India’s environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan called for people-centred development to save India’s biodiversity at a special session at the TERI hosted Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) 2012. The second day of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit opened with a special session on biodiversity that brought together a panel of leading experts, including India’s environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan.

 

Deputy Director General (Education) of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education Omkar Singh said, “Climate change is a major challenge for developing countries like India which face large climate variability and are thus exposed to enhanced risks.” He was speaking at the inaugural session of a training programme for women scientists on climate change and carbon mitigation at Forest Research Institute.

Many industrial estates in the city are setting up sewage and effluent treatment plants in an effort to promote eco-friendly practices and reduce burden on civic agencies. The industrial estate in Ambattur is the forerunner among the estates with two sewage treatment plants set up in north and south phase. The projects were implemented by the Chennai Auto Ancillary Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Company (CAAIIUC), a special purpose vehicle promoted by the Central and State governments and stakeholders to improve infrastructure at the estates in Thirumudivakkam, Thirumazhisai and Ambattur.

 

Industries turn eco-friendly 

India recorded a net loss of 367 sq km of forests between 2009 and 2011 with Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh alone losing 182 sq km of green cover in the period, the latest ‘state of forest’ report has found. In all, AP lost 281 sq km of forests in two years. The report, prepared biennially by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), the Dehradun-based wing of the environment and forests ministry, was released on Tuesday.

 

India loses 367 sq km of forests in 2 years 

The 26th convocation of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola, was held at the local university ground on Monday morning with Dr Arvind Kumar, deputy director general (education) Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) New Delhi, in the chair. 

 

Climate change posing major agri challenge 

Bangalore is getting hotter than ever. “The city has seen a two-degree increase in temperature in the last 100 years, which is one degree more than the global temperature,” said J Srinivasan, chairman, Divecha Centre for Climate Change & professor of IISc, at the Annual Conference on Environment and Sustainability.

A top climate scientist today asked India to adopt sustainable ways of farming which is under pressure due to water crisis caused by global warming

Agriculture provides much more than food. It is the source of livelihood for majority of Indians. It is an engine of growth for the larger economy. And it is at the forefront of environmental sustainability. New challenges are facing the sector. With each passing year, Indian agriculture has to produce more with less.