IASmocks

Presents

Last Minute Revision Notes

Environment
(Acts + Treaties +Organizations + CA)
for
UPSC CS Prelims 2019

- Pizzza
 Acts & Policies of India (Environment)
1) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
a) "environment" includes water, air and land and the inter- relationship which exists among and
between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and
property;
b) "hazardous substance" means any substance or preparation which, by reason of its chemical or
physico-chemical properties or handling, is liable to cause harm to human beings, other living
creatures, plant, micro-organism, property or the environment;
c) Central govt may establish environmental laboratories or recognize existing ones under this act.
d) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each Hose
of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one
session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any
modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall
thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so,
however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of
anything previously done under that rule.
e) The Act was last amended in 1991.
2) Water (Pollution and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 – Deals with creation of Central pollution control
board (CPCB), its functions, funds, laboratories and other such things. It was last amended in 1987.
3) Air (Pollution and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
a) "air pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance 2[(including noise)] present in the
atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living
creatures or plants or property or environment;
b) "air pollution" means the presence in the atmosphere of any air
c) Deals with creation of central and state boards for control of water pollution.
d) The Act was last amended in 2003.
4) The central government has released Noise pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000 under the
provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
5) Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management &Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016
a) The ambit of the Rules has been expanded by including ‘Other Waste’.
b) The following waste items have been prohibited from import:
i) Waste edible fats and oil of animals, or vegetable origin;
ii) Household waste;
iii) Critical Care Medical equipment;
iv) Tyres for direct re-use purpose;
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v) Solid Plastic wastes including Pet bottles;

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vi) Waste electrical and electronic assemblies scrap;

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 vii) Other chemical wastes especially in solvent form.
c) Hazardous waste means any waste, which by reason of characteristics, such as physical, chemical,
biological, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive, causes danger to health, or
environment. It comprises the waste generated during the manufacturing processes of the
commercial products such as industries involved in petroleum refining, production of
pharmaceuticals, petroleum, paint, aluminium, electronic products etc.
6) Solid waste management rules 2016
a) The Rules are now applicable beyond Municipal areas and extend to urban agglomerations, census
towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, airbase,
Port and harbour, defence establishments, special economic zones, State and Central government
organizations, places of pilgrims, religious & historical importance.
b) The source segregation of waste has been mandated to channelize the waste to wealth by
recovery, reuse and recycle.
c) Responsibilities of Generators have been introduced to segregate waste in to three streams, Wet
(Biodegradable), Dry (Plastic, Paper, metal, wood, etc.) and domestic hazardous wastes (diapers,
napkins, empty containers of cleaning agents, mosquito repellents, etc.) and handover segregated
wastes to authorized rag-pickers or waste collectors or local bodies.
d) Integration of waste pickers/ ragpickers and waste dealers/ Kabadiwalas in the formal system
should be done by State Governments, and Self-Help Group, or any other group to be formed.
e) The bio-degradable waste should be processed, treated and disposed of through composting or bio-
methanation within the premises as far as possible.
f) Non-recyclable waste having calorific value of 1500 K/cal/kg or more shall not be disposed of on
landfills and shall only be utilized for generating energy either or through refuse derived fuel or by
giving away as feed stock for preparing refuse derived fuel.
7) Biomedical waste management rules 2018
a) Bio-medical waste generators including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, dispensaries, veterinary
institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories, blood banks, health care facilities, and clinical
establishments will have to phase out chlorinated plastic bags (excluding blood bags) and gloves by
March 27, 2019.
b) All healthcare facilities shall make available the annual report on its website within a period of two
years from the date of publication of the Bio-Medical Waste Management (Amendment) Rules,
2018.
c) Operators of common bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facilities shall establish bar coding
and global positioning system for handling of bio-medical waste in accordance with guidelines
issued by the Central Pollution Control Board by March 27, 2019.
d) Every occupier, i.e. a person having administrative control over the institution and the premises
generating biomedical waste shall pre-treat the laboratory waste, microbiological waste, blood
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samples, and blood bags through disinfection or sterilization on-site in the manner as prescribed by

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 the World Health Organization (WHO) or guidelines on safe management of wastes from health
care activities and WHO Blue Book 2014 and then sent to the Common bio-medical waste
treatment facility for final disposal.
8) Plastic waste management rules 2016
a) Increase minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 microns and stipulate minimum
thickness of 50 micron for plastic sheets also to facilitate collection and recycle of plastic waste,
b) To promote use of plastic waste for road construction as per Indian Road Congress guidelines or
energy recovery, or waste to oil etc. for gainful utilization of waste and also address the waste
disposal issue;
c) Phasing out of manufacture and use of non- recyclable multilayered plastic
9) E Waste management rules 2016
a) will now include Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury containing lamps
b) Manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) have been
introduced as additional stakeholders in the rules.
10) Construction & Demolition waste management rules 2016
a) Applies to everyone who generates construction and demolition waste.
b) Large generators (who generate more than 20 tons or more in one day or 300 tons per project in a
month) shall submit waste management plan and get appropriate approvals from the local authority
before starting construction or demolition or remodeling work,
11) The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts implemented under the
British. The most famous one was the Indian Forest Act of 1878. Both the 1878 act and the 1927 act
sought to consolidate and reserve the areas having forest cover, or significant wildlife, to regulate
movement and transit of forest produce, and duty leviable on timber and other forest produce. It also
defines the procedure to be followed for declaring an area to be a Reserved Forest, a Protected Forest
or a Village Forest. It defines what is a forest offence, what are the acts prohibited inside a Reserved
Forest, and penalties leviable on violation of the provisions of the Act.
12) The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006, is a key piece of forest legislation passed in India on 18 December 2006. It has also been called
the Forest Rights Act, the Tribal Rights Act, the Tribal Bill, and the Tribal Land Act. The law concerns
the rights of forest-dwelling communities to land and other resources, denied to them over decades as a
result of the continuance of colonial forest laws in India.
a) Features
i) Local self-governance + livelihood security
ii) Community rights + individual rights
iii) Intellectual property rights
iv) Rights of displaced communities
v) Nodal agency is ministry of Tribal affairs
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vi) Applicable for tribal and other traditional forest dwelling communities.

