[Forestry Education, Training and Extension, Wildlife Education & Training, National Museum of Natural History, Fellowships and Awards, Environmental Education, Awareness & Training, Centres of Excellence, Environmental Information System]
Forestry Education, Training and Extension
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun
Organisation and management of research, education and extension activities in the field of Forestry are co-ordinated by the ICFRE, Deheradun, an autonomous organisation of the Ministry. While research activities of the council are outlined in Ch.7, the objectives and activities pertaining to forestry education and extension are as follows:
To develop and validate forestry curricula and to develop the Deemed University at FRI and finance post-graduate research for socio-economic as well as technical research.
This involves development and validation of forestry curricula in formal education through provision of funds for review and revision of work and development of Deemed University, Dehra Dun. Two M.sc. Courses (Forestry, and Wood Science & Technology) were started in addition to the two ongoing P.G. Diploma Courses (Plantation Technology) and pulp and paper technology. One hundred and one students were enrolled earlier in these courses and a total of 216 fellowships were allotted to various institutes.
Five training courses on Research Methodology with emphasis on statistics for Junior Scientists were organized at Delhi and Bangalore and two courses of two week’s duration for Scientists were also organized and attended by 43 scientists. Fourteen officials of ICFRE and its Institutes dealing with accounts related matters received training at Institute of Management Development, Lucknow. A training course on "Emotional Intelligence for 40 officers of ICFRE was also conducted during the year.
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore organised 13 training programmes under UNDP project. About 590 participants (students, farmers, teachers, village women, tribals, range officers, forest guards and foresters) attended the training programme. The subjects covered during the training are importance of tree planting, tree hybrids, vegetative multiplication, nursery techniques, seed collection and storage methods, collection of medicinal plants, biofertilisers and pest disease management.
Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun
The Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) was established in May,1987 as a successor Institute to the erstwhile Indian Forest College. It is a premier institution imparting professional training to the Probationers of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers to face challenges in the profession on technical forestry and managerial aspects. It has trained 2270 IFS Probationers and 323 Foreign Trainees from neighboring countries till 2000.
Currently, 32, 22, and 25 IFS probationers are undergoing training in the Academy belonging to 1998, 1999 and 2000 courses respectively. The number of women officers in the three courses are four, one and seven respectively.
The Academy also oganised a two day workshop in which senior forest officers belonging to 1975 batch was attended by 22 participants from India and 8 from Mauritius and Nepal. Many technical issues including new initiatives in the training of foresters were deliberated upon.
During the year Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests, gave away the diploma and awards to 53 IFS Probationers including 6 women officers in the convocation for 1997 course.
Three Compulsory Training Courses for IFS officers, sponsored by the Ministry, were held in the Academy. These are :
Policy and Legal issues in Forestry (one week)
International Conventions in Forestry and India’s Role and Concern (one week)
Computer Application in Forestry (two weeks)
The Academy also conducted two Professionals Skills Upgradation Courses and 55 officers promoted from State Forest Service of different State Cadres were trained under this programme.
The Academy conducted nine in-service training courses under the ‘Forestry Training Programme’. A total of 181 officers participated in these courses. The details of these courses are as follows:
Three two-week training programmes for the officers of 1979 batch (57 officers participated in these).
Three three-week training programmes for the officers of 1983 batch (66 officers participated in these).
Three four-week training programmes for the officers of 1990 batch (64 officers participated in these).
A workshop on ‘Foresters outside forests’ was held during the years in which 11 forest officers working outside the forest department participated and shared their experiences.
Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun
The FSI organises training programmes for forestry personnel on various aspects such as application of remote sensing techniques in forestry. GIS, forestry inventory and electronic data processing. The duration of training varies from one week to four weeks depending on the level of personnel and the objective of the training .
Training courses organized by FSI during the years are :
One week compulsory training course for Indian Forest Service (IFS) Officers to expose them about usage of remote sensing techniques in forestry.
Two week training course for Working Plan Officers (WPO) to expose them to the use of remote sensing techniques for preparation of working plans, updating stock maps and ground inventory and data processing.
Two week training course for State Forest Service (SFS) Officers to equip them with usage of remote sensing techniques in forestry.
Four week training course for Forest Range Officers (FRO) to train them in interpretation of satellite data and aerial photographs, forest inventory and electronic data processing.
Specially designed training courses for technical staff of FSI for enhancement of their skill.
Directorate of Forest Education, Dehradun
The Directorate is responsible for controlling, coordinating and managing all the regular training courses of S.F.S. and Forest Ranges officers in the country. Besides, the Directorate is also responsible for developing training capacity and facility of desired standard, to assist the Centre and States to develop training policy for efficient human resource management and development, to help states assess training needs of forestry personnel. The following colleges are under the administrative/technical control of this Directorate:-
Colleges under the administrative control
State Forest Service College (SFSC), Dehradun (Uttar Pradesh)
State Forest Service College, (SFSC), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
State Forest Service College, (SFSC), Burnihat (Assam)
Eastern Forest Rangers College (EFRC), Kurseong (West Bengal)
Colleges under the technical control
Forestry Training Institute, Haldwani, (Uttar Pradesh)
Forest Rangers College, Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh)
Forest Ranges College, Angul (Orissa)
Gujarat Forest Rangers College, Rajpipla (Gujarat)
North Eastern Forest Rangers College, Jalukbari (Assam)
Refresher Courses
This Directorate also organizes various short term courses for in-service SFS Officers. During the year following courses were conducted :
Two Weeks General Refresher Course
Three/two Weeks Course on Computer Application in Forestry
Two Weeks Advance Course on computer application in forestry
Two weeks course on Joint Forest Management and Sustainable Rural Development
Two weeks course on Bio-diversity Conservation & Watershed Management
Two Weeks Course on Project Formulation and Environmental Impact Assessment
Two Weeks Course on Policy Legal Issues & International Conventions
Two Weeks "Refresher Course" for Range Forest Officers at Eastern Forest Rangers College, Kurseong
Two weeks "Trainers Training courses
Promotion linked training for Rangers.
Induction Courses
In two years Diploma Course, 16 trainees in 1999-2001 & 12 trainees 2000-2002 SFS Course are under going training at State Forest Service College, Dehradun, Range Forest officers comprise of 15 trainees have completed two years certificate course 1998-2000 and passed out from North Eastern Forest Rangers College, Jalukbari (Assam). The State Forest Service College, Coimbatore has been assigned the task of training of RFOs training w.e.f. 1st November, 2000 and 27 nos. of trainees are undergoing two years RFOs training at SFS College, Coimbatore. The Eastern Forest Rangers College, Kurseong (West Bengal) is also conducting two years RFOs training w.e.f. 15th November, 2000. 35 nos. if trainees are undergoing two years RFOs training at E.F.R.C., Kurseong and S.F.S. College, Bumihat is also conducting 2 years Certificate course for RFOs w.e.f. 15th January, 2001. The Forestry Training Institute, Haldwani (U.P) is conducting two years Certificate Course for RFOs w.e.f. 1st January, 2001 and 30 trainees have reported so far.
The three S.F.S Colleges have conducted Eleven In-service "Refresher Courses" each of two week duration. The average number of participants in each course ranged between 16-17. One course each on "Joint Forest Management and Sustainable Rural Development", "Bio-diversity Conservation & Watershed Management", Project Formulation and Environmental Impact Assessment" & "Policy Legal Issues & International Conventions" of two week duration was also organised at State Forest Service College, Dehradun. The average number of the participants in each course ranged between 9 to 10 officers.
Computer Laboratories have been established at State Forest Service College, Dehradun and Coimbatore. Eight Courses on "Computer Application in Forestry" each of Three/Two weeks duration, were organized in these two colleges for in-services S.F.S. officers. Sixty four officers were trained in these courses. Besides these courses, two Advance Courses on "Computer Application in Forestry" were also conducted for in-service S.F.S Officers at State Forest Service College, Dehradun.
Two Refresher Courses of Two week’s duration were conducted for Range Officers at Eastern Forest Rangers College, Kurseong during the year. In 1st and 2nd Course, 30 RFOs were given training in Refresher Courses.
In addition to the above, the Directorate has also taken steps to revise the training rules and syllabus for S.F.S and RFOs as well as the preparation of Training Need Assessment, Umbrella Project and Skilled Development Programme upto the level of S.F.S. Officers.
Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore
Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI) continues to play its role in training manpower required by wood based Industries. During the years one-year post gradate Diploma courses in Mechanical Wood Industry and various short-term courses were conducted for the benefit of personnel industries under UNDP-FAO-GOI assistance. Nineteen Trainees who successfully completed the course found placement in the Industry through campus selection. In addition, 34 persons sponsored by the Industry were also trained through six short-term training courses.
Institute also conducted one-week compulsory course for IFS Officers on "Prospectus and Challenges in Processing and Utilization of Plantation Timbers" with a view to enlighten the foresters about the role of processing technology in efficient use of scarce wood resources.
Recognizing research facility available at the Institute, FRI, Dehra Dun, a Deemed University has recognized IPIRTI as one of the Centres for persuing research programme leading to the award of Ph.D. Two scientists of the Institute have registered under this programme.
Testing and Standardization
Product testing and standardization has been an important activitiy of the Institute. The Institute continued the testing services to the BIS for their certification programme and also to the industry for quality monitoring. During the year, 737 samples were tested for conformity to relevant specifications.
Consultancy and Advisory
Important consultancy projects continued during the year were:
Establishment of rubber wood testing laboratory for Rubber Board, Kottayam, Kerala
Draft standard for moulded fibre skin doors for Masonite Corporation of U.S.A.
Study on production and improvement in processing operations for Vanil Udyog a unit of Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation.
The institute is associated with the preparation of a document on "Processing of Forest Products" and other related matters as a part of the work of Task Force on Greening India constituted by the Planning Commission. Government of India.
Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal
The IIFM, Bhopal provides training in management and related subjects to officers from the IFS, Forest Departments, Forest Development corporation and forest related industries with a view to inculcating professionalism in forestry management.
The Institute has two educational programmes viz. Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (PGDFM) and Post-Master’s course in Natural Resource Management. Details of these educational programmes are as follows:
PGDFM
The two years programme leading to the award of the Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (PGDFM) has been recognized and equated as a corresponding Master’s Degree of an Indian University by the Association of Indian Universities. Students having Bachelor’s degree in any stream of knowledge science, humanities, Engineering, Agriculture, Commerce etc are admitted in this course through Combined Admission Test (CAT) conducted by Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). So far 11 batches consisting of 283 students has passed out and the 12th batch (1999-2001) consisting of 33 students (4 students from SAARC countries) will be passing out in March, 2001.
Post Master Course in Natural Resource Management
This course is specially designed for developing professional skills of resource mangers, practicing professionals and others involved for efficient and effective resource management, and is of 12 months duration. The selection is made on the basis of interview and group discussion. So far 6 batches consisting of 51 participants have undergone this course. 7th batch (2000-2001). This Post Master’s Course in Natural Resource Management is recognized as equivalent to M.Phil Degree of an Indian University by Association of Indian Universities.
Training
Management Development Programme(MDP)
Apart from imparting training to serving forestry personnel from various state forest departments, the Institute also served the training needs of NGOs and officials from other development departments under MDP. A total of 144 such programmes and 35 workshops and 24 seminars on various aspects of forestry management have so far been conducted by the Institute.
Consultancy
During the year the Institute apart from the ongoing projects undertook two consultancy assignments as follows:-
Himachal Pradesh Forest Sector Review: Economic Valuation
Western Ghats Forestry Projects—Support to Working plans wing, KFD.
Wildlife Education and Training
Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun
One of the main mandates of the WII, an autonomous institute of the Ministry is to impart training to government and non-government personnel, to carry out research and training activities and advice on matters of conservation and management of wildlife resources. While the research activities of Institute have been outlined in Chapter 7, the details of Training and Educational programmes conducted by the Institute are as follows:
The XXI P.G. Diploma Course, which commenced on 1st September 1999, was concluded on 31st May 2000. A total of 14 officers trainees (eight from different Indian States and one each from the Nepal, Bangladesh, SriLanka sponsored under SAARC Fellowship and one each from Srilanka, Palestine & Kazakistan under ITEC Fellowship scheme of Ministry of External Affairs) participated in the course .
The XXII P.G. Diploma Course commenced on 1st September 2000. A total of 15 officer trainees participated. Ten participants were from different Indian States, out of which the Global Tiger Forum sponsored 3 candidates . One each from Nepal and Sri Lanka under SAARC Fellowship Scheme, one each from Bangladesh and Vietnam under sponsorship of Global Tiger Forum and one from Tanzania under ITEC Fellowship Scheme of Ministry of External Affairs Participated in the course. The course has been designed in a modular form with 15 distinct modules. The Institute has opened the following modules for lateral entrants:
Ecodevelopment for Biodiversity Conservation (Duration: 4 weeks)
Environment Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment (Duration: 1 week)
Wetlands and Coastal Zone Management (Duration: 1 week)
The XVI Certificate Course began on 1st November 2000 with intake of eight officer trainees representing three States/UT (two from Uttaranchal, one from Dadra &Nagar Haveli and one from Orissa) and four from overseas (one each from Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh & Cambodia under GTF sponsorship).
The VII M.Sc. (Wildlife Science) Course, which commenced in July 1999, with 12 students is continuing. Out of these one is from Srilanka and one is from Myanmar.
A training course was organised for IFS Probationers of the 1999 batch in Wildlife Techniques Kalagarh, Corbett National Park from April 3-7, 2000. This training was a part of the ongoing collaboration of WII with IGNFA. The training was carried out with the infrastrucural and logistic support provided by the Corbett (Wildlife) Training School, Kalagrah. During the techniques tour, the Probationers were oriented towards animal tracks and signs and trained in vegetation sampling and analysis, wildlife habitat evaluation, habitat utilization, assessing impact of Gujjardera on wildlife habitats and animal density estimation and monitoring techniques such as block counts, live transect sappling, road side monitoring and dung counts.
A training course on "Immobilization and Restraint of Wildlife" was orgnised at Wildlife Institute of India for 11 officers of U.P. Forest Department funded through UPFD World Bank Project from April 17-21, 2000. The course consisted of theory and practical training including demonstration of chemical immobilization, anesthesia monitoring and revival on a captive wild chital.
A five-day training course on WINISIS, a window version of CDS/ISIS was organized at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun in collaboration with the National Information System Science & Technology (NISSAT), Ministry of Science & Technology, New Delhi, during April 24-28, 2000. The objective of the workshop was to develop skills in the use of advanced Micro ISIS and WINISIS in the field of Library and Information services.
A training Workshop for Biosphere Reserve Mangers of the North-Western and North-Eastern Zones of india was organised from April 24 - May 1, 2000. Using formal and informal session and presentation of case studies by participants, the workshop simed to train the Biosphere Reserve Managers in the aspects of inventory, scientific research, documentation, monitoring, management and sustainable untilization of resources in the Biosphere Reserves.
A specialized training programme on "Biodiversity Conservation and Wildlife Management" was organized by the WII for IFS Probationers of 1997-2000 batch as per the request of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy from May 5-23,2000.
A one week training workshop on Ecotourism Planning and Management was organised in collaboration with the australian Conservation and Training Institute at Dehradun from May 24-30, 2000.
The orientation workshop provided an opportunity to the participants to learn about the concepts of ecotourism and become familiar with tools for planning and management through several case studies from India and abroad.
A group of 10 front line staffs from the Jammu & Kashmir Department of Wildlife Protection were trained in the use of Wildlife Monitoring Techniques based on the snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS), developed by International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT).
Under the ongoing GOI-UNDP project "Sub-programme for Protected Area Management at Jaldapara" a training workshop on "Ecodevelopment for Biodiversity Conservation" was conducted for the spearhead team members of Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal from June 30-July 4, 2000. A two-day training workshop was also conducted during July 5-6, 2000 for the Community Representatives and the local NGOs at Jaldapara wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal under this Project.
A one-week capsule course in "Wildlife Management" for IFS officers was organised by the Wildlife Institute of India at its Chandrabani campus from September 4-8, 2000.
A workshop was conducted on Health Management of Wild Animals during 27 November – 8 December 2000.
A training course was conducted on Wetland Conservation and Management during 11-23, December 2000, for Protected Area Managers, Field Biologists/researchers from National Parks and Sanctuaries, Scientists, Government and Non-Government personnel with the basic objective of providing knowledge and skills for developing a ‘Wetland Management Plan’.
The computer/GIS Centre of WII regularly conducted computer training courses for the students, researchers and officer-trainees of the different wildlife management courses conducted by the Institute.
On the occasion of the World Environment Day on 5th June, 2000 a number of nature awareness programmes were organised for the school children.
During the wildlife week, many popular talks by guest speakers were organised in the Institute. On the occasion, wildlife film shows, drawing and painting competition and wildlife quiz competition were organised for school children where 70 children of 12 schools participated.
During March 2000, Asian Region Conservation Forum as IUCN activity was organised by WII on behalf of Government of India at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi where nearly 200 delegates from abroad, mostly from Asian region and over 100 participants from India deliberated on different conservation issues.
The WII entered into a contract agreement with the Director, Project Tiger in the Ministry to provide consultancy services for the Project "Protected Area Management Guidelines and Training Contract including Regional Planning and Regulation" under GEF India Ecodevelopment Projects.
Under the GEF-India Ecodevelopment Programme, the M.P. State assigned WII a one-year consultancy task to prepare baseline maps of Pench Tiger Reserve and surrounding areas.
National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi
The NMNH, a subordinate office of the Ministry functions with its main objective of promoting non-formal environmental education and conservation awareness among the people through various in-house and outreach activities . It has various exhibit galleries, a Bio-science Computer Room, a Discovery Room and an Activity Room for promoting environmental awareness among different target groups.
The Museum organises various temporary exhibitions as part of its education and extension services. Some of the exhibitions, organised and coordinated by the museum during the year are as follows:
On the occasion of International Ozone Day an exhibition was organized (16-18 September 2000) at the National Science Centre, New Delhi in collaboration with the Ozone cell of the Ministry.
A temporary exhibition was organized as an outcome of various activities undertaken by children and teachers for the "Kids Eco Summit—2000" in the Exhibition Hall of Museum from 19th November to 31st January , 2001.
The following special in-house and outreach activities oriented programmes were organized and conducted by the NMNH throughout the year for the benefit of school children, college students, teachers and general public during the year:
Essay writing competition in Braille on ‘Population Explosion" in January, 2000 for the visually challenged to commemorate the Louis Braille Day.
Annual weeklong programme for handicapped .
An Essay competition for the Delhi School children in association with the Hindustan Times - PAC.
A monthlong Summer Programme for teenagers and different age group children on the themes:
Exploring the Environment (Age Group: 14-17 years)
Animal/plant Modelling (Age Group: 9-13 years)
Nature Painting (Age Group:9-13 years)
Learn with fun (Age Group: 6-8 years)
Essay competition for school children on the Earth Day.
Special Programme to commemorate the 22nd Foundation Day of NMNH and the World Environment Day on 5th June, 2000. A set of Posters was released by the Hon’ble Union Minister for Environment and Forests on the occasion.
NMNH Foundation Day lecture on the World Environment Day on UNEP theme "2000- The Environment Millenium-Time to Act" by Prof. M.G.K. Menon.
Essay Competition on the occasion of "World Day to Combat Desertification":
The International Ozone Day was observed where 3000 children participated in various programmes.
Activities on "NMNH- Mileage Kids’ Eco-Summit" - 2000.
