10

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION

[Commission on Sustainable Development, Global Environment Facility and Small Grants Programme, ESCAP, UNDP, Capacity 21, ICEF Project, Ozone Layer Protection, World Bank Aided Projects, Bilateral Matters, Meetings]


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Introduction

The Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal agency in the country for United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi, South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), Colombo, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and European Union. Annual financial contributions where needed, are made to these organisations. The Ministry also functions as the nodal agency for participation in international agreements relating to environment such as the Convention on International trade in Endangered Species, Convention on Wetlands of International importance, especially as waterfowl habitat, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Vienna Convention for the protection of the Ozone Layer, Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Conventions on Biological Diversity and Climate Change, the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Substances, Convention to Combat Desertification etc. The Ministry also handles bilateral cooperation, matters relating to regional bodies such as UNEP, ESCAP, SAARC, SACEP, National Environmental Council, India Canada Environment Facility (ICEF), Delhi Urban Environment and Improvement Project.

India has been pursuing its commitments under various conventions vigorously by initiating various measures nationally and by taking several important initiatives in the region.

Major activities undertaken during the year are as follows:-

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Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)

The VIIth session of Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was held in New York from April 19-30, 1999. Secretary (E&F) led the Indian delegation to this session comprising of officers of Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Ocean Development and the officers of Permanent Mission of India to UN in New York. The issues covering Oceans and Seas, Sustainable Tourism and Consumption and Production Patterns were considered by Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).

Meetings

Hon’ble Minister of Environment and Forests and Secretary (E&F) attended the 4th meeting of the High Level Committee of Ministers and Officers of UNEP held in Bonn on 1st November, 1999. In the Governance of Structure of UNEP, the High Level Committee is a subsidiary organ of the Governing Council to provide guidance and advice on emerging environmental issues during the inter-sessional period. The issues relating to the recent activities of UNEP, contribution of UNEP to the medium Term Plan of the United Nations for the period 2002-2005, the Report of the United Nations on Environment and Human settlements and the response of environment on the phenomenon of globalisation in agricultural sector were discussed in the meeting.

The Ministry participated in the workshop on strengthening South-South Cooperation in Environmental Strategies for Sustainable Development organised by Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, United Nations Development Programme in New York on October 18-19, 1999. The following were the objectives of the workshop:

To provide a forum for the exchange of experiences and lessons learned in environmental strategies development to facilitate discussion regarding the potential contribution of South-South Cooperation in improving the quality and effectiveness of environmental strategies.

To suggest ways and means of strengthening the Cooperation across regions.

A project entitled "Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for the Calcutta Leather Complex is being implemented with assistance under the GOI-UNDP-CCF-I programme. As a component of the project, a study tour to visit Tannery Clusters with CETPs in Italy and Turkey had been organised under the project from 24.10.99 to 6.11.99 by the Government of West Bengal which included a senior member of the Ministry in the delegation. The objectives of the tour was to see similar relocation projects in Turkey which has already been completed, as well as to see common effluent treatments plants in operation in the complexes in Italy.

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Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a financial mechanism that provides grants and low interest loans to developing countries to help them carry out programmes to relieve pressures on global ecosystems. The facility supports international environment management and the transfer of environmentally benign technologies. It is a cooperative venture among national governments, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the specific areas of concern. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is the technical nodal point for this facility in India.

So far nine projects are under implementation while one has been completed. Presently, eleven projects have been approved in principle under GEF and are in the preparatory phase.

The Ministry’s representative assisted India’s Executive Director to World Bank during the 13th GEF Council meeting held in Washington D.C. from 5th to 7th May 1999.

A Global Environment Cell (GEC) with UNDP assistance has been set up in the Ministry with the objective of examination of and providing technical and scientific inputs into the process of project formulation including those for GEF assistance.

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UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme

The Small Grants Programme (SGP) started in 1992 is managed worldwide by UNDP on behalf of GEF. It provides support for small scale, community based activities which can contribute to the four GEF thematic areas. Institutions eligible for funding include non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community based organisation (CBs), people’s associations and others. The pilot phase of the programme has been successfully completed in India.

The outlay for the subsequent operational phase of approximately five years duration has a committed outlay of US $ 12,00,000 being shared by GEF ( US $ 500,000) and UNDP ( US, $ 7,00,000). The objectives of SGP-India are intended to promote innovative local responses in one or more of the four GEF thematic areas, build the capacities of people, particularly women and tribals and their local institutions to design and Implement development projects that are sustainable, demonstrate the effectiveness and potential for wide application of small-scale, decentralised community based initiatives and create public awareness on global environmental issues. On an average the project budget should not exceed Rs. 10 lakhs. So far, 13 projects of GEF/SGP have been funded in principle in operational phase. Projects for possible UNDP-GEF-SGP assistance should be sent to Deputy Secretary (IC), Ministry of Environment and Forests.

