The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India is pleased to collaborate with the IC Centre for Governance in bringing out the special edition of the Journal of Governance on various facets of environment. The papers in this journal are contributions of sector-specific experts presenting their views on multiple aspects of environmental governance. These papers have gone through a peer review process.
Environmental governance in India has significantly improved under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with focus on objectivity, transparency, ease and speed of doing responsible business while ensuring development without destruction. The result of good governance speaks for itself
Environment does not mean the same thing to everybody. There is a spectrum of positions and views on environment, but many find it hard to describe all that the environment encompasses. To me personally, environment means the air we breath; the water we drink; the rivers and the forests and the countless life forms which inhabit the land and the water and the air of the world. It also means cultures and customs, the very diversity of life, including humanity, and so on and so forth. The description is nearly endless, making the canvas of environment very broad.
India, with only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area, 4 per cent of the world’s freshwater resources, using 6 per cent of world’s primary energy, is supporting around 18 per cent of the global human population and one of the largest cattle populations in the world. India is a megadiverse country, both culturally and biologically. We have four global biodiversity hotspots, 7-8 per cent of all recorded species, the world’s largest tiger and Asiatic elephant populations, ten bio-geographic and 15 agro-climatic zones, 37 UNESCO world heritage sites and 22 official languages with several local dialects.
