Category: Environment

A signatory to the Stockholm Declaration (1972) on Environment, India enacted laws to control water (1974) and air (1981) pollution soon after. But it was only after the Bhopal gas leak disaster in 1984 that the country legislated an umbrella Read More …

single-use plastics are goods that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after use—often, in mere minutes. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, Read More …

. Due to its low capital cost, groundwater is the most preferred source of water in India. According to an  estimate, groundwater accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the rural domestic water needs, and 50 per  cent of the Read More …

. Space launches can have a hefty carbon footprint due to the burning of solid rocket fuels. Many rockets are, however, propelled by liquid hydrogen fuel, which produces ‘clean’ water vapour exhaust, although the production of hydrogen itself can cause Read More …

. The Ministry revised the rules for management of solid waste in the municipal areas after 16 years. The new rules are now applicable beyond municipal areas and extend to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the Read More …

. National Ambient Air Quality Standards envisaging 12 pollutants have been notified under the EPA, 1986 along with 115 emission/effluent standards for 104 different sectors of industries, besides 32 general standards. Government is executing a nation-wide programme of ambient air Read More …

Project Tiger was launched in 1973 for conserving the tiger. From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 50, spread out in 18 of tiger range states. These reserves are constituted on a Read More …

The surface water percolates well when the rocks are permeable, thinly bedded and highly jointed and cracked. After vertically going down to some depth, the water under the ground flows horizontally through the bedding planes, joints or through the materials Read More …

. Green GDP refers to a national accounting system of the utilization of the non-renewable  natural resources of any country and is now being envisioned as a part of sustainable  development. The objective is to utilize the resources optimally, efficiently Read More …

According to Ramsar Convention, wetland is defined as, “areas of marsh, fen, peat land 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 Read More …

. It is an Integrated Conservation Mission for river Ganga, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore.   Main pillars of the mission River front development o Conservation of Aquatic life Read More …

Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which Read More …

. A still larger issue now emerging is the environmental issues, erosion of forest cover, etc,  around the infrastructure projects. The present issues being faced in Orissa and other  states on projects which can not only alter the face of Read More …

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) to address their special energy needs. The ISA will provide a Read More …

. Single-use plastics, often also referred to as disposable plastics, are commonly used for plastic packaging and include items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These include, among other items, grocery bags, food Read More …

Mangroves are salt-tolerant vegetation that grows in intertidal regions of rivers and estuaries. They are referred to as ‘tidal forests’ and belong to the category of ‘tropical wetland rainforest ecosystem’. Causes of Depletion of mangroves Sea level rise and coastal Read More …

. India due to its geography and scarce resources is more prone to Disasters. For disaster management India has enacted many guidelines and laws. It has signed Sendai Framework and earlier Hyogo Framework and continuously work towards protecting its vulnerable Read More …

. Virtual water (VW) is the water ‘embodied’ in a product, not in real sense, but in virtual sense. It refers to the water needed to produce a product. Every product has a unique water footprint defined as the total Read More …

India has continuously demonstrated its responsibility towards acknowledging the emerging threats from climate change and implementing the climate actions on the basis of the principles of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities for improving efficiency of the economy and its Read More …

Recently, various studies have pointed out that disasters due to climate change have been displacing more people than conflicts. This phenomenon is being referred to as Environmental Migration. According to Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID, 2019), in 2018, of Read More …

Food Security  Rising temperatures, heat extremes, floods, droughts and rainfall variability can disrupt rainfed agricultural food production and adversely impact crop yield.  For instance, as per a NITI Aayog document, of the total pulses, oilseeds and cotton produced in the Read More …

Solid Waste treatment and disposal utilizing plasma arc gasification process is an option for eco-friendly solid waste management in which large volume reduction of waste up to 95% is possible. The plasma gasification process uses electricity to generate high temperature Read More …

Government of India has been conserving snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL). The PSL was launched in 2009. Government is committed to landscape restoration for snow leopard habitat conservation, and implementing participatory landscape-based management plans Read More …

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided close to $20.5 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $112 billion in co-financing Read More …