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ESCAP

Secretary (E&F) attended the Brainstorming Workshop on the Ministrial Conference on Environment and Development, 2000 and Policy Level Meeting of UNEP from 9-11 August, 1999 at Bangkok, Thailand.

The Ministry also participated in the Second Session of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Development held in Bangkok from 13-15, October, 1999 under the aegis of ESCAP. The meeting discussed various environmental issues like transfer and adoption of environmentally sound technologies, sub-programmes on Environment and Sustainable Development, Integrated Development and Management of Water Resources and Economical use of water, Promoting the Development of Remote-sensing and Spatial information system for evaluating, monitoring, forecasting and managing natural resources, natural disasters and the environment.

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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has signed the Programme Support Document under the Country Cooperation Framework-I with the UNDP which provides a comprehensive focus on UNDP support to environment programme. The programme which would be valid upto 2001 focuses on growth with equity, poverty alleviation and human development as the central concerns. The CCF-I strategy places emphasis on technology up gradation, poverty eradication and environmental preservation etc. The four thrust areas on which the Environment programme stands are:-

To recommend, implement and manage the projects under this programme, a programme management Board (PMB) has been constituted in the Ministry which comprises of senior officers of the Ministry, representatives of other Concerned Ministries, representatives of UNDP and four NGOs, one each for the four identified thrust areas. So far, 20 projects have been formally launched under the programme and the committed outlay has been fully utilized.

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Capacity 21

The Ministry participated in an Inter-national Conference on Water Resources held at the University of Columbia, New York from 12th to 13th October, 1998. The issues such as legal and economic aspects, dispute resolution, technical aspects were discussed in the conference. This included the River Basin of Ganga and Brahmaputra.

A meeting was also held on 14-15 October 1999 with the senior officials of UNDP Capacity 21 Project including Director, Sustainable Energy and Environment Division (SEED) in order to follow up on the ongoing project activities and also to discuss new projects under the programme. The project would conclude at the end of the current financial year.

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India-Canada Environment Facility (ICEF)

The India-Canada Environment Facility (ICEF) is a joint initiative of the Government of India and the Government of Canada created by the Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two Governments on October 20, 1992 for the purpose of undertaking projects related to the environment.

The funding in provided by the Canadian International Development Agency. It is managed jointly by representatives from the two Governments (India and Canada). The goal of ICEF is to enhance the capacity of Indian Institutes to undertake and to manage environmentally sound development in the land, water and energy sectors in India.

While projects approved by ICEF so far have focused on watershed management, future projects will concentrate on water quality and energy fields. So far 16 projects have been approved for funding under ICEF with total outlay of Rs. 120.76 cores. Projects proposals for ICEF should be sent Project Director, India Canada Environment Facility, D1/56, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi.

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Ozone Layer Protection

Ozone is a form of oxygen in the atmosphere about 20 kilometers above the earth’s surface that efficiently screens out almost all the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. This radiation has the potential to cause skin cancer, eye damage; suppress body’s immune system decrease crop yield; cause damage to forests and affect ocean life. Global efforts to protect the Ozone Layer started in early seventies leading to the adoption of the Vienna Convention in 1985 and the Montreal Protocol in 1987. With a view to strengthen the global efforts, India acceded to the Montreal Protocol alongwith its London Amendment. Its provisions became effective for India from 17.9.1992. However, depletion of ozone layer is still a cause for concern as Ozone Depleting substances (ODS) continue to be used in developing countries in refrigeration and air-conditioning, preparation of foam and spray products, fire extinguishing, and as solvents in electronics and other industries.

During the year, number of activities were undertaken to disseminate information on ODS phase out to industry and others. A news-letter "VATIS" on Ozone issues was being published once in every two months and was being distributed to about 2000 person/institutions. The International Day for the Protection of the Ozone Layer has been celebrated at the national and state level on 16th September 1999. On the occasion, booklet titled "The Montreal Protocol: India’s Success Story" has been published, which apart from detailing the evaluation of the Montreal Protocol outlines various initiatives taken by the Government of India to fulfil its obligations of the Montreal Protocol. A sticker and two posters based on UNEP’s design were printed and distributed among all concerned with a view to raise awareness. A videocassette on Ozone Layer Protection film on "Good practices in refrigeration and service sector" was shown on 16th September 1999. Swiss Development Corporation organised five workshops under the ecological refrigeration project. These workshops were designed to provide training to service-technicians in the domestic and commercial refrigeration sector.

Customs/excise duty exemption was continued to be provided for ODS phase out projects. Detailed guidelines and procedure were finalized to implement Government notification to grant benefit of duty exemption for new investments with non-ODS technologies. Draft Rules on ODS phase out under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 has been notified for public suggestions or comments. Policy to issue licences for imports of ODS has been implemented. The Reserve Bank of India issued instructions to all commercial banks prohibiting finance or refinance of new investments with ODS technologies.