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 vii) Rights to those who have resided in forests for at least 75 years before 2005.
viii) Maximum limit on forest land for recognizing rights is 4 hectares.
ix) National parks and sanctuaries have been included along with reserve forest, protected forests
for the recognition of rights.
x) Minor forest produce to include non-timber forest produce.
xi) Gram sabha is the designated authority for initiating the process of recognition of rights.
13) National forest policy
a) NFP of 1988 focussed on Conservation + Monitoring + Sustainability + increase in productivity of
forests.
b) Draft National forest policy was released in 2018 that proposes to restrict “schemes and projects
which interfere with forests that cover steep slopes, catchments of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs,
geologically unstable terrain and such other ecologically sensitive areas".
i) It also suggests setting up of two national-level bodies—National Community Forest
Management (CFM) Mission and National Board of Forestry (NBF)—for better management of
the country’s forests.
ii) It continues with the target of having 33% of India’s geographical area under forest and tree
cover and in the hills and mountainous regions, the aim will be to maintain two-thirds of the area
under forest and tree cover.
14) The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India for preservation of biological
diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of
traditional biological resources and knowledge. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party.
a) The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)is a statutory autonomous body, headquartered in
Chennai, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India established in 2003
to implement the provisions under the Act. State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) has been created in 29
States along with 31,574 Biological management committees (for each local body) across India.
15) Coastal regulation zone (CRZ) rules
a) As per the notification, the coastal land up to 500m from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of
100m along banks of creeks, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations, is called
the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).
b) CRZ – I: Ecologically sensitive area like mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, mudflats, protect
areas (NPs, WSs etc), Salt marshes, turtle nest grounds etc.
c) CRZ – II: Built up municipal areas.
d) CRZ – III: Rural areas
i) CRZ-III A - These are densely populated rural areas with a population density of 2161 per
square kilometre as per 2011 Census. Such areas shall have a No Development Zone (NDZ) of
50 meters from the HTL as against 200 meters from the High Tide Line stipulated in the CRZ
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Notification, 2011 since such areas have similar characteristics as urban areas.

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 ii) CRZ-III B - Rural areas with population density of below 2161 per square kilometre as per 2011
Census. Such areas shall continue to have an NDZ of 200 meters from the HTL.
iii) Temporary tourism facilities such as shacks, toilet blocks, change rooms, drinking water facilities
etc. have now been permitted in Beaches. Such temporary tourism facilities are also now
permissible in the "No Development Zone" (NDZ) of the CRZ-III areas as per the Notification.
However, a minimum distance of 10 m from HTL should be maintained for setting up of such
facilities.
e) CRZ – IV: The aquatic area from low tide line up to territorial limits including the area of the tidal
influenced water body.
f) The procedure for CRZ clearances has been streamlined. Only such projects/activities, which are
located in the CRZ-I (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) and CRZ IV (area covered between Low Tide
Line and 12 Nautical Miles seaward) shall be dealt with for CRZ clearance by the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The powers for clearances with respect to CRZ-II and III
have been delegated at the State level with necessary guidance.
g) A No Development Zone (NDZ) of 20 meters has been stipulated for all Islands
h) As per CRZ, 2011 Notification, for CRZ-II (Urban) areas, Floor Space Index (FSI) or the Floor Area
Ratio (FAR) had been frozen as per 1991 Development Control Regulation (DCR) levels. In the
CRZ, 2018 Notification, it has been decided to de-freeze the same and permit FSI for construction
projects, as prevailing on the date of the new Notification. This will enable redevelopment of these
areas to meet the emerging needs.
16) Wetlands (Conservation and management) rules 2017
a) The new rules, notified by the environment ministry, decentralise wetlands management by giving
states powers to not only identify and notify wetlands within their jurisdictions but also keep a watch
on prohibited activities.
b) National wetland committee will replace central wetlands regulatory authority
c) Definition of wetlands: areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial,
permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas
of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.
17) The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for the conservation
of forests and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It was further amended
in 1988. This law extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It was enacted
by Parliament of India to control further deforestation of Forest Areas in India. The act came into force
on 25 October 1980.
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 Environmental Organisations