‘One-the-spot Nature Photography’ contest for Teenagers and children from various schools.
Collaboration with Universities/Other Institution
NMNH continued its academic collaboration with the University of Delhi and assisted its Department of Environmental Biology for field studies by the students.
Teacher Orientation Workshops were organised at Chennai and Mysore on "Low Cost Teaching Aids" in collaboration with the CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai in which teachers from the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Pondicherry, Orissa and Kerala were trained as master Trainers for further propagation for its objectives.
Professional enrichment, participation in Seminars/Workshops etc.
NMNH participated in the Annual Conference of the International Committee of Science and Technology Museum (CIMUSET) of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Paris, France.
NMNH and its Regional Museums participated in the Annual General Conference of the Museums Association of India Held in Trichur, Kerala in April, 2000 on the theme "The Indian Museums—Challenges in the 21st Century".
Regional Museum of Natural History, Mysore
During the year, the Museum conducted the following programme:
Temporary exhibition on ‘Orchids" was organised where photographs taken by Nature Photographers on rare orchids were displayed.
Workshop on ‘Low cost Teaching Aids’ was organised in October, 2000 in collaboration with the CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai.
Two days’ workshop on ‘Butterfly" was organised in September, 2000.
Collaborative programmes like Taramandal Show, ‘Man & Machine" Mobile exhibition shows etc., were organised in collaboration with the Visvesvarya Industrial & Technological Museum, Bangalore.
Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhopal
The museum was involved in professional development in the field of museology and also organised varoius activities to cater to the needs of heterogenous visitiors.
A large number of programme in collaboration with various NGOs were undertaken as forrlows:
Monthlong summer programme entitled ‘Prakrti-2000" was organised for school and college students.
Students were taken to "Vanivihar" for animal watching and studies on pollution and aquatic life.
A programme called "Project Neighbourhood" was organised for slum children where 400 children participated.
Programme for handicapped children was organised, wherein more than 100 children participated.
First SAARC seminar on ‘Museology’ was organised in collaboration with the National Museum of Mankind, Bhopal in which 50 delegates attended.
Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhubaneswar
The site office of the Museum was shifted to its main building. Computer, furniture and other accessories were acquired for making it fully operational.
Networking with various professional resource persons and institutions in related fields has been established.
A field trip to Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary was undertaken to collect specimens for display purposes in its galleries.
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) was instituted by the Ministry during the year 1987 in grateful and reverential memory of the services of Late Smt. Indira Gandhi for the protection of the environment. The Award carries Rs. 1.00 lakh in cash, a silver lotus trophy, a scroll and a citation. Since 1991, the award is bestowed to an Individual and to an organization in recognition to their outstanding contribution in the field of environmental protection and creating environmental awareness.
The Award Committee for IGPP selected the nomination for the IGPP Award for the year 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 during the year. The Awards were given away by Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests to the awardees under Individual and Organisation catergories as given in Table-19.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sr. No. Year Category Awardees ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. 1994 Individual Smt. Radha Bhatt, General Secretary Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, Kasturba Gram, Indore (MP). 2. 1994 Organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh, Bheekampura Kishori, via Thanagaji, Alwar, Rajasthan 3. 1995 Individual Shri Natwarbhai Thakkar, Nagaland Gandhi Ashram, Mokochung, Nagaland. 4. 1995 Organization Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centres Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. 5. 1996 Individual Shri Anupam Mishra, Gandhi Peace Foundation, 221-223 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi. 6. 1996 Organisation CPR Environmental Education Centre, 1. Eldams Road, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. 7. 1997 Individual Prof. J.C. Daniel, Hony. Member, BNHS, Hornbill House, Dr. Salim Ali Chowk, Saheed Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai. 8. 1997 Organisation Centre for Environment Education, Nehru Foundation for Development, Thaltej Tekra, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards
The annual Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award (IPVM) were instituted in 1986 to give recognition to the pioneering and exceptional contributions of individuals/organisations in the field of afforestation and wastelands development. Since 1996, sixteen awards are given under eight categories, viz., (a) Individuals, (b) Panchayat /Gram Sabha/Village Level Institutions, (c) Educational Institutions, (d) Voluntary Agencies including Mahila Mandals, Yuvak Mandals etc. (e) Government Agencies (district level and below), (f) Corporate Sector, (g) Government Servants (Individuals), and (h) Municipalities/Municipal Corporations, a Cantonment Boards. Each Award carries a cash component of Rs. 50,000/-, medallion, scroll and citation. Awards upto 1998 have been presented so far and the same for 1999 is being processed. Nominations for the year 2000 are being invited
The Mahavriksha Puraskar was instituted in 1993-94 to give recognition to individuals/ organisations for preserving and protecting trees of the notifed species. A roster of notified trees species, valid for five years, has been prepared. Each Award consists of a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/-, plaque and citation. Awards upto 1998 have been presented and the same for 1999 is being processed. Nominations for the year 2000 are being invited
With a view to motivate the Gram Panchayats to undertake afforestation activities from the funds available under Rural Employment Generation and other plantation schemes, an Award was instituted by the Ministry in 1995-96. Under this programme, the afforestation efforts of the Gram Panchayat will be evaluated after 4 years in every district. The best performing Gram Panchayat would be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh for being the "Zile Ki Sabse Hari Panchayat.’ The scheme was taken up for implementation from 1999-2000, and the process for selection of awardees is being undertaken.
The Ministry administers the two fellowship awards viz. Pitambar Pant National Environment Fellowship Award and B.P. Pal National Environment Fellowship Award for Biodiversity to encourage and recognize potential and proven talents in the broad area of Environment as well as Biodiversity.
With a view to attract talented scientist of high caliber and repute and to make these at par with other prestigious awards in the country, the fellowship emoluments have been revised. The revised emoluments are Rs. 26,000/- p.m. + allowances or last pay drawn + allowances whichever is higher for in service candidates who opt the award on a whole time basis. In case of retired persons/pensioners or if the awardee desires to work on part time basis, the fellowship amount will be Rs. 10,000/ p.m. over and above the retirement benefits/pension/normal salary as the case may be. In either case the fellowship amount will be tax-free as per the existing income-tax rules/guidelines. The revised contingency grant (including travel) is Rs. One lakh per annum for each award. The research assistance in terms of one Research Associate or one SRF for each award as per existing Govt. norms/rules is also provided. Both the awards are tenable for a period of two years only without any extension possibility. The revised provisions of these Awards will be effective from the year 2000 on wards.
Dr. Salim Ali and Dr. Kailash Sankhala Fellowship
For giving recognition to the eminent officers and field workers for exemplary work in the field of Wildlife Conservation and Research, the Ministry has instituted, Dr. Salim Ali Wildlife Fellowship Award for research work on avian fauna and Dr. Kailash Sankhala National Wildlife Fellowship Award for research work on mammals.
Shri K. Thulsi Rao, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Andhra Pradesh has been selected for Dr. Salim Ali Wildlife Fellowship Award for 1999 and Shri Ranjan Kumar Das, Divisional Forest Officer, Assam has been selected for Dr. Kailash Sankhala National Wildlife Fellowship Award for 2000.
Rajiv Gandhi National Wildlife Conservation Award
This award has been instituted by the Ministry for significant contribution in the field of wildlife which is recognised as having made, or has the potential make, measurable and major impact on the protection and conservation of wildlife in the country.
Two awards of Rs. 1,00,000/- each in cash, alongwith medallions and citations are given to:
Education and research institutions and organisatons; and
Forest and wildlife officers/research scholars or scientists/wildlife conservationists.
Amrita Devi Wildlife Protection Award
The Ministry has approved institution of Amrita Devi Wildlife Protection Award, in the name of Amrita Devi Bishnoi, to the village communities for showing valour and courage for protection of wildlife. A proposal in this regard was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for seeking the approval of Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble President.
Shri Ganga Ram Bishnoi a villager of Chirai village, Distt. Jodhpur, Rajasthan was shot dead, while protecting a Chinkara from the poachers. In recognition to his great sacrifice, Ministry has given a token award of Rs. 50,000/- to the widow of Shri Ganga Ram Bishnoi.
Environment Education, Awareness and Training
Formal Environmental Education
The Ministry interacts actively with the University Grants Commission (UGC), National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for introducing and expanding environmental concepts, themes, issues etc. in the curricula of schools and colleges. The two Centres of Excellence on Environmental Education of the Ministry are also involved in the activities of the UGC, NCERT and MHRD related to formal environmental education.
The study on the "Status of Infusion of Environmental Concepts in the School Curricula and the Effectiveness of its Delivery" being conducted by the Bharti Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Pune under the Environment Education (EE) in School System sub-component of the World Bank assisted Environment Management Capacity Building Project was continued during the year. The operationalisation of the EE strategy on a pilot basis is being taken up under Phase II of the World Bank project.
Non-Formal Environment Education and Awareness
Environmental Education, Awareness and Training plays a significant role in encouraging and enhancing people’s participation in activities aimed at conservation, protection and management of the environment, essential for achieving sustainable development. The Ministry, therefore, accords priority for the promotion of non-formal environment education and creation of awareness among all sections of the society through diverse activities using traditional and modern media of communication. Some of the major activities undertaken in this regard during the year are as follows:
National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) 2000-2001
The NEAC started in 1986 for creating environmental awareness at all levels of the society, was continued during the year with the main theme as ‘Keep our Environment Clean and Green". Under this major theme, attention was also focussed on the following sub-themes.
Keeping our sources of drinking water clean and protected;
Ensuring proper management of garbage and other solid waste;
Control of air pollution;
Protection of trees and plantation including nurturing of new trees; and
Sustainable life style.
Twenty-seven organisations located in different parts of the country were designated as Regional Resource Agencies (RRAs) for assisting the Ministry in conducting this Campaign. These RRAs were also responsible for physically monitoring and evaluating the activities conducted by various participating organisations under NEAC in their areas of jurisdiction.
