State of the Environment

1. Land and Soil Degradation: Loss of vegetation occurs due to deforestation, cutting beyond the silviculturally permissible limit, unsustainable fuelwood and fodder extraction, shifting cultivation, encroachment into forest lands, forest fires and over grazing all of which subject the land to degradational forces. Other important factors responsible for large-scale degradation are the extension of cultivation to lands of low potential or high natural hazards, non-adoption of adequate soil conservation measures, improper crop rotation, indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides, improper planning and management of irrigation systems and extraction of ground water in excess of the recharge capacity. In addition, there are a few underlying or indirect pressures such as land shortage, short-term or insecure land tenancy, open access resource, economic status and poverty of the agriculture dependent people, which are also instrumental to a significant extent, in the degradation of the land.

2. Biodiversity loss: Habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, and species introduction are the major causes of biodiversity loss in India. Other factors included fires, which adversely affect regeneration in some cases, and such natural calamities as droughts, diseases, cyclones, and floods. Protected Area Network comprises National Parks and Sanctuaries which covers a mere 4.2% of the land area and is inadequate in protecting such ecologically important and fragile ecosystems such as wetlands, mangroves, and grasslands that lie outside such protected areas. The protected areas themselves are susceptible to denotification and further reduction in extent due to other pressures emanating from the industrial commercial- political combine. Biodiversity conservation in India is also impeded by a lack of knowledge of the magnitude, patterns, causes, and rates of deforestation and biodiversity loss at the ecosystem and landscape level. Poaching and trade in wildlife species are among the most important concerns in the management of protected areas today but information on poaching, trade, and trade routes is sketchy and current wildlife protection and law enforcement measures are inadequate and inefficient.

3. Air Pollution: Between 1951 and 1991, the urban population has tripled, from 62.4 million to 217.6 million, and its proportion has increased from 17.3% to 25.7%. This rapid increase in urban population has resulted in unplanned urban development, increase in consumption patterns and higher demands for transport, energy, other infrastructure, thereby leading to pollution problems.

4. Management of Fresh Water Resources: India receives an average annual rainfall equivalent of about 4,000 billion cubic metres (BCM). This only source of water is unevenly distributed both spatially as well as temporally. Most of the rainfall is confined to the monsoon season, from June to September, and levels of precipitation vary from 100 mm a year in western Rajasthan to over 9,000 mm a year in the northeastern state of Meghalaya (Engleman and Roy 1993). With 3,000 BCM of rainfall concentrated over the four monsoon months and the other 1,000 BCM spread over the remaining eight months, our rivers carry 90% of the water during the period from June- November. Thus, only 10% of the river flow is available during the other six months. Thus, while India is considered rich in terms of annual rainfall and total water resources, its uneven geographical distribution causes severe regional and temporal shortages.

5. Hazardous Waste: Sources of hazardous waste include those from industrial processes, mining extraction, tailings from pesticide based agricultural practices, etc. Industrial operations lead to considerable generation of hazardous waste and in a rapidly industrialising country such as India the contribution to hazardous waste from industries is largest. Hazardous waste generation from industries is also critical due to their large geographical spread in the country, leading to region wide impacts. The annual growth in hazardous waste generation can be directly linked to industrial growth in the country.

Contact
National Focal Point
Name of Organization: Centre for Environment Education
Contact Person for SAYEN: Mr. Gopal Kumar Jain, Programme Coordinator
E-mail: sayen@ceeindia.org; gopal.jain@ceeindia.org
Website: www.ceeindia.org

Address
Nehru Foundation for Development
Thaltej Tekra, Ahmedabad 380 054, Gujarat, India
Phone: 079-26858 002 to 09
Fax: 079-26858 010