1. Introduction
Ministry of Environment & Forests has been funding research in multi-disciplinary aspects for environmental and ecosystems protection, conservation and management at various universities, institutions of higher learning, national research institutes and non-governmental organizations in identified thrust areas under its Research & Development (R&D) Programme. The Research & Development Scheme of the Ministry is a Central Plan Scheme for conservation and management of environment since 1985.

2. Objectives and Scope:
Research is basic to any developmental activity. The Ministry of Environment & Forests supports research in multi-disciplinary aspects of environment protection, conservation and development including forestry and wildlife. The Research and Development scheme of the Ministry is a Central Plan Scheme for supporting research on environmental issues. The objective of the scheme is to generate information required to develop strategies, technologies and methodologies for better environmental management. It also aims at attempting solutions to the practical problems of resource management, conservation of natural resources and eco-regeneration of degraded areas. Further, the scheme also seeks to strengthen infrastructure to facilitate research and scientific manpower development. In order to achieve above objectives, research grants are provided in the identified thrust areas to various organizations (universities, colleges recognized by UGC, institutions of CSIR, ICAR, ICMR, ICSSR and recognized non- governmental scientific organizations) all over the country.

The thrust areas of research have been redefined and a matrix for supporting research in environment has been brought out. The matrix contains the thrust areas along with Categories & Sub-Categories for supporting research in the identified areas. Policy Research, programmes have been included to provide information to Policy planners for taking appropriate policy decisions based on figures & facts. The Policy Research areas have also been included keeping in view the requirements of information needed during discussions in international negotiations & for various court cases etc.

3. Programme of the RE-Division:

The Ministry deals with various programmes and R&D projects in different areas of environmental research. The details of activity under the Research in Environment Division (RE-Division) are given below:-

· Environment Research Programme (ERP)- The ERP specifically deals with the brown agenda-
         · Problems related to air, water and soil pollution.
         · Development of suitable cost effective technology for abatement of pollution load in the environment.
         · Emphasis is laid on development of eco-friendly, biological and other inventories for prevention & control of pollution.
         · Development of strategies/technologies for better environment management, pollution control & instruments etc.

· Ecosystem Research Scheme (ERS) -The ERS specifically deals with the Green Agenda-
         · It is an inter-disciplinary programme on research.
         · Emphasizes ecological approach for studying all the relationship between man and environment.
         · Seeks to generate scientific knowledge needed to manage the natural resources optimally.

· Eastern and Western Ghats Research Programme (E&WGRP)- It is a location specific programme deals with-
         · The Eastern and Western Ghats Research Programme addresses itself to location specific problems.
         · Resource management in the Eastern and Western Ghats regions of the country.
         ·The information generated out of these projects will be used for developing strategies for conservation and management of natural resources of these areas.

· Economic & Social Issues - During the year 2007-08 Ministry has constituted new Thematic Group-‘Economic Social Issues’. The thematic group consider all proposals related to-
         · Cost Benefit Analysis
         · Socio-economic issues and
         · Policy related & other miscellaneous issues.

· Pitambar Pant National Environment Fellowship Award –
         · The award is given annually in recognition of significantly important research & development contributions.
         · Intended to encourage talented individuals to devote themselves to R&D pursuit in the field of environmental sciences.
         · The duration of the fellowship is for 2 years.

· Dr. B.P. Pal National Environment Fellowship Award-

        · The award is given annually in recognition of significantly important research & development contributions especially in the field of Biodiversity.
         · Intended to encourage talented individuals to devote themselves to R&D pursuit in the field of Biodiversity.
         · The duration of the fellowship is for 2 years.

New Guidelines:

The Ministry has brought out revised guidelines in 2006 for supporting research in identified thrust areas. Research projects are considered in the identified thrust areas in the following three modes:-

i. Suomoto proposals, which can be submitted at any time of the year.

ii. Competitive invited proposals to be submitted when called for, depending upon the specific needs of policy making etc. Selection among the proposals received in response is made competitively on the basis of technical soundness.

iii. Non-competitive commissioned proposals to be invited directly from one or a network of research institutes depending on the specific needs etc.

Thematic Expert Groups:

Thematic Expert Groups have been setup to examine and recommend research proposals for funding by the Ministry. Thematic groups also review & monitor the ongoing research projects as well as examine the Final Technical Report (FTR) of the completed projects to ensure that the objective envisaged has been achieved. The thematic groups are:-

I. Prevention, Abatement and Control of Pollution
      -Schemes/ Programmes to be covered:
         a) Environment Research
         b) National River Conservation
         c) Climate Change/Clean Technologies
II.Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of Natural Resources
       -Schemes/Programmes to be covered:
         A.    a) Eco-System Research                     (Thematic Expert Group-A)
                 b) Eastern & Western Ghats

        B.      a) Mangroves and Coral Reefs        (Thematic Expert Group-B)
                 b) Wet Lands                                                |    Being dealt in         
                 c) Biodiversity Conservation                       | CS - Division             
                 d) Man & Bio-sphere reserves                                     

III. Conservation and Management of Wildlife & Animal Welfare
     -Schemes/Programmes to be covered:

                 a) Wildlife Conservation                                |   Being dealt in         
                 b) Animal Welfare                                          |   Wild-life Division 

IV National Natural Resource Management System(NNRMS)
                               * Composition Technical & Financial Sub Committee of NNRMS SC-B

                               ** Standing Committee on Bioresources and Environment (SC-B)

V. Economic & Social Issues
      The group would consider all proposals related to the following topics: -
                 a) Cost Benefit Analysis
                 b) Socio-economic Issues
                 c) Other miscellaneous issues

The meetings of the Thematic Expert Groups are held periodically depending upon the number of projects to be considered / reviewed.