Nearly 10,425 proposals were received from NGOs, schools, colleges, universities, research institutions, women and youth organisations etc. from all over the country. Out of these, 4,581 organisations were provided financial assistance for organising awareness creating activities such as padayatras, rallies, public meetings, exhibitions, folk dances, street theatres, eassy/debate, painting/poster competitions for school children, seminars, workshops, training courses, etc., and for preparation and distribution of environmental education resources material. Diverse target groups ranging from students/youth/teachers to tribal, rural population, professionals, etc. were covered under the campaign.
With a view to assessing the effectiveness and impact of the NEAC, an evaluation of this programme was undertaken during the year through three independent Institutions namely, the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad, CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai and the Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi. Final reports from all the three organisations were received by the Ministry and are being examined.
To impart environmental education and to encourage and mobilise participation of school children in various environmental conservation activities in their localities, the Ministry provides financial assistance for setting up of Eco-clubs in schools. These clubs are established in Govt. recognised schools and each club has 20-50 members taken from among the students of Class VI to X. A group of 20-50 Eco clubs in one or more geographically contiguous districts are serviced by a coordinating agency which may be an educational institution, a NGO or a professional body. About 1500 Eco Clubs have been set up/supported in different parts of the country during the year.
An evaluation of the Eco Clubs programme was also undertaken through the Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi during the year. The final evaluation report has been received. The recommendations of the study are being examined with a view to restructuring the programme to make it more effective.
The Ministry has decided to intensify the Eco Clubs programme to increase coverage and activity with the intention of mobilising youth for environmental action. The details of the intensified activities of the eco club programmes to increase coverage as decided in the Coimbatore Charter is given in Chapter-9.
Launching of Mass Awareness Campaign
"Mass Awareness" has been identified as one of the thrust areas in the Ministry not only to intensify the efforts already being made in this direction, but also to launch new initiatives. A new programme "Mass Awareness Campaign" is proposed to be launched with the following objectives:
Spreading wide awareness about environmental issues and sensitising people, institutions and industry to the necessity of preserving a good environment, and
Providing visibility to the work of the Ministry.
The following themes have been identified for the campaign.
Clear Air
Clear Water
Bio-diversity
Conservation and
Management of Wastes
Besides using the print and the electronic media, performing arts like folk songs, street theatre etc. participation of general public through quiz/debate competitions etc. would also be ensured in this Campaign. A high-powered Media Committee has been constituted in the Ministry to work out a strategy for running this campaign. Two professional agencies have been empanelled for launching a focussed campaign on the above mentioned themes.
Seminars/Symposia/Workshops/Conferences
The objective of this scheme is to provide a common forum to professionals for sharing upto date knowledge on various technical issues related to environment and to create environmental awareness about specific issues. Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to universities/Academic Institutions/Non-Governmental Organizations for organizing seminars/ symposia/ conferences/ workshops on environment related issues. During the year, about 45 proposals were supported for financial assistance under this scheme.
The Library of the Ministry acts as a document repository for dissemination of information in the field of environment and its associated areas. It has a collection of over 23,000 books including technical reports. Besides, the library also receives more than 100 national/international journals covering diverse areas of environment to provide timely access to relevant and comprehensive information to the users.
Apart from the technical books, journals, proceedings etc. the Library also procured a wide range of general books both in Hindi and English during the year, for the use of the officials of the Ministry and its associated offices. The Library continued to provide reference/referral services to scientists, technologists, policy planners, decision makers, scholars, students, NGOs and other national and international users.
In order to provide on line access to the users, a comprehensive programme for computerization of the library records has been undertaken. Renovation of the Library has also been undertaken to improve the reading facilities for the users.
Seven Centres of Excellence as detailed below have been set up so far by the Ministry with a view to strengthening awareness, research and training in priority areas of environmental science and management.
Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad (linked with Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad).
CPR Environmental Education Center (CPREEC), Chennai (linked with Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar Foundation, Chennai).
Centre for Ecological Science (linked with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore).
Centre for Mining Environment (CME), Dhanbad (Linked with the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad).
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore (linked with the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai).
Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), Delhi (linked with the Department of Environmental Biology, Delhi University, South Delhi Campus).
The Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, (TBGRI) Thruvanathapuram (linked with the State Govt. of Kerala).
Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad
The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) developed many innovative programmes and material to contribute to raising awareness about the environment across the country. The activities undertaken by the CEE in the major areas during the year are as follows:
EE for Schools
As part of the National Environmental Education Programme in Schools (NEEPS), year long EE activities in schools were facilitated in over 1000 schools across the country. This was through a cluster approach involving a nation-wide network of NGOs, schools and the State Departments of Education engaged in EE. Capacity building workshops were organized for the NGOs and school teachers associated with NEEPS. Several teacher training workshops were also organized to orient teachers to Environment Education.
Adaptation and translation of some of CEE’s publications including the Joy of Learning, Green Club, Green Reader, etc were done into regional languages. Educational material focussing on the theme of Asian Elephant Conservation with support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and biodiversity education material in the four southern languages with support from the MacArthur Foundation were developed.
As a nodal agency for the Environmental Orientation to School Education (EOSE) scheme of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), the CEE facilitated 46 projects by NGOs to develop innovative locale specific programmes and materials.
A new project supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Department of Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh has been taken up by the CEE in Andhra Pradesh. The objective of the projet is to strengthen environmental education in schools of AP and to set up a model for scaling-up and wider application. Many training programmes for NGOs, teachers, etc. have been organised. Several publications have been developed under this project.
CEE has also been appointed by the Ministry as one of the coordinating agencies for initiating the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programme in 50 schools of the country.
EE for colleges and youth
Under the ‘Samvardhan’ project initiated with support from the Field Studies Council, UK, efforts are being initiated to add dimensions of conservation and sustainability to rural development studies in Rural Higher Education Institution (RHEIs) as well as to infuse environmental perspective in the nonformal education system of RHEIs during the year.
CYWEN (Club of Youth Working for Environment) was chosen as the sub-regional representative for South Asia to the Youth Advisory Council of the UNEP till 2001. Earlier two members of CYWEN participated in the Youth Cacus organised in Japan during the year.
EE through Mass Media
A website for children "kidsgreen" was launched on ‘Earth Day’ with a view to reach out to children with issues relating to the environment and also to provide a forum for the children to interact.
CEE with GreenCOM (which is a part of the US-based Academy for Educational Development), conducted a series of workshops for business journalists on greenhouse gas emission abatement mechanisms that are currently available or are expected to be available in the near future. A website and an information kit on the issue have also been developed.
EE through Experiencing Nature
Sundarvan Nature Discovery Centre, an activity of the CEE aims to sensitize people to the linkages in the natural world and to initiate a process of enquiry in young minds. Sundarvan continued to attract daily visitors. Several nature education camps, snake shows, etc. were also conducted.
EE through Interpretation
CEE undertook development of interpretation programmes for Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Nalsarovar Park, Madhav National Park, Wildlife Interpretation Centre at Pachgaon Parvati, Pune, National Zoological Park, etc.
A MoU has been signed by the Centre with Chilka Development Authority for the project titled "Interpreting Chilka through an Integrated Strategy for interpretation, Education and Communication". The project is being implemented through CEE’s new field office at Chilka.
Reaching out to Decision Makers
As part of the Environment and Development Book series project, the eighth book on ‘Renewable Energy and Environment : A policy Analysis for India’ and ninth one entitled " Towards an agro ecosystem policy for India: Lessons from two case studies" were published during the year and several workshops organised.
In order to educate for an Energy Efficient Future, a conference for Stakeholders in Gujarat was organized on 5-6 July, 2000 in collaboration with the Alliance to Save Energy, Washington, D.C. USA.
CEE also took up the development of a strategy and Action Plan for Education, Awareness and Training as part of "National Bio-diversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)" project supported by the Ministry and UNDP.
UNDP GEF/CCF Small Grant Programme
CEE was selected as the national host institution for the operational phase of UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF)/Country Cooperation Framework (CCF) Small Grants Programme in India. The Small Grants Programme supports activities which demostrate community based approaches that could reduce threat to the global environment. CEE is monitoring and supporting 24 ongoing projects and also working with NGOs etc., to develop and implement innovative proposals especially in the areas of biodiversity land and water management .
EE for Industry
CEE has signed a MoU with Cleaner Production Centre of Naroda Industrial States, Gujarat for identifying environmental issues in the industries and promoting awareness on alternatives to solve the issue like resource conservation, waste minimization, treatment and safe disposal of industrial waste etc.,
EE through Natural Resource Management
At the request of the Forest Department, Uttar Pradesh, field offices are being set up by CEE to provide support for guiding the preparation and implementation of eco-development microplans by village communities around selected Protected areas in the State. Regular activities at Hingolgadh Eco-development Programme and Ranthambhore Eco-development Programme were continued during the year.
EE in the Urban Context
CEE is conducting an extensive study in hospital waste management in large corporate hospitals of Delhi under a sponsored project of the Ministry and is also undertaking a survey and study of hospital waste management practices in different healthcare establishments of Delhi.
Training
The Training in Librarian and Documentation- 99 and the Internship in Environmental Journalism have been completed. Short duration training modules for inservice professionals under TALEEM were organized by the CEE.
Networking
The fifth Certificate Course on environmental education was organized which was attended by 10 professionals from five countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea.
Special Events
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment and Forests visited CEE on 25 September, during which a presentation was made on the works and experiences of the Centre. The Committee also discussed various aspects related to the Biological Diversity Bill, 2000 with the Centre during the visit.
The Centre was awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar for 1997 for its outstanding contributions in the field of ‘environmental education and awareness’.
