; t he pot ent i al f or w eedi ness i n
genet i cal l y modi f i ed cr ops (w her e a pl ant becomes mor e
i nvasi ve t han t he or i gi nal , per haps by t ransfer r i ng i t s genes
t o w i l d r el at i ves); and t he st abi l i t y of i nser t ed genes (t he
possi bi l i t i es t hat a gene w i l l l ose i t s ef f ect i veness or w i l l be
r e-t ransfer r ed t o anot her host ).
34
Bi osaf et y concer ns have l ed t o t he devel opment of
r egul at or y r egi mes i n var i ous count r i es f or r esear ch,
t est i ng, saf e use and handl i ng of Genet i cal l y M odi f i ed
Or gani sms (GM Os) and pr oduct s t her eof. Indi a i s one of t he
ear l i est count r i es t o est abl i sh a bi osaf et y syst em f or
r egul at i on of GM Os t hr ough Rul es, 1989. Rul es, 1989 i s
i mpl ement ed t hr ough bi osaf et y gui del i nes. However, bei ng
per t ai ni ng t o a sci ent i f i c and compl ex t echni cal i ssue, t hese
pol i ci es and l aw need t o be cont i nuousl y upgr aded t aki ng
i nt o account sci ent i f i c devel opment s i n bi ot echnol ogy,
i nt er nat i onal exper i ences and commi t ment .
Indi a' s coast al zone i s endowed w i t h a w i de range of
mangr oves, coral r eef s, sea grasses, sal t mar shes, sand
dunes, est uar i es, l agoons, and uni que mar i ne and
t er r est r i al w i l dl i f e. The abundant coast al and of f shor e
mar i ne ecosyst ems i ncl ude 6,740 sq. km. of mangr oves,
i ncl udi ng par t of t he Sundar bans and t he Bhi t ar kani ka,
w hi ch ar e among t he l ar gest mangr oves i n t he w or l d.
The key i ssues i dent i f i ed f or ef f ect i ve coast al r esour ce
management i ncl ude t he f ol l ow i ng:
lM appi ng, del i neat i on and demar cat i on of t he hazar d
l i nes al l al ong t he mai nl and coast of Indi a;
lM appi ng, del i neat i on and demar cat i on, as r equi r ed, of
t he ecol ogi cal sensi t i ve ar eas (ESAs), al so al l al ong t he
mai nl and coast of Indi a;
lCapaci t y bui l di ng of t he M i ni st r y as t he secr et ar i at f or
t he NCZM A, and nat i on-w i de t rai ni ng pr ogramme f or
i nt egrat ed coast al zone management ;
lSet t i ng up and operat i onal i zat i on of t he new Nat i onal
Cent re f or Sust ai nabl e Coast al Zone M anagement .
lRegul ar and per i odi c document at i on of mangr oves and
associ at ed f l ora and f auna.
lCapaci t y-bui l di ng per t ai ni ng t o bi o-pr ospect i ng f or
dr ugs and ot her usef ul compounds f r om mar i ne f l ora
and f auna, pat ent i ng usef ul i nnovat i ons as may be
4.10 Coast al Resour ce M anagement
appr opr i at e i ncl udi ng, i nt er al i a, benef i t -shar i ng w i t h
t he l ocal communi t i es.
lAnnual moni t or i ng of mangr ove cover i s necessar y and
ever y st at e shoul d use t he exi st i ng capabi l i t i es or
devel op r el evant capabi l i t i es.
lPr oper i nst i t ut i onal mechani sms need t o be devel oped
f o r i nvo l vi ng l o cal st akeho l der s, i ncl udi ng l o cal
c o m m u n i t i e s, i n m a n g r o v e r e st o r a t i o n a n d
conser vat i on pr ogrammes. The mangr ove pl ant at i on
pr ogramme shoul d have t he obj ect i ve of i ncr easi ng
f l oral di ver si t y i n addi t i on t o i ncr easi ng t he mangr ove
cover.
lCapaci t y-bui l di ng of t he f r ont l i ne f or est r y st af f f or coral
moni t or i ng t hr ough per i odi c up-gr adat i on of t hei r ski l l s
and know l edge, t o ensur e t he enf or cement of var i ous
r ul es and r egul at i ons t o pr ot ect t he pr eci ous coast al
r esour ces, t o cr eat e pol i cy pr ovi si ons f or mangr oves
t hat occur on pr i vat el y-ow ned l ands, and r evenue l ands
among ot her s. Economi c eval uat i on of conser vi ng
coast al and mar i ne bi ol ogi cal r esour ces.
Gi ven t he vul nerabi l i t y of l ar ge sect i ons of popul at i on t o
cl i mat e change, and keepi ng i n mi nd t he nat i onal and st at e
st rat egy t o addr ess cl i mat e change as r ef l ect ed i n t he
NAPCC, t he key chal l enges t hat have t o be addr essed by
var i ous st akehol der s i n t he shor t t er m ar e:
lHow shoul d w e i nvol ve var i ous st akehol der s i n
i mpl ement i ng NAPCC and SAPCC?
lHow shoul d Indi a achi eve a l ow -emi ssi on sust ai nabl e
d evel o p m ent gr o w t h m o d el u si n g a vo l u nt ar y
appr oach?
Answer s t o t hese t w o quest i ons w i l l hel p t he economy and
i t s var i ous sect or s t o gr ow sust ai nabl y, w hi l e enhanci ng t he
capaci t y of t he soci et y and st akehol der s at var i ous l evel s t o
adapt t o adver se ef f ect s of cl i mat e change.
4.11 Cl i mat e Change
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Paryavaran Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi - 110 003, India
http://www.moef.gov.in

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