Major findings are as follows: Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Read More …

Basel Convention: The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted on 22 March 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, in response to a public outcry following the discovery, Read More …

The major components of a rainwater harvesting system are as follows: ? Collection system: Roof surface and gutters to capture the rainwater and send it to the storage system ? Inlet filter: Screen filter to catch large debris ? First Read More …

Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF 2.0) and Streets for People Challenge is for providing Roadmap for cities towards Combating Climate Change while planning / implementing their actions including investments CSCAF initiative intends to inculcate Climate-Sensitive Approach to Urban Planning Read More …

All mines are temporary structures. They can remain active for many years, but they will eventually run out of minerals and cease operations. This does not automatically mean that the environment and wildlife will no longer suffer. Responsible owners would Read More …

Swachh Survekshan (Cleanliness survey) is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India. It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free of open defecation Read More …

Ethanol is a green fuel and its blending with petrol also saves foreign exchange Government has 10% blending target for mixing ethanol with petrol by 2022 & 20% blending target by 2030 The liquid biofuel in greatest production is ethanol Read More …

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has developed a mobile App called ‘Harit Path’ to monitor location, growth, species details, maintenance activities, targets and achievements of each Read More …

? By studying environmental studies, it becomes easy to promote love and respect for nature. If you are a parent, you can encourage your child to opt for this subject so that he or she can show some love, affection, Read More …

Jal Jeevan Mission was launched to ensure HarGharJal (piped water supply) to all rural households by 2024 New Ministry. It focus on integrated demand and supply side management of water at the local level, including creation of local infrastructure for Read More …

Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that studies the relation of human beings and the environment and how ethics play a role in this. Environmental ethics believe that humans are a part of society as well as other living Read More …

PARIVESH is a web based, role based workflow application which has been developed for online submission and monitoring of the proposals submitted by the proponents for seeking Environment, Forest, Wildlife and CRZ Clearances from Central, State and district level authorities. Read More …

The main objective of this authority is to complement and strengthen the national effort                in conservation of the rich biodiversity of the country, particularly the fauna as per the  national zoo policy,1998. The functions of Central zoo authority are Read More …

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 by the Central Government to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002). The NBA is a Statutory body and that performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for Government of India on issue Read More …

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. Plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage Read More …

Forest fires are a regular phenomenon in our country often observed during the fire season. A number of 37,059 fires were detected in year 2018 using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) sensor data. Every year large areas of forests are Read More …

Warm-blooded creatures, like mammals and birds, try to keep the inside of their bodies at a constant temperature. They do this by generating their own heat when they are in a cooler environment, and by cooling themselves when they are Read More …

Unlike other disasters, landslides are largely controlled by highly localised factors. Landslides of different types are frequent in geodynamically active domains in the Himalayan and Arakan-Yoma belt of the North-Eastern parts of the country. Landslide hazard zonation mapping has categorized Read More …

Scientists have warned that the 6th mass extinction of life on earth is unfolding more quickly than feared.  The main drivers of wildlife decline are habitat loss, overconsumption, pollution, invasive species, disease, as well as poaching in the case of Read More …

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants ( POP’s) is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue Read More …

A xerophyte is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water such as a desert or ice- or snow-covered region in the Alps or the Arctic. Popular examples of xerophytes are cacti, Read More …

It is a Central Sector Scheme and is being implemented with the objective: To provide clean cooking fuel for kitchens, lighting and meeting other thermal and small power needs of farmers/dairy farmers /users including individual households and to improve organic Read More …

Ecological efficiency is the amount of energy that is transferred from one trophic level to the next. It is defined as the energy supply available to trophic level N + 1, divided by the energy consumed by trophic level N. Read More …

An oligotrophic lake or water body is one which has relatively low productivity due to the low nutrient content in the lake. These lakes usually have quite clear water due to the limited growth of algae in the lake. The Read More …

Flue gas (sometimes called exhaust gas or stack gas) is the gas that emanates from combustion plants and which contains the reaction products of fuel and combustion air and residual substances such as particulate matter (dust), sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, Read More …