C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre, Chennai
The C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre, established in 1989 as a Centre of Excellence for Environmental Education trains a wide variety of constituents in environmental protection and conservation, with an emphasis on teachers and students as guardians of the future and women, panchayat memebers of NGOs as architects of contemporary change. Various activities undertaken by the Centre during the years are as follows:
Environmental Education
Several teachers and NGO trainers in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharastra, Orissa, Tamilnadu and Union Territories of Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands were trained in integrating environmental education in the school curriculum. Special training programmes on waste management for urban and industrial workers, and Training in the environmental laws of India for students and faculty of law and NGOs were also conducted in these states. This effort was supported by the Centre’s video on wheels programme which conducted environmental awareness programmes for students in the daytime and for villagers at night.
In collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the Centre developed an environmental education curriculum for the Andhra Pradesh State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) as well as a curriculum for schools of the Corporation of Chennai.
In view of the Supreme Court ruling, the Centre took up a project to strengthen environmental education in the school curriculum in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and in the Union Territory Pondicherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Consultation workshops were conducted for curriculum developers, textbook writers and teacher educators.
The Centre also conducted a unique experiment of environmental education through folk music. 360 teachers from 141 schools in two districts of Tamil Nadu were trained in environmental folk songs for onwards teaching to the students.
Bio-diversity Conservation Education programme
To emphasize the importance of conserving bio-diversity, secondary and tertiary students and teachers from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry were taken to Vedanthangal bird sancturies, national parks and zoos and the same emphasis was given in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa for NGOs, forest rangers, villagers, women and panchayat members.
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Conservation Education Programme
The Centre has established a network of NGOs in the states covering the Niligiri Biosphere Reserve, the most important ecological site of Southern India, to monitor environmentally degrading activities. Teachers, students, NGOs, panchayat members, councillors, forest guards and villagers have been actively involved in the Centre’s environmental education programmes. The gene pool of medicinal plants established by the Centre at Thambatty now has 160 medicinal plants and is used as a demonstration plot to educate local farmers and tribals on herbal farming. Smokeless chullhas, vegetable and fruit seeds and saplings were distributed to tribals in villages around the Mudumalai and Bandipur sanctuaries accompanied by training of tribal youth in horticulture and other income generating activities based on their traditional craft and skills. School students monitored the water quality of the Niligiris district utilizing the Centre’s water testing kit.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Conservation Education programme
The Centre has been actively involved in conducting workshops for teachers, students and women on environmental protection and conservation activities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an ecologically fragile area.
Women and Eco-development
Women are the primary sufferers of environmental destruction, besides being the chief protectors of the environment. To enhance their role, the Centre trained women in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh in making domestic smokeless chullhas, vermicomposting, nursery raising and establishment of herbal and kitchen gardens. Several villagers were taught organic farming and some have taken up desiltation of their local village tanks. As a follow-up, the women were trained to prepare medicines from locally available herbs and make eco-friendly articles to enhance their income. This was supplemented by health and nutrition education programmes.
Restoration of Sacred Groves
The successful conservation of the ecological heritage through the restoration of sacred groves was continued by the Centre. Several new sites were taken up for restoration at the request of the local people.
Exhibitions
Two new exhibitions on "Harvesting Rainwater" and "Water and Disease" were organised by the Centre to address the water problems affecting the country. Another on " Eco-systems of India" aimed to educate young people was also organised. During the exhibitions, inter-school quiz competitions, mock parliament and seminars were conducted. As a result of these exhibitions several private individuals established rain water harvesting systems in their homes and women from poorer families were able to protect their children by water purification methods which were demonstrated during the exhibitions.
Research and Surveys
At the request of several NGOs, the Centre assessed the water quality, ambient air quality and noise levels in several districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu and Pondicherry. Documentation of the ecological history of India, including natural and man-made calamities, from 3000 B.C. to 2000 A.D has also been taken up by the Centre.
Generation and Production of Resource Materials
Many of Centre’s publications were translated into more Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and Oriya. Apart from reprinting and translation of earlier publications the Centre has brought out new Publications on "Harvesting Rain Water", " Water and Disease " and "Eco-System of India ". A disc in Telugu on "Nursery Raising and Tree Planting " and a set of seven posters for students on "Sanitation and Hygiene" in English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi were also developed by the Centre.
Seminars and Workshops
In collaboration with the National Museum of Natural Histroy (NMNH), workshops were conducted for NGOs on "Preparation of Low-Cost Teaching Aids". Seminars on "CRZ Notification and its implementation" were held at Bangalore, Chennai, Vizag and Mumbai, and on "Industry health and law" at Thiruvananthapuram by the Centre. Besides, the Centre also organized the following workshops during the year.
Problems in the Implementation of Environmental Laws at Hyderabad and
Wetlands and Water Quality of the Nilgiris at Udhagamandalam.
District Resource Centres
The Centre has set up Resource Centres in several districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamilnadu and Pondicherry to co-ordinate and facilitate the environmental activities in these states.
NEAC Evaluation Study
The Centre was assigned by the Ministry to undertake the study of the National Environmental Awareness Campaign (NEAC) in the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa and Tamil Nadu for the Year 1995-2000. The study has been completed and the report submitted to the Ministry.
Special Events
The members of the Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee related to the Ministry visited the Cente during the year and discussed various activities undertaken by the Centre.
The Centre received the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar for the year 1996 for its outstanding contribution in the field of ‘environmental education and awareness’.
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Bangalore
The Centre for Ecological Sciences combines basic ecological research, applied environmental problems and extensions work, with particular reference to the Western Ghats. During the year the Centre carried out 24 projects in the broad areas of Biodiversity of India, Ecology and Conservation Biology, Animal Behaviour, Mathematical Ecology and Evolution and Conservation Genetics and Molecular Ecology, Climate Variability, Change in Environment and Human Ecology, Eco-development and Energy and Environment.
Highlights of prime works carried out during the year are as follows:
A novel behaviour in the Asian dwarf honey bee Apis florea for removal of debris : Headpushing
The Asian dwarf honeybee Apis florea builds its nest in the open, encircling a branch of a tree, unlike most other species which build nests inside a well enclosed cavity. All honeybees have a dance language by which worker bees tell each other about how far and in which direction a very rich food source is available. The cavity dwelling bees dance on the vertical surface of their combs while A.florea dances on the horizontal, top portion of the comb. Thus the dance floor in an A.florea colony has a tendency to accumulate debris like leaves etc. which could hamper the movement of the dancers and followers. Leaves and twigs could also form temporary bridges enabling predators like ants to gain acces to the honeycomb. To solve these problems, A.florea display a unique behaviour: workers use their heads and body to roll away loose pieces of debris. For an obstacle which is fixed at one end, a bee uses her head to push up the barrier so that it does not touch the comb. While doing this she does not use her forelegs but only her head while her hind legs support her body. This behavior is called ‘headpushing’ In this manner, a single worker bee can hold up a weight of 60 mg for upto 23 minutes.
Molecular genetics, diversity and social organization in the Asian elephant
Mitochondrial DNA analysis provides a molecular tool to understand genetic relatedness, gene flow and divergence at the population level based on maternal inheritance. Techniques are being developed for isolation and sequencing mitochondrial DNA of elephants from their faces such that non-invasive procedures could be available for such studies. A section of the D-loop region of mt .DNA has been sequenced and variations in an elephant population in southern India examined. The results show that all individuals examined so far in the Nilgiri-Eastern Ghats region have the same mt DNA haplotype. This is in contrast to Srilanka, where about six haplotypes were found within a small region. This work to all the Indian populations of elephants to reconstruct their genetic history will be extended.
Prediction of seasonal rainfall and groundnut yield for Anantpur region
Prediction of the seasonal rainfall and expected groundnut yield is important of several farm-level decisions. It has been found that these predictions can be generated on the basis of the occurrence of the major event in the tropics viz El Nino. It has also been revealed that the seasonal rainfall and the yield simulated by the model named as PNUTGRO model, trends to be low in El Nino years and high in the year following on El Nino.
Social behaviour in soil amoebae
As part of investigation of social behaviour is Dictyostelid soil amoebae, relative roles played by genetic relatedness, and pheotypic qualities, in influencing the differentiation of an amoeba into a live spore or dead stalk cell were studied. Adopting the spore option classified as ‘selfish’ behaviour and the stalk option, as ‘altruistic’ behaviour, Starred amoebae belonging to different genotype of the same species after previously labeling them are mixed, the relative contributions of the two to the spore population are monitored. Prediction, based on the hypothesis suggests that the behaviour of the individuals belonging to one genotype is influenced solely by the genetic heterogeneity within the chimaera, both genotypes contribute (dis)proportionately more to spore population than they do when they are on their own. However in contradiction to the prediction, some genotypes appear to be capable of forcing the latter to be more than normally ‘alturistic’ when in their company. This reveals that epigenetic interactions based on phenotypic heterogeneity are more significant mediators of behaviour than genetic relatedness per se.
Centre of Mining Environment (CME), Dhanbad
Various academic Human Resource Development and R &D activities carried out by the Centre of Mining Environment (CME) at Indian School of Mines, (ISM) Dhanbad during the year are as follows:
Academic Activities
The center continued the three-semester M.Tech programme in Environmental Science & Engineering and provided environmental management inputs in the following academic programmes of ISM.
B.Tech (Mining Engg.)
M.Sc. (Tech) Applied Geophysics
With a view to integrate environmental management with mining practices, inputs have been provided in the following post-graduate academic programmes of ISM.
M.Tech (Opencast Mining)
M. Tech (Mine Planing and Design)
Human Resource Development
The Centre continued to conduct extensive human resource development activities as follows:
Organised eight training programmes on ‘Environmental Management in Mining Area" of one week to six-weeks duration for 90 senior, middle and junior level executives of Coal India Ltd.
The Centre had developed the draft training modules under Training Activity of the Mining Sub-component of the Environmental Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project of the Ministry under World Bank support with the following tasks:
Planning, design and implementation of environmentally benign designs
Environmental compliance for the mining Industry
Training of Trainers
About 400 nominations were received from various government, industrial and other organisations for training under above three tasks.