Fifty-five projects for about US$ 11.4 million were approved by the Multilateral Funds for India during 1999. These projects will phase out 3448 tonnes of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) when completed. All known aerosol fillers were advised to use distanced LPG only after following adequate safety norms. The Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund at its meeting held in November in Beijing, China, approved US$ 82 million for the gradual phase out strategy for production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in India. The Indian delegation was led by Honourable Minister of Environment and Forests. This strategy will in a gradual manner phaseout production of 22588 MT of CFCs. Review and Updating of the Country Program is in progress. During the World Bank mission in December 1999, project implementation modalities were finalized to implement the sector plan. A project Monitoring Unit will be established to oversee and supervise the project implementation.

India’s concerns on replenishment of the Multilateral Funds, process agent. production sector (carbon tetrachloride) and metered dose inhalers were taken up in the Eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Beijing, China and decisions were favourable. Due to the initiative taken by India in the meetings of the Sub-Group on the Production Sector constituted by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund, a decision was taken for funding to phase out of production of non feedstock carbon tetrachloride (CTC) following the same procedure as that used for CFC production phase out. Based on India’s initiative the Executive Committee of the Montreal Protocol has set up a technical expert team to conduct a technical audit of the two halon producing plants in India. The Technical audit team has audited the two halon producing units and has submitted the final report to the Executive Committee. The World Bank as an implementing agency has been requested by the Sub-Group to prepare the halon production sector phase out strategy for India.

Some pharmaceutical, rubber and pesticide manufacturing industries are using Carbon Tetrachloride, which is an Ozone Depleting Substances as a process agent. Projects for phasing out could not be submitted to the Executive Committee for financial assistance, because there were no clear-cut guidelines for approval of these projects. However, due to a strong initiative taken by India during the Tenth Meeting of Parties, a decision has been taken which will facilitate approval of projects on Carbon Tetrachloride as process agent in India. This decision will also facilitate many of our industries to avail of the financial assistance to phase out approximately 4000 Metric Tonnes of Carbon Tetrachloride and help India in fulfilling its commitment as per the schedule given in the Montreal Protocol. India’s first project in this sector, namely, the Excel project was approved in the 29th meeting of the Executive Committee in July 1999.

India was elected as a Member and Chairman of the Executive Committee for the year 2000.

UNEP-IE Ozone Action Programme has established another ODS officer’s Network in South Asia with India as one of the members.

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Bilateral Matters

Bilateral cooperation programmes and follow up of MOUs/Joint Statements of Intent have been signed with Brazil, China, Germany, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, USA and Vietnam

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World Bank Aided Projects

World Bank Environment Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Sub-Component

The Ministry has made a provision of US $ 6.5 million for the sub-component "Ambient Air Quality Monitoring" in the World Bank Environment Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project and is being implemented by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Under the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme, the CPCB in consultation with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees have established 290 stations spread over 90 towns/cities distributed in 24 states and 11 Union Territories. Under the present World Bank Project strengthening of ambient air monitoring stations have been taken up. Projects taken up during the first phase are:

The activities being taken up during the year also include:-

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Development of Standard Sub-Component

Development of Standards Sub-component

The Ministry has made a provision of US $ 1 million for the sub-component "Development of Standards" under the World Bank Environment Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project. The project is being implemented by CPCB. The basic principle for Development of standards for toxic pollutants and non-toxic effluent emissions are techno-economic feasibilities, social acceptibilties and impact on health and environment. Under the World Bank project, studies on Specific Standards development revision have been taken up based on the latest state of art technology. The objectives and the activities planned for the project include.

Under the project review/development of industry specific standards for the following areas have been taken up:-

During the year, following activities have also been taken up for execution as per the approved project implementation plan.

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The World Bank aided Industrial Pollution Prevention Project

The main objective of the Project is to promote cost effective pollution abatement and, in particular, to strengthen the institutional capacity of SPCBs in four States to facilitate priority investments in clean technologies, waste minimisation and resource recovery as well as pollution control; and promote the development, diffusion and transfer of technologies with environmental benefits for the industrial sector. The components of the Project and the status of implementation are as follows:-

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Institutional Development Component

This component is designed to strengthen monitoring and enforcement abilities of the SPCBs in the project states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh through.

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Investment Component

Provision of credit to individual firms for pollution abatement with focus on waste minimisation and adoption of cleaner methods of production consisting of:-

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Technical Assistance Component

This is for carrying out feasibility and free investment studies for CETPs, IWRPs and other facilities to be financed under part 2 of the Project including provision of Consultancy Services. Two training programmes have been conducted and 39 waste minimisation circles have been established till date.

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International Trainings/Seminars/Workshops

Several officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, State Environment and Forests Departments, Central and State Pollution Control Boards, NGOs and autonomous bodies/institutions of Central and State Government were nominated for various international Trainings/Seminars/Workshops etc. during the year.

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