1) Animal welfare board of India (Statutory)

a) Located in Haryana.
b) Established under prevention of cruelty to animal act, 1960.
2) Central Zoo authority (Statutory – under wildlife (protection) act, 1972)
3) National biodiversity authority (Statutory and autonomous – under Biological diversity act, 2002)
4) Wildlife crime control bureau (Statutory – under wildlife (protection) act, 1972)
5) National ganga river basic authority (NGRBA)
a) Statutory under Environment (Protection) act, 1986
b) PM is the chairman
6) The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was established at Dehradun in 1982. In 1986, it was granted the
status of an autonomous Institution of the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
It is a non-statutory organization.
7) The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), statutory organisation, was constituted in September,
1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Further, CPCB was entrusted
with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
8) The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body of the Ministry, with an
overarching supervisory / coordination role, performing functions as provided in the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972. Its chairperson is the minister of MoEFCC.
9) Wlidlife trust of India (NGO)
10) International fund for animal welfare (IFAW) is an NGO.
11) The Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-
governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It is a partner of
Birdlife International in India.
12) Birdlife International (NGO)
a) It is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats,
and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.
b) It is the official listing authority for birds in IUCN’s red list.
c) It identifies important bird and biodiversity areas.
d) BirdLife’s Forests of Hope Programme aims to prevent deforestation, protect trees and to restore
natural forests in the tropics.
13) Mission blue (NGO)
a) To establish marine protected areas called as hope spots around the globe.
b) Hope Spots are special places that are critical to the health of the ocean — Earth's blue heart.
c) Andaman & Nicobar declared as hope spot.
14) Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event
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is held annually encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric
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 lights, for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on a specific day towards the end of March, as a symbol of
commitment to the planet.
15) The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in
1961, working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the
environment.
16) Biofuelwatch is a non-governmental environmental organization based in the United Kingdom and the
United States, which works to raise awareness of the negative impacts of industrial biofuels and
bioenergy, on biodiversity, human rights, food sovereignty and climate change, human rights abuses,
the impoverishment and dispossession of local populations, water and soil degradation, loss of food
sovereignty and loss of food security.
17) Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization with a vision – that
agricultural biodiversity nourishes people and sustains the planet. The organization delivers scientific
evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to
attain global food and nutrition security, working with partners in low-income countries in different
regions where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and
climate change adaptation. Climate Action Network–International (CAN) is an umbrella group of
environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active on the issue of climate change.
18) Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in
Arlington, Virginia. Its goal is to protect nature as a source of food, fresh water, livelihoods and a stable
climate.
19) Wetlands International is a global organisation that works to sustain and restore wetlands and their
resources for people and biodiversity. It is an independent, not-for-profit, global organisation, supported
by government and NGO membership from around the world.
20) Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy
organisation based in New Delhi, India. It received Indira Gandhi Peace Prize in 2018.
21) The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based (Inter-governmental) international
organization headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The organization aims to promote green growth, a
growth paradigm that is characterized by a balance of economic growth and environmental
sustainability.
22) Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are meant to
promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to
non-forest uses.
23) National green tribunal
a) Established under national green tribunal act 2010.
b) Effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of
forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment
and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected
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 c) It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes
involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down
under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
d) The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally
within 6 months of filing of the same.
e) It has both judicial and expert members
f) Chairman is a judicial member and he should be a serving or retired judge of the supreme court of
India or a serving or retired chief justice of a high court.
g) Other judicial members should be at least a serving or retired judge of a high court.
h) Expert members should have master’s degree and 15 years of experience in environment related
activities or have 15 years of experiences in administration dealing with environment related
activities.
24) TRAFFIC is a leading NGO working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both
biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It was founded in 1976 as a strategic alliance of
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN).
25) CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also
known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.
It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
26) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an agency of the United Nations, coordinates
the organization's environmental activities and assists developing countries in implementing
environmentally sound policies and practices.
27) The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is an intergovernmental organization that
promotes conservation of tropical forest resources and their sustainable management, use and trade.
28) Coalition against wildlife trafficking (CAWT) was established in 2005 by a group of governments,
non-government organisations, and industry representatives to combat illicit wildlife trafficking by
stimulating political will, improving law enforcement, and reducing consumer demand.
29) South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) is an inter-governmental wildlife law
enforcement support body of South Asian countries namely - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAWEN was officially launched in January, 2011 in Paro
Bhutan. It promotes regional cooperation to combat wildlife crime in South Asia. SAWEN operates its