Research and Development
The salient findings of the R&D activities carried out by the Centre are as follows:
In field trials of the bulk utilisation of fly ash from thermal power stations in enhancing the productivity of degraded land, it was possible to have increased growth and yield attributes of vegetable species-Okra, Colocasia, Tomato & Potato. Trace metals contents (Zn,Cu,Fe, Mn, Co, Pb, & Ni) were found to be increased in the edible parts of vegetables with increase in fly ash coupled with higher yield of crop. Fe,Mn,Zn, & Cu in vegetables species at all levels of fly ash application were within the acceptable daily intake values recommended by FAO/WHO. Application of fly ash also increased the growth yield and quality attributes of flower species (marigold, gerbera & gladiolus) and tree species (chakundi, shisham, karanj, akashi & gamhar).
In a study on Assessment of air quality status and its impact on the community of Bhelatand Mining complex, it has been revealed that,
Air Quality Index of Bhelatand Mining Complex in monsoon was fairly clean whereas in winter it was moderately polluted.
SPM and RPM levels were exceeding permissible limits at few locations. Concentrations of Pb and Zn were observed at significant level.
A study of Removal of dyes from wastewater using flyash-a low cost adsorbent, indicated.
Optimised conditions for utilisation of fly ash as an adsorbent are 30-72 mesh size, temp. of 40°C, and dose of 1.5g.
Adsorption process found to be spontaneous in nature
Process is endothermic in nature for the dyes used.
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) studies of project affected persons (PAPs) in Kusmunda and Gevra Projects of South Eastern Coalfield Limited (SECL), revealed.
The level of the emotional need satisfaction (89.8 and 93.9%) was highest while that of the mental and physical need satisfaction was the second best in the R&R villages among the four types of settlement at the Projects.
Although the level of satisfaction of the emotional need satisfaction of the colonies was less than the native villages at Kusmunda Project, it was second to the R&R villages at Gevra Project.
The level of the mental and physical need satisfaction was the maximum in the colonies.
In the Indigenous People Development Project (IPDP) villages the level of emotional need satisfaction was 60% at Kusmunda and 55.1% at Gevra and their level of the mental and physical need satisfaction was at the third place among the four locations.
The level of satisfaction of the mental and physical needs was the lowest in the native villages.
Studies on Treatment of Fertilizer wastewater using Sequential batch Reactor with special emphasis on Nitrification-Denitrification reflected.
The proper acclimatisation on nitrifying bacteria can not be achieved in shorter period. A minimum of 60-70 days are required for better acclimatisation of activated sludge with fertilizer effluents.
Rapid Environment Impact Assessment of Malpona Iron Ore Mine indicated:
Environmental quality in the Project area is already degraded.
The negative impacts obtained can be minimised, nullified or brought to have a positive impact with the implementation of EMP.
World Bank Project
The Centre continued to function as the Executing Agency of the two activities, namely, Institutional strengthening and Training of the Mining Sub-component of the World Bank Assisted Environmental Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project of the Ministry.
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore
The SACON, one of the Centres of Excellence supported by the Ministry is a registered Body under Societies Act, 1860 and has been set up to design and conduct research in ornithology covering all aspects of biodiversity and to disseminate knowledge on the subject. The activities of the Centre are spread over the entire country. The Centre undertook 16 research projects during the year. The important achievements include:
Sound scientific recommendations for the conservation of the Andaman Teal Narcondam Hornbill and Nicobar Megapode.
Status and conservation needs of the Nilgiri Laughing Thrush, one of the endangered species have been documented and recommendation given for its management.
Impact of fragmentation on the Liontailed Macaque, an endemic endangered primate of the Western Ghats, especially on its reproduction and genetic inputs have been studied.
The extent of pesticide contamination on a few species of birds has been documented alongwith the pesticide load on commercial fishes of Coimbatore
Anthropogenic pressures in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve were also studied an its effect on some endangered bird species analyed.
Studies on Hornbill-tree interactions and impact of habitat alterations on reptiles in the upper Nilgiris have been continued.
Other major projects initiated were:
‘Inland Wetlands of India’ sponsored by UNDP – MoEF for preparing a protected area network of wetlands in the country.
A project on sustainable utilization of selected Wetlands.
The Centre also undertook various Environmental Impact Assessments on development project during the year.
Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystem (CEMDE), New Delhi
The significant-achievements of the Centre during the year are as follows:
Ecological Rehabilitation of Degraded Ecosystems
The Centre has sucessfully rehabilitated the morrum mined-out site at Bhatti and desertified lands of Asola Wildlife Sanctuary within a period of 5 years using the low-input, cost-effective restoration technology developed by the Centre. A total of 50 grass species and 70 different woody plant species forming mosaic of grassland and woodlands now thrive well in the rehabilitated ecosystem. In order to hasten the process of ecosystem redevelopment, soil invertebrates, which promote fast recycling of nutrients and Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrihiza (VAM) have been introduced. The Centre is continuing to monitor the habitat responses of the rehabilitated site to the community developed.
Bio-remediation and Re-vegetation of Flyash Mounds
NPTC-Dadri is one of Asia’s largest dry flyash mound. At present, it spreads over an area of 92 acres with a height of 30 m and slope angle of 20°. Flyash contains about 40 elements including heavy metals and radionucleides and devoid of essential nutrients. The remediation measures in the management of mounds therefore involve prevention of dust blow; slope stabilization; bioemediation of toxic metals and utilization of the ash mound for biomass production as well as to sequester carbon-di-oxide (CO2).
The Centre has able to develop a green cover that has not only immobilized toxic elements but also stabilized the slopes and prevented dust blow of flyash. The inputs used included plants of economic importance, consortia of rhizosphere specific microbes, VAM, organic wastes and earthworms. The flyash mound is now covered with a lush luxuriant green cover with a total of 45 tree species and 20 grass species. The heavy metal content of flyash and the plant used in the revegetation technology are being assessed. Research is also being carried out to investigate the role of VAM-grass interaction in the immobilization and mobilization of heavy metals.
Bio-prospecting
The Centre has also isolated a microbal biopesticide that acts as both fungicide and termiticide. It has been found to be effective in the control of termite infestation of horticulture plants, forest species and agriculture crops. A patent is being filed for this microbial product.
A phytosiderophore has been purified and this has been found to be useful as a soil amendment in sites, where iron and other plant nutrients occur as immobilized metal complexes. This compound solubilizes these complexes and makes available the bond trace element in the soils thus enhancing the growth of plants.
Two new lectins of potential application in bioengineering of rhizosphere have also been isolated, purified and characterized.
Economic Valuation of Floodplain Wetlands of the River Yamuna
The Centre has taken up the project in collaboration with the Institute of Economic Growth and Department of Business Management, University of Delhi. The Centre has already mapped the floodplain wetlands and are carrying out studies on the ecological functions performed by these wetlands so as to quantify the benefits derived from them. The study suggested that these wetlands are on the verge of extinction and need immediate measures to sustain benefits for the urban ecosystems.
Assessment of Biodiversity
The Centre continued its activities in the assessment of biodiversity of Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve at the ecosystem and community levels. Different communities based on the community structures and patterns have been demarcated and mapped in an area of about 25% of the Biosphere Reserve. A number of conservation indicators have also been identified for conservation and management of Biodiversity.
Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram
The TBGRI has been designated as a "Centre of Excellence in ex-situ Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Plant Diversity" by the Ministry. The Major activities performed by the institute during the year are as follows:
Ex-situ Conservation
Enriched ex-situ collections in the garden by introducing 735 accessions of live plants of rare, endangered and endemic species collected from tropical regions of India.
Enhance live collection of palms with an addition of 19 accessions belonging to 8 exotic species.
The palmetum has been extended by planting 111 sapling of 26 taxa and thus enriching the plam collection with a total number of 450 live plams belonging to 67 genera, 106 species and 7 varieties..
The medicinal plants garden has been renovated and a new physic garden named after "ltti Achuthan a local medicinal practitioner of Kerala has been established.
A rock garden in an area of 500 sq.m. with suitable xerophytic plants on display has been established. The rock garden houses 281 accessions of Cactii and Succulents.
The seed bank has been enriched with an addition of 450 new seed samples received from 43 botanic garden in 18 countries. The herbarium has also been enhanced with an addition of 1250 accessions of specimens belonging to 300 species of vascular plants.
Ex situ conservation of rare and critically endangered species of medicinal and aromatic plants of the Western Ghats has been achieved through in vitro tissue bank, cryo bank and field gene bank methods.
Atlas of endemic plants of the Western Ghats
As part of the ongoing programme on preparation of an atlas of the endemic plants on the Western Ghats. Data on 1251 endemic species of Dicotyledonus plants belonging to 409 genera in 96 families have been collected through literature survey, herbarium study and field investigation.
Research Projects
Salient findings in the research project viz. "An indepth study of endemic plants of Kerala- Evaluation of their Status and their ‘ex-situ’ conservation and preservation" are as follows:
Intensive field exploration and studies carried out execution enable to identify 11 "endemic belts" in Kerala which can be considered the micro-endemic Centre of the State in addition to the three ‘hotspot’ areas. Among these ten belts are confined to the forest regions of the Western Ghats in the State.
Identification of a coastal endemic belt in the low land regions of the State deserves special mention. It comprises of two regions viz. Northern Malabar coastal belt and Southern lowland belt, which thogether harbour about 50 endemic taxa. This coastal endemic belt can be considered another ‘hotspot’ of endemic flora in the State. This belt also covers threatened ecosystems like weltlands, back water estuaries, mangroves, sacred groves and grass lands of lower altitude. This belt remains outside the existing protected area network in Kerala.
