ndia has some of the world's most biodiverse ecozones—desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical

and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers and an island
archipelago. It hosts three biodiverse hotspots: the Western Ghats, the Himalayas and the Indo-
Burma region. These hotspots have numerous endemic species.[2]

In 1992, around 7,43,534 km2 of land in the country was under forests and 92 percent of that
belonged to the government. Only 22.7 percent was forested compared to the recommended 33
percent by the National Forest Policy Resolution (1952). Majority of it are broad-leaved deciduous
trees which comprise one-sixth sal and one-tenth teak. Coniferous types are found in the northern
high altitude regions and comprise pines, junipers and deodars.[3]

There are 350 species of mammals, 375 reptiles, 130 amphibians, 20,000 insects, 19000 fish[4] and
1200 species of birds in India. The Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger and leopard are the main predators; the
country has the most species of cats than any other.[5] Elephants, the Indian Rhinoceros and eight
species of deer are also found.[6]

There are over 17000 species of flowering plants in India, which account for six percent of the total
plant species in the world. India comprises seven percent of world's flora. Wide range of climatic
conditions in India gave rise to rich variety of flora. India covers more than 45,000 species of flora,
out of which several are endemic to the region. India is divided into eight main floristic regions:
North-Western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Indus plain, Ganga plain, the Deccan, the
Malabar and the Andamans.[7]

Geography

Main article: Geography of India

India lies on the Indian Plate, the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate, whose continental
crust forms the Indian subcontinent. The country is situated north of the equator between 8°4' and
37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the
world, with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi).[8] India measures 3,214
km (1,997 mi) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 mi) from east to west. It has a land frontier
of 15,200 km (9,445 mi) and a coastline of 7,517 km (4,671 mi).

The formation of the Himalayas (pictured) during the Early Eocene some 52 mya was a key factor in
determining India's modern-day climate; global climate and ocean chemistry may have been
impacted too.[9]

The Indian plate and Eurasia collided between 40 and 60 million years ago according to four
observations, one being that there is no mammalian fossil record in India from around 50 million
years ago.[10] On its way, the Indian plate passed over the Reunion hotspot which led to volcanic
activity, thus forming the Deccan Traps. Its collision with the Eurasian plate led to the rise of the
Himalayas and the continuous tectonic activity still makes it an earthquake prone area. The Gangetic
plains were formed by the deposition of silt by the Ganga and its tributaries into the area between
the Himalayas and the Vindhya range.[11] The rock formations can be divided into the Archaean,
Proterozoic (Dharwar system), Cuddupah system, Vindhyan system, Gondwana system, The Deccan
Traps, Tertiary system, Pleistocene period and recent formations.[12]

The climate comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a vast geographic scale and varied
topography, making generalisations difficult. Given the size of India with the Himalayas, Arabian Sea,
Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, there is a great variation in temperature and precipitation
distribution in the subcontinent.[13] Based on the Köppen system, where the mean monthly
temperature, mean monthly rainfall and mean annual rainfall are considered, India hosts six major
climatic subtypes, ranging from arid desert in the west, alpine tundra and glaciers in the north, and
humid tropical regions supporting rainforests in the southwest and the island territories. Many
regions have starkly different microclimates. The Indian Meteorological Department divides the
seasons into four: Winter (mid-December to mid-March), Summer (mid-March to May), Rainy (June
to September), and Retreating Monsoon (October to mid-December).[13]

Issues

Main article: Environmental issues in India

Air pollution in India is a major environmental issue. Shown above is the Taj Mahal blanketed by
smog.

Pollution is one of the main environmental issues in India.

Water pollution is a major concern in the country. The major sources of water pollution are
domestic, industrial, agricultural and shipping waste waters.[14] The largest source of water
pollution in India is untreated sewage. Other sources of pollution include agricultural runoff and
unregulated small scale industry. Most rivers, lakes and surface water are polluted.

Land pollution: The main causes of soil (or land) pollution is soil erosion, excessive use of chemical
fertilisers and pesticides, accumulation of solid and liquid waste, forest fires, and water-logging. It
can be reduced by judicious use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and treatment of effluents
before being used for irrigation.[15] Due to increasing population and enhanced food grains
consumption, more and more rain fed crop lands are brought under intensive cultivation by ground
and surface water irrigation. The irrigated land is losing gradually its fertility by converting into saline
alkali soil.

