ENVIRONMENT secure a successful fifth replenishment of the Global

Environment Facility
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), 1992 and to ensure that the findings of the mid-term
review of the Resource Allocation Framework are fully
The UNFCCC was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in
take n into account;
May 1992. The objective of the Convention was to
achieve stabilization of GHG concentration in the Montreal Protocol
atmosphere
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete
The UNFCCC recognizes the legitimate need of the Ozone Layer is a landmark international
developing countries for sustained economic growth agreement designed to protect the stratospheric
and poverty alleviation. ozone layer. The treaty was originally signed in 1987
and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992. The
Article 3.1 of the UNFCCC mentions that Parties to the
Montreal Protocol stipulates that the production and
Convention should protect the climate change system
consumption of compounds that deplete ozone in the
for the benefit of present and future generations of
stratosphere--chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons,
human kind on the basis of equity and in accordance
carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform--are to
with their “common but differentiated
be phased out by 2000 (2005 for methyl chloroform).
responsibilities” and respective capabilities
Scientific theory and evidence suggest that, once
The UNFCCC Bali Climate Change Conference emitted to the atmosphere, these compounds could
(COP13) has attracted a great deal of attention significantly deplete the stratospheric ozone layer
because of the release of the Fourth Assessment that shields the planet from damaging UV-B radiation.
Reports by the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate
The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the
Change (IPCC) recently and also because of the fact
Ozone Layer (1985), which outlines states'
that the year 2007 was the year immediately
responsibilities for protecting human health and the
preceding the beginning of the first commitment
environment against the adverse effects of ozone
period under the Kyoto Protocol, i.e., 2008-2012.
depletion, established the framework under which
The principal outcomes of the Bali conference were, the Montreal Protocol was negotiated.
first, a process to determine the GHG reduction
Kyoto Protocol: The Kyoto Protocol is an international
commitments of industrialized countries (Annex I)
agreement linked to the United Nations Framework
under the Kyoto Protocol, beyond 2012 and second,
Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of
the commencement of a comprehensive dialogue on
the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37
long-term cooperative action to address four major
industrialized countries and the European community
building blocks of climate change, i.e. GHG mitigation;
for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
adaptation to climate change impacts; technology
development and cooperation; and finance.
This amount to an average of five per cent against
14th Conference of Parties at Poznan, Poland 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012

Poznan strategic programme on technology transfer
was announced as a step towards scaling up the level
of investment in technology transfer in order to help
developing countries address their needs for
environmentally sound technologies.
Developed country Parties were called upon and
other Parties were invited to make financial
contributions to the Global Environment Facility to
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on
11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16
February 2005.
184 Parties of the Convention have ratified its
Protocol to date. The detailed rules for the
implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP
7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh
Accords.”

The Kyoto mechanisms are:
• Emissions trading
• Clean development mechanism (CDM)
• Joint implementation (JI).
CDM: It allows a country with an emission-reduction
or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto
Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement an emission-
reduction project in developing countries. Such
projects can earn saleable certified emission
reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne
of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto
targets.
Joint Implementation: The mechanism known as
“joint implementation,” allows a country with an
emission reduction or limitation commitment under
the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to earn emission
reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction or
emission removal project in another Annex B Party,
each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be
counted towards meeting its Kyoto target.
IPCC report 2007
4th assessment report released report in 2007, with an
unprecedented confidence of 90% it asserted that
climate change is the result of human activities. The
Panel’s 2001 3rd AR has put the probability of climate
change resulting from human activities at 66%
While the third report relied upon 9 climate models,
the 4th used 23, considerably reducing the margin of
errors
Possibilities of warming due to natural factors like sun
spots have almost completely been eliminated,
through the use of these improved models and, then
the panel came to the conclusion that most of the
warming is human made
According to the report of the impact of the build up
of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide is now largely
undisputed. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 in
2005 was 379 ppm far exceeding the average in the
pre-industrial era of 280 ppm
Carbon Footprints
A CF is the total amount of CO2 and other greenhouse
gases, emitted over the full life cycle of process or
product.
