- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MQEFCC) is the nodal agency in the Central Government for overseeing the implementation of India’s environment and forest policies and programmes.
- While implementing these policies and programmes, the Ministry is guided by the principle of sustainable development.
- The Ministry is also the nodal agency for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
- The Ministry also coordinates with multilateral bodies such as the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and regional bodies such as Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on matters pertaining to environment.
- India is a party to 5 major international conventions related to Wild Life conservation, viz,
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
- International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
- International Whaling Commission (IWC)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation-World Heritage Convention (UNESCO-WHC)
- Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
- The broad objectives of the Ministry are:
- conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife
- prevention and control of pollution
- afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas
- protection of environment & ensuring the welfare of animals.
- Besides the legislative measures, Natural Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development-1992, National Forest Policy-1988, a Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution, 1992 and a National Environment Policy, 2006 also guide the Ministry’s work.
SURVEY OF FLORA
- The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is the apex research organization under the Ministry for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country.
- It was established on February 13, 1890 with the basic objective to explore the plant resources of the country and to identify the plants species with economic virtues.
- Sir George King, the then Superintendent of the ‘Royal Botanic Garden’ Calcutta was appointed as first ex-officio Honorary Director of the BSI.
- After Independence the Department was reorganized in 1954 by Government of India as a part of scientific development of the country.
- During the successive plan periods, the functional base of BSI was further expanded to include various new areas such as inventorying of endemic, rare & threatened plant species; evolving conservation strategies; studies on fragile ecosystems & protected areas etc.
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