activities from the Secretariat based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
30) The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) is a high-level intergovernmental policy forum. Its
parent organization is UNESCO.
31) The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union uniquely
composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-
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 governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic
development and nature conservation to take place together.
a) IUCN World Conservation Congress – Held once in four years. Next one will be in France in 2020.
b) Publications (Conservation tools)
i) Red list of threatened species
ii) Red list of ecosystems
iii) World Heritage outlook
iv) The World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas™ hosts data on Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).
This database can support strategic decisions on protected areas by governments or civil
society towards achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets. It also guides the identification of sites
under international conventions and in the setting of private sector policies and standards. The
database is managed by the KBA Partnership, which comprises 11 founding partners and is
served by the KBA secretariat hosted jointly by BirdLife International and IUCN.
v) Protected Planet is the online visual interface for the World Database on Protected Areas
(WDPA), a joint project of IUCN and UNEP. It is the most comprehensive global database on
terrestrial and marine protected areas based on data that has been compiled since 1981
working with governments and NGOs.
vi) ECOLEX has been designed to be the most comprehensive global source of information on
national and international environmental law. It is a web-based environmental law information
service, operated jointly by FAO, IUCN and UNEP since 2001. It is a platform that synergizes
information on environmental law collected through FAOLEX (FAO), ELIS (IUCN) and InforMEA
(UNEP).
vii) PANORAMA promotes inspiring, replicable solutions across a range of conservation and
development topics and makes them available to anyone looking to improve the impact of their
conservation and sustainable development efforts. The PANORAMA web platform features
more than 500 well-curated case studies from around the world.
viii) InfoFLR – Forest Landscape restoration resource
ix) ROAM – Restoration opportunities assessment methodology
x) BIOPAMA Reference information system
32) The International Whaling Commission (IWC) The IWC is the global body charged with the
conservation of whales and the management of whaling
33) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United
Nations, dedicated to providing the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change, its natural,
political and economic impacts and risks, and possible response options. It was established in 1988 by
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. Membership is open to all
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 a) It has so far published 5 assessment reports. 5th one was published in 2015 and 6th will be
published in 2022.
b) The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15) was published by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 8 October 2018.
c) Its key finding is that meeting a 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) target is possible but would require "deep emissions
reductions" and "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society."
34) UNCCD - Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is
the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable
land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas,
known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found. Its
COPs are held biennially and the last one was held in China in 2017. The next one (COP 14) will be
held in New Delhi in 2019.
a) The Global Mechanism (GM) was established under Article 21 of the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to assist countries in the mobilization of financial resources to
implement the Convention and address desertification, land degradation and drought.
b) Ankara initiative (COP 12) and Changwon initiative (COP 10)
35) The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that
leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
a) Action Against Desertification is an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
(ACP) to restore drylands and degraded lands in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to tackle the
detrimental social, economic and environmental impact of land degradation and desertification.
b) The Global Sustainable Fisheries Management and Conservation in the Areas Beyond National
Jurisdiction Program (ABNJ) – commonly referred to as the Common Oceans ABNJ Program – is a
broad-scale, innovative approach to achieve efficient and sustainable management of fisheries
resources and biodiversity conservation in marine areas that do not fall under the responsibility of
any one country.
c) In 2001, FAO launched a multidisciplinary initiative “Food for the Cities” which aims at addressing
the challenges that urbanization brings to the urban and rural population, as well as the
environment, by building more sustainable and resilient food systems.
d) GLOBEFISH - Information and Analysis on World Fish Trade
e) FAO is implementing the Global Forest Survey (GFS) project with the support of the International
Climate Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety (BMUB) of Germany. The mission of the GFS is to establish a global network of
systematic sampling plots to understand forest ecosystems characteristics and health status at
regional/biomes level, i.e. independently of country borders.
f) Incentives for Ecosystem Services (IES) are packages of measures that aim to support farmers in
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 g) The Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) programme strengthens FAO’s
longstanding work to address climate change in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors and
supports countries participating in the climate change negotiation processes within the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
h) The Modelling System for Agricultural Impacts of Climate Change (MOSAICC) is an integrated
package of models which allows users to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture.
i) SALSA research project aims to provide a better understanding of the current and potential
contribution of small farms and food businesses to sustainable food and nutrition security in 25
regions of Europe and five in Africa. FAO’s main role is to coordinate the communications and joint
learning of the project, and assist linking research work on enabling policies to FAO SP1 work.
j) NADHALI project - Developing Sustainable Food Systems for Urban Areas: Piloting a holistic
approach in Nairobi (Kenya), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Lima (Peru)
k) The Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP): a G20 initiative to promote agricultural innovation in the
tropics.
l) Publications of FAO:
i) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)
ii) The State of the World's Forests (SOFO)
iii) The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)
iv) The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA)
v) The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO)