It is expressed as the grams of CO2 equivalent per
kilowatt hour of generation, which accounts for the
different global warming effects of other green house
gases
India Approach to climate change : India’s policies for
sustainable development, by way of promoting
energy efficiency and use of sustainable development,
by way of promoting energy efficiency and use of
renewable energy, changing the fuel mix to cleaner
sources, energy pricing, pollution abatement,
Afforestation, mass transport in and of themselves
result in a relatively GHG benign growth path.
Ramesh prioritizes on reducing degraded forest cover
At present, roughly 21% of Indian geographical area
was under forest cover
“Out of the total forest cover area of our country, 2%
is good quality and high density forest cover and 10%
medium density forest area. The remaining 9% is
degraded forest cover,” he said.
“Our big challenge and objective is to reduce the
proportion of degraded forest and make good forest
cover,”
Another big challenge was to convert medium density
forest to high density forest and protect them
The Centre would soon set up a National
Environmental Protection Authority, which would be
empowered to give clearances to all environmental
issues, the minister said.
The first official report in eight years on the state of
India’s environment was released last week.
It says that nearly half of the country’s land is
degraded “due to erosion, soil acidity, alkalinity,
salinity, water logging and wind erosion”. Air pollution
too is increasing.
Last week also saw the publication of research that
used satellite images to show that groundwater is
being depleted at a horrific rate in north India. The
scientists who did the research said this loss is due to
human activity rather than climate change.
Government plans to set up a US-style Environmental
Protection Agency as well as special green courts.
These would be welcome.
But law and regulation is only half the answer. We
also need economic incentives to raise the cost of
pollution and groundwater usage. That will mean
taking a hard look at everything from free power to
cheap fertilizers and rundown public transport
systems.
MEF Declaration
The crux of the MEF declaration is a clear
acknowledgement that the increase in global average
temperatures above pre-industrial levels should not
exceed 2 degrees Celsius and that both developed and
developing countries need to work towards this goal.
The declaration begins by reiterating the principle of
common but differentiated responsibility between
developed and developing countries.
National Action Plan on Climate Change
Water Issues
The study of three states in northwest India, including
the capital New Delhi, found that water was being
extracted at an unsustainable rate as the region
undergoes rapid economic development.
Satellite and land data between 2002 and 2008
showed that the groundwater level was being
depleted by about four centimeters a year said the
report by three US scientists and published in Nature
magazine.
The extraction in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab and
Haryana
Bill to set up national green tribunal gets cabinet
approval
It will effectively replace government bodies such as
the National Environment Appellate Authority.
The tribunal, which will have the same powers as a
civil court, will subsume various state-level authorities
that address environmental issues as well as
committees created by the Supreme Court for that
purpose. Judgements handed by the tribunal could
only be challenged in the country’s apex court.
Is goal of 2 degrees Celsius cap a political delusion?
By 2050, emissions would need to be cut by 50%
below 1990 levels and be zero or negative by 2100.
Massive efforts would be needed right away,” says
WDR.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel similar to conventional
or ‘fossil’ diesel. Biodiesel can be produced from
straight vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow and
waste cooking oil. The process used to convert these
oils to Biodiesel is called transesterification. This
process is described in more detail below. The largest
possible source of suitable oil comes from oil crops
such as rapeseed, palm or soybean
Biodiesel has many environmentally beneficial
properties. The main benefit of biodiesel is that it can
be described as ‘carbon neutral’. This means that the
fuel produces no net output of carbon in the form of
carbon dioxide (CO2). This effect occurs because
when the oil crop grows it absorbs the same amount
of CO2 as is released when the fuel is combusted.
Biodiesel is rapidly biodegradable and completely
non-toxic, meaning spillages represent far less of a
risk than fossil diesel spillages. Biodiesel has a higher
flash point than fossil diesel and so is safer in the
event of a crash.
The Ramsar Convention
The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) --
called the "Ramsar Convention" -- is an
intergovernmental treaty that embodies the
commitments of its member countries to maintain the
ecological character of their Wetlands of International
Importance and to plan for the "wise use", or
sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their
territories. Unlike the other global environmental
conventions, Ramsar is not affiliated with the United
Nations system of Multilateral Environmental
Agreements, but it works very closely with the other
MEAs and is a full partner among the "biodiversity-
related cluster" of treaties and agreements.
Biodiversity Conservation
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), one of
the key agreements adopted during the Earth Summit
held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, is the first
comprehensive global agreement which addresses all
aspects relating to biodiversity.
