Human role in pollution control, Environment and human health; Effects of pollutants on animals and plants; urbanisation and industrial development.

Human role in pollution control The enhanced pace of developmental activities and rapid urbanization have resulted in stress on natural resources and quality of life. The trend of increasing pollution in various environmental media is evident from the deteriorating air and water quality, higher noise levels, increasing vehicular emission etc. Realising the urgent need for … Read more Human role in pollution control, Environment and human health; Effects of pollutants on animals and plants; urbanisation and industrial development.

National parks, Sanctuaries, Biosphere reserves and Botanical gardens

The Indian Constitution entails the subject of forests and wildlife in the Concurrent list. The Federal Ministry acts as a guiding torch dealing with the policies and planning on wildlife conservation, while the provincial Forest Departments are vested with the responsibility of implementation of national policies and plans. The Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme initiated … Read more National parks, Sanctuaries, Biosphere reserves and Botanical gardens

Development and environment

Environmental influences are important both at the prenatal and postnatal stages of human development. At the prenatal stage, when a fetus is in the mother’s womb,  internal or external harmful agents, such as certain legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, lead and pollutants can harm the unborn baby’s development. The mother’s nutrition, diseases and emotional stress … Read more Development and environment

United Nations Environmental Conservation Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the principal UN body in the field of the environment, assisting governments to address global,  regional  and  national  environmental  challenges.  Its  mandate  was  reinforced  at  the  United  Nations  Conference  on  Sustainable Development  (Rio+20)  and  through  the  Rio+20 outcome  document  “The  Future Want” . As a follow up to the Rio+20 Conference, UNEP has … Read more United Nations Environmental Conservation Programme (UNEP)

Global Environmental Issues like Green House Effect, Green House Gases and their mitigation.

The Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that insulates the Earth . Incoming solar radiations are absorbed and reemitted back from the Earth’s surface as infrared energy, greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere prevent some of this heat from escaping into space, instead reflecting the energy back to further warm the surface. Human … Read more Global Environmental Issues like Green House Effect, Green House Gases and their mitigation.

The Forest Conservation Act (1980)

In order to check rapid deforestation due to forestlands being released by state governments for agriculture, industry and other development projects (allowed under the Indian Forest Act) the federal government enacted the Forest Conservation Act in 1980 with an amendment in 1988. The Act made the prior approval of the federal government necessary for de-reservation … Read more The Forest Conservation Act (1980)

The Environment (Protection) Act (1986)

The Environment Protection Act is an important legislation that provides for coordination of activities of the various regulatory agencies, creation of authorities with adequate powers for environmental protection, regulation of the discharge of environmental pollutants, handling of hazardous substances, etc. The Act provided an opportunity to extend legal protection to non-forest habitats (‘Ecologically Sensitive Areas’) … Read more The Environment (Protection) Act (1986)

Climate Change

Climate Change It is the long term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time Though it has been happening naturally for millions of years, in recent years it has accelerated due to anthropogenic causes and has been causing global warming. UNFCCC defines climate change as – “a change of climate … Read more Climate Change

Biodiversity and its conservation, Hotspots and threats to Biodiversity.

Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems. Basically biodiversity is the total number of genes, species and ecosystems of a region. It includes … Read more Biodiversity and its conservation, Hotspots and threats to Biodiversity.