Environmental treaties

Name Adopted Description

RAMSAR convention
Stockholm declaration
World Heritage Convention
CITES
(Washington convention)
Bonn Convention
Year
1971 For conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.
It was held in Ramsar, Iran.
It maintains Montreux record.
1972 United Nations conference on the Human environment
1973 Legally binding.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
1979 Treaty under the aegis of UNEP.
Convention on migratory species.
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Nairobi declaration 1982 Sustainable development

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 Vienna convention for the
protection of ozone layer
Montreal protocol
Brundtland report
Basel Convention
UN Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED)
UNFCCC
Convention on biological diversity
Kyoto Protocol
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1985 Not legally binding
1987 Protocol on substances that deplete ozone layer
Legally binding
1987 Sustainable development
1989 Convention on the control of transboundary movements
on hazardous wastes and their disposal.
It does not deal with the radioactive waste.
1992 Held in Rio De Janeiro, also called as Earth Summit
Agenda 21 was published for sustainable development
(Non-binding). Also called RIO declaration.
1992 Adopted before Earth Summit and opened for signature
in Earth summit.
Objective is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations
in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system"
The framework sets non-binding limits on greenhouse
gas emissions for individual countries and contains no
enforcement mechanisms. Instead, the framework
outlines how specific international treaties (called
"protocols" or "Agreements") may be negotiated to
specify further action towards the objective of the
UNFCCC
It is located in Bonn, Germany. It came into force in
1994.
1992 Legally binding
Opened for signature in Earth Summit.
1997 Under the aegis of UNFCCC
Legally binding
Principle of common but differentiated responsibilities
First GHG reduction commitment for Annex-I countries
ended in 2012.
Second commitment started in 2012 at Doha.
Terms related to this protocol: International emission
trading scheme, clean development mechanism and joint
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 GHGs covered under this: Carbon dioxide, Methane,
Sulphur hexafluoride, Nitrous oxide, HFCs and PFCs.
Rotterdam convention 1998 Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for
certain hazardous chemical and pesticides in
International trade
Aarhus convention 1998 Convention on access to information, public participation
in decision participation in decision-making and access
to Justice in environmental matters
Cartagena protocol 2000 Protocol on biosafety that aims to protect biodiversity
from the risks of living modified organisms.
Stockholm convention 2001 Convention on persistent organic pollutants.
Dirty dozen: Aldrin, Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin, Endrin,
Heptachlor, Mirex, Toxaphene, Hexachlorobenzene,
Polychlorinated Biphenyl, Dioxins and Furans
Plant Treaty/International Seed 2001 The Treaty aims at recognizing the enormous
Treaty/ International Treaty on contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops that feed
Plant Genetic Resources for the world; establishing a global system to provide
Food and Agriculture (IT PGRFA) farmers, plant breeders and scientists with access to
plant genetic materials; and ensuring that recipients
share benefits they derive from the use of these genetic
materials with the countries where they have been
originated.
Kiev protocol 2003 Protocol on strategic environment assessment.
Nagoya protocol 2010 Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable
sharing of benefits arising from their utilization to the
convention on biological diversity.
Rio+20 2012 Sustainable development
Minamata convention 2013 Protection from mercury pollution
Paris agreement 2015 Not legally binding
(UNFCC COP 21) Intended nationally determined contribution
Reduction of GHG emissions
Kigali Amendment 2016 It amends the Montreal protocol of 1987.
In order to achieve the commitments of Paris agreement
to keep global warming under check, this amendment
aims to phase out the use of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
by 2040. It is legally binding.
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HFC is a GHG and not an ozone depleting substance.

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 New Urban Agenda – Habitat III
2016 Held in Ecuador at UN conference on housing and
sustainable development.
Held once in 20 years.
A new framework that that lays out how cities should be
planned and managed to best promote sustainable
urbanization.