Out of the 4000 flowering plants (approx.) occurring in Kerala 218 taxa are strictly confined to the State. These endemic taxa belong to 107 genera under 45 families. Among these, 33 species are trees, 56 species shrubs and 131 species herbs. The families with largest representation of endemic species are Poaceae with 47 species followed by Rubiaceae with 23 spp. At generic level, 3 genera are strictly endemic to Kerala viz. Silent valley (S. nairi). Kanjarum (K. palaghatense), Haplothismia (H. exannulata), all of which are monotypic. H. exanulata described in 1952 has become extinct. The genera with highest representation of endemic species are Ischaemum (15 spp.), Dimeria (14 spp) and Impatiens (14 spp.)
On hot spot analysis it was found that out of the 180 endemic taxa occuring in Agasthyamala hills, common to Kerala and Tamil Nadu region, 48 spp. are found to be strictly confined to Kerala. In Anamudi High ranges out of 2000 spp. of flowering plants, 200 spp. are endemic. Of these, about 70 spp. are strictly endemic to Kerala, and the genus Impatiens shows highest percentage of endemism in this hot spot area. About 180 species of flowering plants are endemic to Silent valley- Wayanadu hot spot area of which 66 species are Kerala endemics. The endemic genera Kanjarum and Silentvalleya (both of the monotypic) are represented in this region.
Population study of selected endemic plants indicated that 80% species are scarce to very scance in distribution. Nearly 65% of the recently described endemic taxa have been known only from their type collections. About 10% of the taxa come under ‘extinct/critically endangered’ category. Habitat management and population viability assessment practices are the recommended conservation measures proposed for the endemic taxa.
The main threats to the endemic plants of the State are loss of habitat due to forestry, industrialization and urbanisation, grazing, plantation practices and other anthropogenic activities.
Recommendations include management practices for the conservation of the endemic taxa through ex-situ and in-situ methods. For effective conservation of a large array of species, it is recommended to (1) increase the areas of the existing Protected Areas Network by bringing the endemic belts recognised by the present study (excluding the coastal endemic belt) under them and (2) declare the newly identified Coastal beilt as a protected area.
Other activities
The TBGRI has been identified by the Minstry as the Coordinating Centre for Research on Orchids under All India Coordinated project in Taxonomy. The major objectives of this project are (1) survey, collection identification and preservation of orchids (2) maintain live collection and databanks (3) produce user-friendly manuals and (4) train college teachers and students and local communities in parataxonomy.
TBGRI has been functioning as the nodal/co-ordinating institution for the Nilgiri and Gulf of Manner Biosphere Reserves since April, 1999. The institution fulfills the broad objectives of database development and dissemination of information –pertaining to the resource-base and use, ecology, socio-cultural aspects and formulation of programmes connected with it.
An exclusive database which is readily convertible to internet mode has been developed by the institute on the Visual-Macro format to incorporate any number of information on bio-resource conservation and ecosystem management with a provision to elaborate/update under the management Biosphere Reserve. As a collateral activity, a comprehensive report on the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve as per the UNESCO-BR-Guidelines has also been prepared.
Grants-in-aid to Professional Societies
Under the Scheme assistance is provided to professional societies and appropriate institutions, museums and science centres for developing activities and projects in the field of environment as well as to develop exhibition galleries and and educational programmes relevent to ecology, wildlife and environment.
During the year, revised guidelines of the scheme were framed and circulated to various professional bodies and institutions. Information was also fed into the homepage of the Ministry.
Financial assistance was provided to several organisations to develop their infrastructure under the scheme.
Income Tax Exemption under Section 35 CCB of the Income Tax Act, 1961
Ministry continued to recommend to the Central Board of Direct Taxes for income tax exemption under Section 35 CCB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the programmes related to the conservation of natural resources or of afforestation undertaken by associations or institutions.
Financial Assistance for Publications
Ministry continued to provide one time grant upto Rs. 5 lakhs to professional societies, voluntary organisations, institutions etc. for printing of publications aimed at promoting environmental education and awareness. During the year, the Ministry also framed guidelines for financial assistance for publications.
Environmental Information System (ENVIS)
The ENVIS Focal Point and its network partners continued their activities in information collection, collation, storage, retrieval and dissemination to the concerned user-groups in the field of environment, forestry, wildlife and its associated fields during the year. The ENVIS focal point is located in the Ministry and its network partners, known as ENVIS Centres are located throughout the country on various environmental related subject-specific areas. The focal point of ENVIS in the Ministry coordinates the activities of all the Centres. A list of ENVIS Centres along with their respective subject-areas is given in Annexure-II. The focal point as well as its network partners laid emphasis on the development of their respective information database and strengthening information resource repositories and developing their homepages etc. during the year. Major activities of the ENVIS focal point and ENVIS Centres carried out during the year area as follows:
"ENVIRO NEWS", a newsletter of the Ministry, continued to be published by the ENVIS Focal Point with the main objective of disseminating information about the various important policies, programmes, enactments of new legislations/rules, amendment of existing laws, important notifications, new sanctioned projects and other important decisions taken by the Ministry from time to time to a wide cross-section of the society including administrators, policymakers, planners, scientists, environmentalists, students, NGOs and voluntary bodies and the general public.
The focal point also continued to publish the "Paryavaran Abstracts", a quarterly journal reporting information on environmental research in Indian context. About 300 national and international environment related journals are referred to for compilation of the relevant abstracts for inclusion in the "Paryavaran Abstracts". The abstracts are arranged under major categories like air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, environmental management, ecology, health and toxicology, forestry, wildlife, etc. A subject-keyword index is given at the end of each issue of the Abstract for retrieval of precise information as and when required by the users. The journal is distributed to about 3000 users. The relevant database of "Paryavaran Abstracts" has also been developed and has been fed in the Ministry’s website for easy and quick retrieval of relevant information.
The ENVIS and its network partners responded to a total number of 14,695 queries of which 13,495 were national and 1,200 were international. The break-up of the number of queries processed by the ENVIS network during the last five years is given in Figure-85. Efforts were made by the network to provide substantive information as far as possible. In some cases, where the information was not readily available, "Reference Services" were provided to the users. Out of 1200 international queries responded to by the ENVIS network during the year, 691 queries were from SAARC countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the remaining were from various other developed and developing countries. The major subject areas on which the queries were responded to pertain to atmosphere, lithosphere, ocean and coastal areas, human settlements, agriculture, transportation, human health, environmental education and awareness, solid waste management, etc.
The homepage of the Ministry developed by ENVIS was periodically updated during the year. The homepage can be browsed at the URL: http://envfor.nic.in. Various major documents including Annual Report, Environews, Paryavaran Abstracts, State-of-Environment Report, notifications, guidelines for the funding schemes etc. published by the Ministry have been included in the homepage and could be browsed at the above URL.
During the year, the ENVIS focal point also coordinated and published the Annual Report (1999-2000) of the Ministry.
ENVIS, designated as an implementing agency for the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP), a joint project of UNDP and IDRC, Canada, continued to implement the various activities chartered in the SDNP programme. The SDNP has already launched its website and could be browsed in the URL: http://sdnp.delhi.nic.in. The website provides a wealth of information on nearly 25 thematic areas, ranging from pollution, biodiversity, wildlife conservation, to agriculture, biotechnology, poverty, climate change, etc., which have a bearing on sustainable development. It contains nearly 15,000 linkages to various databases, libraries, organizations, publications, and listserves, to provide information on sustainable development practices, issues, debates, success stories, replicable models, conventions/treaties, etc.. The website has gained popularity and has been commended by users from India and abroad. Nearly 75,000 users have visited the web site since May, 1999.
In an effort to disseminate knowledge about sustainable development and to act as a distributed clearing house of information, SDNP has set up 11 nodes on specific areas relating to sustainable development in reputed organisations in the country. Through the nodes, the SDNP endeavors to strengthen its operations and aims to evolve into a nation-wide network of organizations/institutions with the objective of promoting environmental awareness and sustainable development. Each SDNP node set up so far is in the process of developing a web site on its ear-marked area with an interface to the local language.
In order to promote environmental awareness among school children, SDNP has provided support to ten identified schools in Delhi with the latest computers with internet connectivity under the Community Adoption and Monitoring Programme for Schools (CAMPS), coordinated by Tata Energy Research Institute, (TERI) New Delhi. To coordinate the efforts of the schools, a CAMPS node of SDNP has also been set up at TERI.
Various services being provided by SDNP include bringing out of daily e-newsletter, called "Developments Today" containing information on sustainable development issues obtained from nearly 40 national and 30 international newsletters/ journals, "Event Reporting Service" containing schedule, theme, venue, etc., of important workshops/conferences on sustainable development organized throughout the World, query answer service regarding sustainable development through internet, etc.
ENVIS also continued to function as a National Focal Point (NFP) and a Regional Service Centre (RSC) for South-Asia Sub-Region Countries for INFOTERRA network, a Global Information Network of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). As NFP and RSC of INFOTERRA, the ENVIS network provided information to about 1200 queries received from the various sub-region countries during the year.
ENVIS also continued its close liaison with various other national information systems in the country like National Information System on Science & Technology (NISSAT), Bio-Technological Information System (BTIS), etc., for exchange of environmental information and to avoid duplication of efforts in the field of environment and its associated areas.
During the year, ENVIS also supported several information-generated activities through concerned workshops/seminars/meets etc., organized by the National Information System networks like NISSAT, etc.
Activities of the ENVIS Centres
During the year, all the ENVIS Centres continued their activities related to collection, collation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information on the specific subject areas allocated to them. Besides strengthening the databases and responding to various national and international queries in their specific subject areas, the ENVIS Centres also laid emphasis in developing their home-pages and the internet connectivity with an ultimate objective of disseminating relevant information in their specific subject areas to the users. Highlights of some of the major activities of these ENVIS Centres carried out during the year are as follows:
The ENVIS Centre on "Air, Water and Noise Pollution" located at the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi continued to publish its quarterly newsletter "Parivesh" containing different themes related to pollution and its control like bio-mapping of rivers, auto-emissions and technologies for pollution control in industries, etc. This newsletter was sent to various Universities, Scientific Departments, Government Ministries, NGOs, State Pollution Control Boards, etc. in the country.