Air pollution in the country is another concern. A major source is the matter released by the
combustion of fossil fuels. Airborne particles like soot, fumes and dust are potentially harmful
depending on the pollutant's chemical and physical structure. They can affect climate and reduce
scattering of solar radiation in the atmosphere.[16]

Noise pollution: This can be defined as the state of discomfort or stress caused by unwanted high
intensity sound. It increases in proportion to urbanisation and industrialisation.[15]
Climate change

Further information: Effects of global warming on South Asia

Being a developing nation, India is more vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its
dependence on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry.[17] Low per capita incomes
and small public budgets also lead to low financial adaptive capacity.[17] The nation is vulnerable to
the immediate socio-economic effects of climate change. A 2002 study indicated that the
temperature over the country increased at around 0.57° per 100 years.[17]

Inadequate infrastructure also means that people are more exposed, and less resilient, to climate
change. For example, as of 2015, only 124 million Indians were connected to a sewer and 297 million
to a septic tank.[18] The remainder depend on pit latrines or open defecation, which creates major
risks of waterborne disease during floods - which will become more frequent and severe with
climate change. These risks are more severe in urban areas, where the higher density of people
means that basic infrastructure options might not be adequate. Additionally, many Indian megacities
are in floodplains and deltas, and will therefore be very exposed to climate hazards such as sea level
rise, storm surges and cyclones.[19]

Although India still has low average incomes per person, the country is now the third largest emitter
of greenhouse gas emissions after China and the USA. The central government has pledged to
reduce the emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product by 20-25%, relative to 2005 levels, by 2020.
India has also made major pledges to expand its renewable energy supply, enhance energy
efficiency, build mass transit and other measures to reduce its emissions.[20] There is evidence that
many of these climate actions could generate substantial benefits in addition to reducing India's
carbon footprint. Many low-carbon measures are economically attractive, including more efficient
air conditioners, parking demand management, gasification and vehicle performance standards.[21]
Others offer social benefits: for example, Indian cities might see substantial improvements in air
quality if the country were to promote renewable energy technologies instead of fossil fuels and
walking/cycling/public transport instead of private vehicles.[22]

Conservation

Main article: Conservation in India

Protected areas

Main article: Protected areas of India

In 2009, around 4.8 percent of the total area of the country were designated as protected areas.
That comprised 100 national parks, 514 sanctuaries, 41 conservation reserves and four community
reserves.[23]

Policy and law

Main article: Environmental policy of the Government of India

In the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 48 says "the state shall endeavour to protect and
improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country"; Article 51-A
states that "it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural
environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living
creatures."[5]

India is one of the parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty. Prior to the CBD,
India had different laws to govern the environment. The Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972
protected the biodiversity. In addition to this act, the government passed the Environment
(Protection) Act 1986 and Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act 1992 for control of
biodiversity.[23]

Renewable energy

See also: Energy policy of India

Main article: Renewable energy in India

Renewable energy in India comes under the purview of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
India was the first country in the world to set up a ministry of non-conventional energy resources, in
the early 1980s. Its cumulative grid interactive or grid tied renewable energy capacity (excluding
large hydro) has reached 33.8 GW,[24] of which 66% comes from wind, while solar power
contributes 4.59% along with biomass and hydro power.[25]

Environmentalism

In 1973, the government launched Project Tiger, a conservation program aimed at protecting the
national animal, the tiger. Its population reached as low as 2000 in 1970. Human population growth,
cultivation of forest land and mainly hunting were the key factors for this decline. Aided by the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Indian
conservationists were instrumental in getting the government to ban hunting and set aside national
parks. Project Tiger further served as a model for protecting endangered species like the Indian
elephant and rhinoceros.[26] Around that year, after a protest in a village by the locals against
loggers sent by a company, by threatening to hug the trees, similar protests got triggered,
collectively known as the Chipko Movement. In the same year, the National Committee for
Environmental Protection and Control was formed; in 1980, a department for Environment and
finally five years later the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was formed. The
environmentalist movement in India began with these incidents.[26] Historian Ramachandra Guha
calls Medha Patkar as "the most celebrated environmental activist in contemporary India".[26] New
age India is concerned about the air and water quality, several civil society groups such as
Environmentalist Foundation of India have forged a successful community based conservation model
to revive lakes across the country.[27]