Climate Change & Pollution initiatives

1) Climate Funds
a) Climate investment funds (CIF): The Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) were designed by developed
and developing countries and are implemented with the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to
bridge the financing and learning gap between now and the next international climate change
agreement. Funds and programs under this are (All of the below initiatives are administered by
World bank),
i) Clean technology fund – Low carbon technologies
ii) Strategic climate fund
(1) Forest investment program
(2) Pilot program for climate resilience
(3) Scaling up renewable energy program
b) Indonesia climate change trust fund – administered by Indonesia’s national development planning
agency with UNDP
c) Congo basin forest fund – administered by African development bank
d) Amazon fund – administered by Brazilian development bank
e) Adaptation for smallholder agriculture program – administered by International fund for Agriculture
development (IFAD)
f) UN – REDD: administered by UNDP
g) MDG Achievement fund – administered by UNDP
h) Global energy efficiency and renewable energy fund – administered by European investment bank
i) Global climate change alliance – administered by European commission
j) Adaptation fund – administered by adaptation fund board under Kyoto protocol. World bank is the
trustee on an interim basis.
k) Biocarbon fund, forest carbon partnership facility, partnership for market readiness – administered
by world bank
l) Special climate change fund, least developed countries fund, strategic priority on adaptation –
administered by Global environment facility (GEF) with world bank as trustee.
m) Green climate fund – administered by world bank as an interim trustee.
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2) India’s INDC:
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 a) reduction in the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level
b) To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional
forest and tree cover by 2030.
3) BSE Greenex is India’s first carbon efficient live index. It has been developed by BSE and IIM
Ahmedabad. It will measure the performances of companies in terms of carbon emissions.
4) National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) measures sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, PM 10, PM
2.5, Ozone, Lead, Carbon monoxide, Arsenic, Nickel, Benzene, Ammonia and Benzopyrene.
5) National air quality index measures PM 10, PM 2.5, Nitrous oxide, Sulphur dioxide, Carbon monoxide,
Ozone, Ammonia and Lead.
6) CPCB’s Comprehensive environmental pollution index (CEPI) helps in monitoring of polluted industrial
areas.
7) WHO has reported that world’s 14 most polluted cities based on PM 2.5 are in India.
8) Under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme, Sulphur dioxide, Nitrous dioxide, PM 10 and PM 2.5
are regularly monitored at all locations.
9) Breathe India is a 15-point formula proposed by NITI Aayog to combat air pollution.
10) World Air quality report is published by Greenpeace international and IQ Air visual.
11) The first-ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health was organized by the WHO with
participation of UNFCCC.
12) COP 24 of UNFCCC was held in Katowice, Poland.
13) The Talanoa Dialogue is a process designed to help countries implement and enhance their Nationally
Determined Contributions by 2020. The Talanoa Dialogue was launched at COP 23 under the
Presidency of the Republic of Fiji, and was a year-long process that will was discussed at COP 24 in
Katowice, Poland.
14) Climate change performance index is published by Germanwatch and climate action network Europe.
15) Supreme court has banned the use of PETcoke in New delhi and its neighbouring states. It has high
content of sulphur which contributes to both air pollution and acid rain.
16) Non-attainment cities are those cities marked by Central Pollution Control Board that have fallen short
of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)for PM 10 and NO2 over 5 years.
17) SAFAR (System of air quality and weather forecasting) was launched in New Delhi. It is developed by
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune and operationalized by India Meteorological Department
(IMD).
a) It will monitor all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and wind
direction.
b) In addition to regular air quality parameters like PM2.5, PM10, Sulfur Dioxide, Ozone, Nitrogen
Oxides, Carbon Monoxide, the system will also monitor the existence of Benzene, Toluene and
Xylene.
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c) It will also track UV-Index, PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in real time.
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18) WAYU is developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) as a part of Technology Development Project being
funded by Department of Science and Technology.
a) Device can purify air in an area of 500m2
b) The device works on two principles mainly Wind generation for dilution of air pollutants and Active
Pollutants removal. The device has filters for Particulate Matter removal and activated carbon
(charcoal) and UV lamps for poisonous gases removal such as VOCs and Carbon Monoxide. The
device has one fan and filter for sucking and removing Particulate Matter. There are two UV lamps
and half kg of activated carbon charcoal coated with special chemical Titanium Dioxide.
19) Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based think tank has released a report titled
“The urban Commute”.
20) Supreme court verdict on firecrackers
a) Series crackers are banned
b) Sale of crackers through e-commerce is banned.
c) Timeslot for bursting crackers. 8 pm to 10 pm during Diwali and 11:55 pm to 12:30 am during
Christmas and new year.
d) Banned the usage of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic, lead and barium salts in crackers
e) Petroleum and explosive safety organisation (PESO) is responsible for ensuring compliance of the
supreme court orders. PESO works under DPIIT, Min. of Commerce.
21) WHO recently released a report called Air pollution and Child Health.
22) Status of ambient noise level in India 2017 report is published by CPCB. Delhi tops the chart.
23) World Bank has released South Asia’s Hotspots -The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation
Changes on Living Standards report.
24) Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and World Bank recently released a
joint report on forest fires in India.
25) Chemically, black carbon is a component of fine particulate matter. Black carbon consists of pure
carbon in several linked forms. It is formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel,
and biomass, and is emitted in both anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. Black Carbon (BC) has
recently emerged as a major contributor to global climate change, possibly second only to CO2 as the
main driver of change.
26) 24th World Ozone Day was being celebrated with the theme "Keep Cool and Carry on”: The Montreal
Protocol.
27) State of the global climate report is released by World meteorological organization.
28) Clear air Indian ring was launched during the visit of Prime minister of Netherlands in Delhi.
29) Composite water management index is released by NITI Aayog.
30) The 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone (known
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as the Multi-effect Protocol or the Gothenburg Protocol) is a multi-pollutant protocol designed to reduce
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 acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone by setting emissions ceilings for sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia to be met by 2010.
31) India has planned to phase out single use plastic completely by 2022.
32) UN Environment launched #CleanSeas campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter, micro-
plastics in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022.
33) Anupama verma committee submitted its report on banning of certain pesticides.
34) Emissions gap report is published by UNEP.
35) Greenhouse gas bulletin is published by World meteorological organization.

Environment & Biodiversity initiatives

1) Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems” (GIAHS) are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic
beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage.
Located in specific sites around the world, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food
and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.
2) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is a study led by Pavan Sukhdev. It is an
international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity. Its objective is to
highlight the growing cost of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and to draw together
expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions.
3) The United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (or
UN-REDD Programme) is a collaborative programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), created in 2008 in response to the UNFCCC decisions on the Bali
Action Plan and REDD at COP-13.
4) REDD+ is a voluntary climate change mitigation approach that has been developed by Parties to the
UNFCCC. It aims to incentivize developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation, conserve forest carbon stocks, sustainably manage forests and enhance forest carbon
stocks.
5) The Global Environment Facility was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help
tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems.
a) The first assembly of GEF was held in India in 1998 and the latest (6th) assembly was held in
Vietnam in 2018.
b) It provides financial mechanism for CBD, UNFCCC, Stockholm convention, Minamata convention
and UNCCD.
c) Resource framework allocation (RAF) and System for transparent allocation of resources (STAR)
are its other initiatives.
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6) Biodiversity conservation in India:

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a) Project Tiger:

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 i) State govts notify the tiger reserves on the recommendations of NTCA.
ii) It is a centrally sponsored scheme.
iii) It notifies core area and buffer zones.
iv) It was launched in 1973 in Jim corbett National park.
v) Caspian tiger, Bali tiger and Java tiger are extinct.
vi) The species which are alive are Bengal tiger, Amur tiger, South china tiger, Sumatran and
Malayan tiger, Indo-Chinese tiger.
b) Project elephant:
i) Launched in 1993.
ii) Project Elephant has been formally implementing MIKE (Monitoring of Illegal Killing of
Elephants) programme of CITES in 10 ERs since January 2004.
c) Asia’s first Gyps vulture reintroduction programme has been launched in Haryana at Jatayu
conservation breeding centre in Pinjore.
d) Launched in 2005, Indian Rhino Vision 2020 is an ambitious effort to attain a wild population of at
least 3,000 greater one-horned rhinos spread over seven protected areas in the Indian state of
Assam by the year 2020. IRF has partnered with the Assam Forest Department, the Bodoland
Territorial Council, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the US Fish & Wildlife Service to
address the threats facing Indian rhinos.
e) Sea turtle project for the conservation of olive ridley turtles. It is being implemented by MoEFCC in
collaboration with UNDP and Wildlife institute of India.
f) Crocodile conservation project for Gharial and Mugger species.
g) Project Hangul: It is the state animal of J&K. It is found in Dachigam national park. The project is
supported by IUCN and WWF.
7) Banni grassland is located in Gujarat.
8) Nalbana bird sanctuary is located in the core area of Chilika lake.
9) Barasingha, also known as Swamp deer is the state animal of Madhya Pradesh. It is listed as
Vulnerable by IUCN.
10) Black necked crane is found in Arunachal Pradesh.
11) Chiru (Tibetan antelope) is hunted for making shahtoosh wools.
12) Nilgai also known Bluebuck is the largest Asian antelope.
13) Lake Urmia is a saltwater lake located in Iran.
14) Galapagos islands has banned firecrackers.
15) The largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world is located between Hawaii and California.
16) Siesmic airguns are used for oil and gas exploration under water.
17) CSIR and NEERI have developed green crackers with the names Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe
Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL). They release water vapour or air as
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dust suppressants.
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18) Global environment outlook is published by UNEP

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19) International coral reef initiative (ICRI) has declared 2018 as the international year of the reef. The govt
of Lakshadweep and zoological survey of India organized a conference on the status and protection of
coral reefs (STAPCOR) 2018 and the theme was “Reef for life”.
20) Kubuqi desert is located in Mongolia.
21) UNGA declared 2010 to 2020 the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against
Desertification.
22) India will collaborate with Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia to increase the population of three
species of Asian rhinos, including the Greater one-horned rhinoceros found in the Indian sub-continent.
The five rhino range nations signed a declaration ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’ for
the conservation and protection of the species at the recently held Second Asian Rhino Range
Countries meeting here.
23) BNHS will conduct Flamingo count.
24) Asian waterbird census is jointly coordinated by BNHS and wetlands international.
25) Green ganga App is developed by remote sensing centre of ISRO.
26) India’s first district cooling system to be set up in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh.
27) The first-ever vulture and raptor survey were held in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
28) The first International conference on sustainable water management was recently organized in India.
29) Palau is looking forward to ban sunscreen products.
30) Sundarbans has been declared as a Ramsar site.
31) River Mahanadi flows in Satkosia Tiger reserve.
32) Kole wetlands is located in Kerala.
33) Endangered Amami rabbits are found in Japan.
34) Black soft-shell turtle is classified as extinct in the wild and are being bred in Assam.
35) Crying snake was found in Arunachal Pradesh.
36) Mysticellus franki is a narrow-mouthed frog that was recently found in Kerala.
37) Kelp Forests are underwater ecosystems formed in shallow water by the dense growth of several
different species known as kelps. Though they look very much like plants, kelps are actually extremely
large brown algae.
38) SDG India index has been released by NITI Aayog in collaboration with MoSPI, Global green growth
Institute and UN in India. Tamil Nadu is the top ranked state.
39) Living planet report is a biennial report published by WWF.
40) Government of India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) 2018-2022 outlines
the work of UN agencies in India, to support the achievement of key development outcomes that have
been identified in consultation with the government and are aligned to the national priorities. The NITI
Aayog is the national counterpart for the UN in India for the operationalization of the UNSDF.
a) The UNSDF 2018-22 comprises of seven priority areas that outline the work that UN agencies will
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undertake jointly or individually, fully aligned with the priorities of the GoI. The seven priority areas
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outlined in the UNSDF are: 1. Poverty and Urbanization; 2. Health, Water, and Sanitation; 3.

