Vol. No. 16 Issue No. 2 April - June 2013 From the Co-ordinator s desk Dear all, Climate change is no longer a contested phenomenon rising temperatures, errant rainfall, dirtier rivers and streets and ever-growing mountains of garbage are all obvious manifestations and causes of this phenomenon. But having acknowledged that our actions in the name of development are irreversibly damaging the planet, how far are we willing and able to actually do something to contain the situation? The ENVIS Quarterly Newsletter on Parliament, NGOs and Media highlights all this information like about the activities by concerned government departments, Parliamentary pondering on environmental issues and important environmental conservation activities/workshops carried out by various non-governmental organization, institutions/ universities/ corporations etc. All upcoming workshops/symposia/seminars and other events on environmental issues for the next quarter of AprilJune, 2013 are also highlighted in this newsletter. We are please to share this information with you and look forward to your suggestions and feedback on the content published in this newsletter. Dr. G. Areendran Coordinator-ENVIS Programme WWF-India For further details, visit our website www.wwfenvis.nic.in Overview on Environment 2 Subject wise analysis of Decisions taken by the Government on Environment 3 Subject wise analysis of concern of Parliamentarians on Environment 13 Subject wise analysis of activities carried out by various NGO's 17 Uttarakhand : A heavy price for reckless destruction of the Himalayas 23 Research & Studies on Environment 24 Events on Environment 26
OVERVIEW It is the time of the year again when the spotlight falls on World Environment Day Celebrations. The theme for this year's World Environment Day celebrations is Think. Eat. Save. 'Think. Eat. Save.' Is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your footprint. For last so many years, one can witness a strange and multi dimensional approach for environmental cleaning and security. Environmental scientists, policy makers, non-governmental organizations, and citizen cooperatives bodies all focused their attentions on one single issue of environmental conservation. This newsletter gives a quick glace at the activities of Environmental Non Governmental Organizations, initiatives taken up by the various government departments and Parliamentarians concern for Environmental Conservation. In this quarter, important days like International Biodiversity Day, World Environment Day and Save the Frog Day were celebrated all over India with a great zeal by NGOs, Government departments, schools and colleges etc. Awareness programs, tree plantations, Competions on Environment, Quizes and poster competions etc, marked the celebrations. On this day, TERI unveiled their first environmental survey across six cities in India covering air and water quality, waste management, climate change and green cover. Germany lends India a soft loan of one billion euros to create infrastructure for green energy projects in the country. Environment ministry revised fire-safety norms and forest clearance process. Thirty-two five-star hotels in Delhi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the department of environment, Delhi government, for compliance of Green Hotel Guidelines. In this quarter, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture invited public comments on Agriculture Biosecurity Bill, 2013 and Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla announced the ratings of States on Environmental Performance Index (EPI) etc. Several political leaders participated in a joint campaign with civil society groups and farmers' organizations against GM crops and BRAI Bill at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Mangroves in the Maharashtra state have been accorded the status of reserved forests through a government resolution released in this quarter. The environment department of the Delhi government re-launched the Tree helpline with a new tollfree number (1800-118600) on the World Environment Day. India became the first country in South Asia to ban the testing of cosmetics and its ingredients on animals. Vice president Hamid Ansari inaugurated the country's first ever government fivestar rated green building, the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iced) in Jaipur.