Three main goals;
 The conservation of biological diversity
 The sustainable use of its components
 The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits
from the use of genetic resources
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) set up at
Chennai on 1st October, 2003 as per the provisions of
the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is mandated to
facilitate implementation of the Act.
CARTAGENA BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the first
international regulatory framework for safe transfer,
handling and use of living Modified Organisms (LMOs)
was negotiated under the aegis of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD).
The Protocol was adopted on 29th January, 2000. One
hundred and forty three countries have signed the
Protocol..
FOREST CONSERVATION
The mandate of the Forest Conservation Division is to
implement the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which
was enacted on 25 October, 1980.
This Act deals with grant of forestry clearances for
diversion of forest lands for non-forestry purposes in
respect of development projects like power, roads,
railways, irrigation, mining, schools, defence, drinking
water, resettlement & rehabilitation of people etc.
INTEGRATED FOREST PROTECTION SCHEME
Integrated Forest Protection Scheme (IFPS) was being
implemented during the X Five Year Plan and is being
continued during XI Plan.
The Planning Commission has suggested to rename
the Scheme as “Intensification of Forest
Management” during 11th Five Year Plan.
It is proposed to broad base the scheme by including
following two new components in addition to the
existing components of IFPS i.e. Infrastructure
Development & Forest Fire Control Management.
FOREST POLICY
and adopted by General Assembly. The Government
of India has assigned the ownership of minor forest
produce to the people living in and around forests for
the purpose of collection, processing, trade and
marketing through a national level legislation named
as the Scheduled tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest rights) Act, 2006.
This will help the forest dependent people to improve
their economy, and will also enhance contribution of
forests towards achievement of Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Realizing the gigantic task of managing our Protected
Areas, the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016)
was adopted in 2002, emphasizing the peoples
participation and their support for wildlife
conservation.
The wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been
constituted through amendment of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972 in 2008.
India is a party to five major international conventions
related to wildlife conservation,
1. Convention of International Trade in
Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora
(CITES).
2. International Union for Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (IUCN).
3. International whaling Commission (IWC),
4. United Nations Educational, Scientific &
Cultural Organization-world Heritage
Committee (UNESCO-WHC)
5. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
Project Tiger
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Project Tiger’ was
launched in April, 1973 with the objective ‘to ensure
maintenance of the viable population of Tigers in
India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and
ecological values, and to preserve for all times, areas
of biological importance as a national heritage for the
benefit, education and enjoyment of the people”.
Constitution of the National Tiger conservation
Authority with effect from 4,09,2006,
PROJECT ELEPHANT
Project Elephant was launched in February, 1992 to
assist States having free ranging populations of wild
elephants to ensure long term survival of identified
viable populations of elephants in their natural
habitats.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)
Environmental Impact Assessment is a process by
which the developmental activities are appraised by
the Ministry.
This is to ensure that environment concerns are
integrated in the developmental activities in order to
achieve sustainable development.
The process of EIA which was started in 1978-79 with
river valley projects has now extended to about 39
activities.
The major statutory regulations governing EIA are
EIA Notification of 2006 and Coastal Regulation Zone
(CRZ) Notification 1991
NATIONAL RIVER CONSERVATION DIRECTORATE
(NRCD)
The National River Conservation Directorate,
functioning under the Ministry is engaged in
implementing the River and Lake Action Plans under
the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) &
National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) by providing
assistance to the State Governments.
NATIONAL WETLANDS CONSERVATIONPROGRAM
The scheme on conservation and management of
Wetlands was initiated in 1987 to lay down policy
guidelines for implementing programs of conservation
and management of wetlands in the country, to
undertake priority wetlands for intensive conservation
measures.
To monitor Implementation of the Programme of
conservation, management and research, and to
prepare an inventory of Indian wetlands
NATIONAL AFFORESTATION AND ECO-
DEVELOPMENT BOARD
In order to promote forestation, tree planting
ecological restoration and eco development activities
in the country
The National Afforestation and Eco-development
Board (NAEB) was set up in August 1992 for
promoting Special attention is also being given by the
NAEB to the regeneration of degraded forest areas
and lands adjoining forest areas, national parks,
sanctuaries and other protected areas as well as the
ecologically fragile areas like the Western Himalayas,
Aravallis, Western Ghats etc.