India with an area of 3.3 million sq. km., is a subcontinent. It is the second most populated country in the world, with over one billion inhabitants. The relative size versus populations plays a significant role, because there are many Indian’s who rely on land to raise animals and crops for survival. There are 16 official languages in India. Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, and English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Unjabi, Assamese, Dashmire, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. Economically, India is doing very well. According to an on-line resource, “India has the eighth largest economy, and is considered one of the ten most industrialized countries in the world.”1 Economic growth in India has been at an average rate of 5%-7% over the past 10 years.

Any serious attempt at reducing India’s greatest challenge of poverty requires sustain

Water scarcity is also expected to be an issue of increasing importance in the coming years. There is a definite need for India to act quickly regarding water pollution and water scarcity. According to China and India: Converging or Diverging? “In 1998, President KR Narayan warned that India’s water problems were becoming critical, especially for the poorest sections of the population. India’s minister with responsibility for water resources expressed similar fears, stating that scarcity and pollution could threaten the country’s future development. Critics say that the answer lies in policy, not technology, notably policies to reduce and treat waste. Market pricing of water would encourage conservation, but this would pose problems in poor rural areas, so urban areas are likely to feel the effects first.”8 The stress on water resources is the result of multiple factors namely urban growth, increased industrial activities, intensive farming, and the overuse of fertilizers and other chemicals in agriculture related activities. Untreated water from urban sediments and industrial activities, and run-off from agricultural land carrying chemicals, are primarily responsible for the deterioration of water quality and the contamination of lakes, rivers, and groundwater aquifers.

This treaty should be a working document. On a three year basis, we should come together again. At this time we should again boast on success’s and certain

One of India’s greatest environmentally driven accomplishments has been the Joint Forest Management Program (JFM). This program shows that central government, state governments, and local societies can work together to promote environmental rehabilitation. “Participatory management, which involves working together of the beneficiaries, departments of the government, and non-governmental organizations, is broadly accepted today by all concerned as the most appropriate strategy for implementing programs that are aimed at sustainable development of natural resources. Some of the latest policy documents (e.g., the Government of India’s National Forest Policy – 1988, the 1991 resolution of the Gujuarat Government and the GRs of several state governments) on regeneration of degraded forest lands also emphasize and foster this approach.”2 The JFM program, is India’s premier piece of environmental legislation that is effective from the central government to the locals in the communities surrounding the forests. The NGO’s in India also played a monumental role in this particular endeavor.

“The most important new actors on the Indian environmental scene have been NGO’s, and village level user groups in the issue areas of forestry and renewable resource management. The management capacity of the state has been enhanced by the inclusion of these new actors and their coalitions. At the same time, these actors have made environmental policy more participatory in at least some issues areas.”3

Another area where capacity building would greatly reduce pollution in India is through research on modern energy production and consumption techniques. According to an on-line resource titled India: Environmental Issues, “Coal accounts for just over 50% of India’s energy consumption. The power generation sector uses the majority of this coal, with heavy industry a distant second. Petroleum makes up 34.4% of India’s energy consumption.”7 India’s rapidly increasing population will also lead to an increase in electricity demand, taxing the already straining power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, putting pressure on the power sector to add new c

Some topics in this essay:
KR Narayan, Environmental Issues, India Environment, NGO’s India, Undertakings India, Plan Conference, Capacity Building, Economically India, Environment Forests, China India, environmental degradation, power generation, vehicular pollution, water resources, civil society, economic growth, central government, capacity building, china india, harm environment, reduce vehicular pollution, india’s rapidly increasing, rapidly increasing population, india converging diverging, china india converging,