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 Education and Employability; 4. Nutrition and Food Security; 5. Climate Change, Clean Energy, and
Disaster Resilience; 6. Skilling, Entrepreneurship, and Job Creation; and 7. Gender Equality and
Youth Development.
41) Ramsar convention released a report named Global wetland outlook.
42) Global soil biodiversity Atlas was released by WWF.
43) Champions of Earth
a) Highest environmental award by the UN. It was launched in 2005 by UNEP.
b) It was awarded jointly to PM Modi and French president for launching international solar alliance.
44) 14th COP of CBD was held in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt.
45) Global biodiversity outlook is published by CBD.
46) Chandrabhaga beach in Odisha is the first to receive Blue flag certification in Asia. The tag is given to
environment-friendly and clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists.
47) Government of Seychelles launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond.
48) Karnataka recently drafted Private Conservancy Rules in a bid to increase forest area through private
land. Under the rules, anyone who has a minimum of 100 acres of land bordering a national park can
convert it to a “Wildlife Private Conservancy”. Of this land, 5% can be used to construct buildings for
ecotourism; the rest has to be kept for flora and fauna. The move has received criticism, with activists
and retired forest officers concerned that this could lead to illegal activities in private spaces.
49) Species recovery programme
a) It is a part of Integrated development of wildlife habitats.
b) The species under the programme are Asian wild buffalo, Asiatic lion, Sangai, Dugong, Edible nest
swiftlet, Gangetic dolphin, GI bustard, Hangul, Indian rhino, Jerdon’s courser, Malabar civet, Marine
turtles, Nicobar megapode, Nilgiri Tahr, Snow leopard, Swamp deer, Vultures, Red panda, river
terrapin, Clouded leopard, Arabian sea humpback whale.
50) Geological Survey of India has nominated two sites in India for the first time for Global Geoparks status.
The sites are Lonar Lake in Maharashtra and St. Mary‘s Island and Malpe beach in coastal Karnataka.
51) Singphan wildlife sanctuary in Nagaland has been declared as Elephant reserve.
52) Blessed with the abundant crop of Salicornia, a plant that grows in salty marshes in the mangrove
wetlands, the State government of AP has intensified the efforts to tap commercial benefits from the
plant through cultivation as well as extraction of the substitute to salt with low sodium content.
53) Bolivia became the 74th country to sign for International solar alliance. ISA is the first treaty based
international intergovernmental organization located in India.
54) India’s cooling action plan for 2018 to 2038: To reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25%.
55) Peatlands are a type of wetlands that occur in almost every country on Earth, currently covering 3% of
the global land surface. The term 'peatland' refers to the peat soil and the wetland habitat growing on its
surface. Peat is the accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. UN Environment
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assembly adopted its first ever resolution on peatlands, recently.

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 a) In an unprecedented move to protect the Cuvette Centrale region in the Congo Basin, the world’s
largest tropical peatlands, from unregulated land use and prevent its drainage and degradation, the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo and Indonesia jointly signed the
Brazzaville declaration that promotes better management and conservation of this globally
important carbon store.
56) Recently the Central Government has transferred administrative control and matters concerning cow
shelters, Prevention of cruelty to animals and its governing laws,from MoEF&CC to Ministry of
Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare.
57) Global environment facility approved a grant of USD 15 million for the Bay of Bengal Large Marine
Ecosystem (BOBLME) project, started by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2009,
involving all eight countries along its coastline -Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
58) GAJ Yatra is a nationwide campaign to protect elephants. It is led by Wildlife trust of India and IFAW in
Meghalaya.
59) MoSPI recently published EnviStats India 2018.
60) Uttarkhand High court has recently declared the entire animal kingdom as legal entities.
61) Idu Mishmi tribe is located in Arunachal Pradesh.
62) India biodiversity award is conferred by National biodiversity authority. It was started in 2012 in
partnership with UNDP. It was awared for bugun village community reserve management committee for
conservation of Bugun Liocichla bird.
63) Rat hole mining was recently reported in Meghalaya.
64) A real time landslide warning system has been set in the Sikkim-Darjeeling belt of North East
Himalayas.
65) Earth’s geological history over the past 4.5 billion years is divided up into various units including eons,
eras, periods, epochs, and ages. Scientists have just assigned three new ages to the Holocene, which
is the current epoch in which we live. They’re calling this most recent age the Meghalayan, which began
4,200 years ago during a worldwide megadrought.
66) Madras High court became the first to set up environmental fund.

Clean & Renewable Energy initiatives

1) GRIHA – Green rating for integrated habitat assessment has been conceived by TERI and developed
jointly with Ministry of new and renewable energy.
2) Project Sunrise is a collaboration between India and UK to deliver low cost photovoltaics to rural India.
3) Common risk mitigation mechanism under International solar alliance was launched at COP 24. It has
been administered by the world bank with a mobilization of $1 million for the preparatory work.
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4) YS Malik panel submitted a report to NITI Aayog which had a 15-point plan of action to aid car
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manufacturers to switch from IC Engines to Electric vehicles.

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5) Regulatory indicators for sustainable energy (RISE) is published by World bank.
6) National policy of biofuels 2018
a) The Policy categorises biofuels as "Basic Biofuels" viz. First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel
and "Advanced Biofuels" - Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-
in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc. to enable extension of appropriate financial
and fiscal incentives under each category.
b) The Policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of Sugarcane
Juice, Sugar containing materials like Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Starch containing materials like
Corn, Cassava, Damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human
consumption for ethanol production.
c) 1G fuel is produced directly from crops.
d) 2G fuel is produced from non-food crops.
e) 3G fuel is produced from algae and microalgae.
f) 4G fuel: This category includes biofuels which can be made using non-arable land. These do not
require destruction of biomass to be converted to fuel. This technology aims at directly converting
available solar energy to fuel using inexhaustible, cheap and widely available resources. They
(photobiological solar fuels and electrofuels) are the most advanced biofuels currently under
research. Only inputs to get feedstock is CO2 and water.
7) Recognizing India’s efforts towards a low emission-economy and focusing on energy efficiency
programmes, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has now partnered with Energy Efficiency Services
Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power, for the project ‘Creating and Sustaining Markets for Energy
Efficiency’, here today. The project will receive a composite funding of $454 million comprised of the
GEF grant of $20 million and co-financing of $434 million in the form of loans and equity, including a
$200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). EESL further proposes Energy Efficiency
Revolving Fund (EERF) for sustainable funding mechanism of energy efficiency projects in the country.
8) The Global energy and CO2 report is published by International energy association.
9) Energy transition index is published by World economic forum.

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