The ENVIS Centre on "Toxic Chemicals" at Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC) Lucknow, continued to publish ‘Abstracts of current literature’ on toxicology and the ENVIS newsletter during the year. Various databases on toxic chemicals were also developed by the Centre to provide comprehensive information package on various chemicals to the users.
The ENVIS Centre on "Environmentally Sound and Appropriate Technologies", located at Development Alternatives, New Delhi, has been actively involved in updating the existing databases and also creating new data bases to retrieve knowledge information and data instantly and efficiently to its users. The Centre also developed a digital library by adding 63 CD ROMs and diskettes in its specific subject area. Bibliographies on specific subjects like bamboo and mud as building material, fly-ash in construction, joint forest management, sustainable livelihood, etc., were compiled and databases developed.
The ENVIS Centre on "Bio-degradation of Wastes and Environmental Impact Assessment" at Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, Chennai, continued its activities in the development of databases in its specific subject areas. The databases include a listing of over 7000 papers on the two specific subject areas allocated to the Centre. The Centre continued to publish the ‘Abstracting Service’, and the ‘ENVIS newsletter’.
The ENVIS Centre on "Energy and Environment" at Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, published two issues of "TERI Information Monitor on Environmental Sciences" (TIMES) containing information on survey of current literature, abstracts, book-review, bibliographies, etc., about research and development on various environmental issues arising out of energy production, conversion, transportation, consumption and other related areas on renewable energy issues. The journal focuses mainly on India and other SAARC countries. The ENVIS databases developed by the Centre have also been fed into the website developed by the Centre. During the year.
The ENVIS Centre on "Western Ghats Ecology" at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, developed various databases in its subject-area during the year. Related information has also been fed by the Centre in its website.
The ENVIS Centre on "NGOs, Media and Parliament Matters Related to Environment" located at WWF, New Delhi published the updated directory of NGOs working in the field of environment in India during the year. The Centre’s database developed on the media containing information on environment related news and feature items appearing in print media is extensively used by the media professionals and researchers regularly. A database on "Environment in the Indian Parliament" was also developed by the Centre.
The ENVIS Centre at Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO), Bhopal which focusses on "Environmental Management related to the State of Madhya Pradesh", continued its regular activities relating to the data base development, creation of awareness, and publication of "EPCO News" during the year. In order to facilitate exchange of information, the Centre has also created a website with information on environmental matters related to the State of Madhya Pradesh. Besides, an inventory of various NGOs operating in the Madhya Pradesh was also prepared and fed into the website.
The ENVIS Centre at the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad in the subject-area of "Occupational Health" continued to publish its quarterly publication namely, "Environmental Information, Abstract Service" to disseminate information to various users on several aspects of occupational health. Besides, the Centre also prepared and published health and safety guides on hazards due to industrial effluents and "hospital waste hazards" as well as pamphlets containing occupational diseases, occupational hazards, physical hazards and biological hazards on air pollution and distributed among the users. In addition, the Centre also translated in hindi and local language the literature on health hazard control and precautions required for preventing these health hazards on various topics such as titanium tetrachloride, exposure to mercury vapour during the use of mercury carburator synchronizers, etc.
The ENVIS Centre on "Desertification" at Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, continued its activities on information collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination in its concerned subject area. The data base on desertification and soil sciences designed by the Centre was also continuously updated during the year. The publication of the Desert Environment News (DEN) News was also continued.
The ENVIS Centre on "Mangroves, Coral Reefs, Estuaries and Lagoons" at Centre for Advanced Studies in Marine Biology, Parangipettai, Annamalai University developed textual and electronic data bases to serve the users in the field of marine sciences. A series of publications such as state-of-the-art reports on estuaries, mangroves, coral reefs and lagoons were also updated and published by the Centre during the year. The Centre also published the special volumes entitled "An Anthology of Indian Mangroves" and "Living on the Edge". In addition to the release of status reports and special publications, the Centre also published an user-friendly annotated check-list, namely, "How to know the Mangroves" and two bibliographical books, one on mangroves and other on estuaries. The Centre continued to publish its newsletter "Seshaiyana" and ‘bibliographic catalogues about the Indian estuaries and mangroves’.
The ENVIS Centre on "Environment Education" at Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad continued its activities to the environmental educators to develop locale specific EE Programmes and materials during the year. A computerised database, of over 800 environmental concepts, 2500 activities and 600 case studies was also developed by the Centre. The Centre continued to publish its Newsletter entitled ‘News EE’.
The ENVIS Centre on "Faunal Bio-diversity" located at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata continued to collect, collate, retrieve and disseminate information on diversity and ecology of different animals from protozoa to mammalia. A special publication entitled "A Bibliography of the Zoological Survey of India - Publications in the 20th Century (1916-1999)" was brought out by the Centre during the year. The publication contains 4598 references on taxonomy, systematics, ecology and zoo-geography of animals.
The ENVIS Centre on "Environmental Problems of Mining" at the Centre of Mining Environment, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, published the monograph on "Development of Noise Indices for Coal Mining Complexes" during the year. The Centre also continued to publish its quarterly newsletter "MINENVIS".
The ENVIS Centre on "Himalayan Ecology" at GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora continued to provide bibliographic services to the scientists working on the Himalayan research and development. The ENVIS bibliogaphic database developed by the Centre contains 860 abstracts, research papers, technical reports, exclusively on himalayan ecology, and 2500 on related aspects. The Centre also published a monograph entitled "Indian Himalaya - a demographic database", containing the demographic profile of 78 Himalayan districts in India.
The ENVIS Centre on "Solid Waste including Hazardous Wastes Management" located at National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, continued to publish its newsletter highlighting the issues related to trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes and bio-medical waste management. Besides, a status paper on hazardous waste management for various Asian countries, namely, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Iran and Singapore, highlighting environmental policy regulation in regard to several hazardous waste management problems was also prepared.
The ENVIS Centre on "Human Settlements" at the Centre for Environmental Studies, School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, developed various databases such as waste water management in urban area of Bhopal, environmental conservation plan for Puri, management plan for hill area, plan for sustainable tourism in Mussorie, etc. The Centre also developed maps of the settlements, cities, towns and various regions of the country on different scales and published special publications, as follows:
ENVIS Journal - special emphasis;
Wetland conservation plan for Harike lake; and
Environmental management plan for coastal wetland, Bhitarkanika, Orissa, etc.
The ENVIS Centre on "Biogeochemistry and Environmental Law", functioning in the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, continued its activities in its subject-area during the year. A bibliographic database using a specially designed software package PAPYRUS has been developed by the Centre in its subject-area. The Centre has loaded 35000 references on bio-geo-chemistry and about 470 references on environmental law in its website for accession of relevant information of the users. The Centre continue to publish its Newsletter.
The ENVIS Centre on "Floral Diversity" functioning at Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, continued its activities such as publication of its Newsletter, the development of databases in the areas of Planned Diversity of Chilka Lake, values and conservation of wetland plants, Coastal Plan Diversity of India and Medicinal Plants of Western Ghats. The Centre has also finalized the development of the database on "phyto-diversity of coastal plant communities in India" in two volumes.
The ENVIS Centre on "Eastern Ghats Ecology" located at Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad updated the following databases during the year.
Bibliographic database on Eastern Ghats; and
Resource database comprising the themes on climate, soil, flora, fauna, tribals, etc., on Eastern Ghats.
The Centre has also developed its website and continued to publish its Newsletter.
The ENVIS Centre on "Avian Ecology and Inland Wetlands" located at Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mumbai, published two issues of the ENVIS Newsletter, namely, ‘Buceros’ during the year. The Centre’s database on Avian Ecology and Inland Wetlands is being continuously updated.
The ENVIS Centre on "Forestry" at Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun has under taken several initiatives to develop multi-databases on various aspects of forestry and its associated disciplines. It continued to publish its Newsletter.
The ENVIS Centre on "Panchayati Raj and Environment’ at Indian Environmental Society (IES), New Delhi, continued to publish its newsletter "Panchayat" both in English and Hindi during the year. The Centre has also developed databases on primary information required at the grassroot level on the major issues like eco-villages, medicinal plants, non-timber forest produce, etc., as well as resource material in the form of booklets, posters, pamphlets, guidebooks, etc., for wide dissemination of information to several Panchayats in the country. The Centre is also in the process of developing a website in its subject area.
The ENVIS Centre on "Wildlife and Protected Areas" functioning at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), brought out the fourth issue of its Bulletin on "Mustelides, Viverrides, and Herpestides of India" during the year. Information in regard to 32 species of small carnivores belonging to the families of Mustelidae, Viverridae, and Herpestidae, found in India, has been provided in the Issue. Besides, a directory of wildlife protected areas in India (PAs) was also brought out by the Centre as fifth issue of ENVIS bulletin.
The ENVIS Centre on "Communication and Electronic Media" at Centre for Media Studies (CMS), New Delhi, continued to publish its newsletter on Communication and Electronic Media to update the NGOs, individuals, key-functionaries in the environmental community about the latest news in electronic field and initiatives taken in this regard. On behalf of the Ministry, the Centre also prepared a multi-media presentation (CD-ROM) highlighting the policies, rules, notifications, and other legislative measures taken by the Ministry. Besides, the Centre also developed two spots of 30 seconds each, on "litterring on roads, air pollution and water pollution" based on the stock-shots/footage available in the Ministry. The spots were also telecast on primetime on Doordarshan, Gyandarshan, Sahara TV and others for generating mass environmental awareness. The Centre is also engaged to develop a database of film-makers committed to produce audio-visual programmes on environment and wildlife. A website on specified thrust area has also been designed and developed by the Centre during the year.