Tag: environmental values and ethics

True.

Wetlands are areas of land where the water level remains near or above the surface of the ground for most of the year. India has a wealth of wetland ecosystems distributed in different geographical regions. Wetland systems, directly and indirectly, support lakhs of people, providing goods and services to them. They help check floods, prevent coastal erosion and mitigate the effects of natural disasters like cyclones and tidal waves. They store water for long periods. The scheme on conservation and management of wetlands was initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in $1987$ with the following objectives:

Forests cover about a third of the earth’s land area and are essential to the health of our environment. For example, trees and forests absorb and store much of the carbon dioxide that otherwise would be contributing to climate change. Forests are home to about $80$ percent of remaining terrestrial biodiversity. Forests also regulate water cycles, maintain soil quality, and reduce the risks of natural disasters such as floods.Forest ecosystems are sources of wood and timber, of edible products including mushrooms and other fungi, meat (from wildlife), forage for livestock, fruit or honey. Some forest species have medicinal values.

The British introduced scientific management of forests through a centralized approach to forest management and development. The first formal government approach to forestry can be traced to the enactment of the National Forest Policy of $1894$ which stressed on conserving forests for maintaining environmental stability and meeting basic needs of fringe forest user groups. The policy was revised in $1952$ and the new policy emphasized on an extension of forests beyond the traditional forest areas. This gave impetus to social forestry and $agro/farm$ forestry. This policy was the harbinger of the green movement in the country. It also proposed that $60$% of the land in the hills and $20$% in the plains and in all $33$% of the total geographical area should be under forest/tree cover.The National Forest Policy was once again revised in $1988,$ which envisaged community involvement in the protection and regeneration of forests. It accorded highest priority to sustainable management of the forest resource.

The Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution, adopted in $1992$ lays emphasis on pollution prevention in place of the conventional end-of-the-pipe treatment also identified the adoption of best available and practicable technologies as the key element for pollution prevention. The focus of the programme is on such issues such as the promotion of clean and low waste technologies, waste minimization, reuse or recycling, improvement of water quality, environment audit, natural resource accounting, development of mass-based standards, institutional and human resource development etc. The whole issue of pollution prevention and control is dealt with by a combination of command and control methods as well as voluntary regulations, fiscal measures, promotion of awareness etc.

To increase consumer awareness, the Government of India launched the eco-labelling scheme known as $`Ecomark'$ in $1991$ for easy identification of environment-friendly products. Any product which is made, used or disposed of in a way that significantly reduces the harm it would otherwise cause the environment could be considered as Environment-Friendly Product. The $'Ecomark'$ label is awarded to consumer goods which meet the specified environmental criteria and the quality requirements of Indian Standards. Any product with the $Ecomark$ will be the right environmental choice.

The British introduced scientific management of forests through a centralised approach to forest management and development. The first formal government approach to forestry can be traced to the enactment of the National Forest Policy of $1894$ which stressed on conserving forests for maintaining environmental stability and meeting basic needs of fringe forest user groups. The policy was revised in $1952$ and the new policy emphasised on extension of forests beyond the traditional forest areas. This gave impetus to social forestry and $agro/farm$ forestry.