Evaluation of the Programme / Scheme-

Monitoring of the on-going projects is done through assessment of Annual Progress Reports departmentally and also through organization of annual Review and monitoring Meetings with the assistance of experts in relevant subject areas. The important feature of these meetings is the involvement and participation of concerned and potential user agencies of the outcome of the research & investigations, with a view to enhance the utility of the funding.

The findings of the research projects are brought out as departmental publications. Besides, the results of the projects are disseminated through the leading National and International journals which are widely consulted by the scientists and the other user agencies. The executive summaries of the completed research projects are prepared by the Division and put up on the internet web site of the Ministry. The Scheme of R&D has made significant contribution towards the development of scientific capabilities and has also led to establishment of adequate infra-structural facilities for research.

Note- The detail of the procedure for submission and appraisal of proposals for research support can be see in the Guidelines for support to Environmental Research, Aug-2006, available on web-site (www.envfor.nic.in.)

B. National Natural Resource Management System (NNRMS) on Bio-Resources & Environment (NNRMS SC-B)

National Natural Resource Management System (NNRMS) has been established under the aegis of the Planning Commission, Government of India, in 1983. The mandate of NNRMS has been to promote the use of high technology inputs such as Remote Sensing (RS), Geographical Information System (GIS) and GPS (Global Positioning System) in conjunction with the conventional techniques / methods for national development applications including natural resources management, environmental monitoring and disaster management. Sustained availability of data from Indian Remote Sensing Satellites have been instrumental in realising the goals of NNRMS, DOS (Department of Space) is the nodal agency for NNRMS and provides all secretarial support to it. Policy guidelines as well as overall progress is monitored by PC-NNRMS( Planning Committee of NNRMS). The PC-NNRMS is Chaired by Members Science, Planning Commission with the Secretaries of user Ministries, Govt. of India as member. The detailed guidance and coordination in execution of NNRMS are provided by Standing Committees. There are 10 high power Standing Committees covering important sectors eg., Agriculture and Soils (SC-A), Bio-resources and Environment (SC-B),Geology and Mineral Resources (SC-G),Ocean Resources (SC-O), Remote Sensing Technology and Training (SC-T) and, Water Resources (SC-W), Rural Development (SC-R), Urban (SC-U), Cartography (SC-C), Meterology (SC-M). These Committees are chaired by the Secretaries of the respective Ministries of the Govt. of India. Standing Committees (SCs) are responsible for identifying the thrust areas, identifying improved methods / techniques, formulate and /or approve specific national projects/programmes. These are also responsible for coordination among various departments in a particular application sector.

1. REGARDING NNRMS SC-B

Constitution : The Standing Committee of NNRMS on Bio-resources and Environment (SC-B) is Chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests and has Members from Ministry of Environment & Forests, Planning Commission, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Department of Bio-technology, State Forest Departments of Assam, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim, North Eastern Council, Forest Survey of India, Department of Space and representative of NNRMS/ISRO as Member Secretary.

Thrust Areas : So far the SC-B had identified 56 priority areas for taking up remote sensing based studies in tune with key environmental and ecological issues of the country. They encompassed forest, grassland, plant and faunal resources, wetlands, land degradation, water and air pollution, etc., information requirements for the Man and Biosphere Programme and some typical areas like mining, coastal areas, wildlife habitat etc.

PROGRESS OF NNRMS SC-B ACTIVITIES

So far, NNRMS SC-B has met 22 times and sponsored 100 remote sensing application projects (out of which 72 projects have been completed) addressing key environmental and ecological issues such as management of forest, grassland, faunal resources, wetlands, coastal areas including mangroves and coral resources, land degradation, impact of mining and industrialization, river pollution, etc. These projects have been carried out by Department of Space, Universities, Research Institutions, State Remote Sensing Application Centres.

TECHNICAL & FINANCIAL SUB-COMMITTEE

This Sub-Committee was set up to scrutinize/review all the proposals submitted for funding under the NNRMS-SC-B from the Technical and Financial angle. Only those proposals recommended by the Sub-Committee are reviewed by the SC-B for financial assistance.

USER AGENCIES OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS

NNRMS SC-B has played a significant role in monitoring/managing the environment/ecology of our country through number of projects. The potential user agencies for utilizing the outcome/information generated in the projects sanctioned by the Ministry under NNRMS Programme are the Central Govt. Departments/agencies, Public Sector Undertakings, State Govt. Departments/agencies and the Ministry of Environment & Forests itself including the various organisations under its administrative control like Forest Survey of India (FSI), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Botanical Survey of India ( BSI), etc.Some of the important projects executed so far which have been very useful for the country