2 Sep : The studies carried out by Geological Survey of India indicate that the majority of Himalayan glaciers are passing through a phase of recession which is a worldwide phenomenon. Recession of glaciers is a part of the natural cyclic process of changes in size and other attributes of the glaciers.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was launched in June 2008 which includes, among others, the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system. This Mission is aimed at understanding whether and the extent to which the Himalayan …

2 Sep : Switzerland will host an informal summit of 40 countries, including India, on global warming on Friday to discuss modalities for a new Climate Fund that is expected to unblock the stalled negotiations on the issue.
Since the Copenhagen Climate Change meeting in December last year, the ongoing negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) have made little progress on a range of issues, including the emission-reduction targets as well as financing for mitigation and adaptation.
The two-day meeting in Geneva which will be attended by 40 …

29 Aug : The Government has constituted a High Powered Committee for Yamuna River Development to be chaired by Lt. Governor, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. The terms and references of this includes study on different aspects of the development of the river, viz. hydrology, ecology, environmental pollution, sustainable use of the river front, etc. to feed into the policy framework, develop a policy framework and prepare an Integrated Plan addressing issues of both quantity in terms of river flow and quality in the Yamuna River etc. This …

28 Aug : The Government has notified Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 (amended in 2003) to regulate the manufacture and use of plastic carry bags, containers and recycling of plastics wastes. These rules, inter alia, provide that plastic carry bags should have a minimum thickness of 20 microns, carry bags or containers made of recycled plastic shall not be used for packaging of food stuffs, manufacturing of carry bags or container will be undertaken only by units registered with State Pollution Control Boards/ Committees and recycling of plastic …

28 Aug : Department of Space (DOS) has proposed to setup a new Institute called “National Institute for Climate and Environment Studies (NICES)” with the involvement of Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). The institute will initially be located and nucleated at the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki near Tirupati, which is an autonomous laboratory involved in monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere, and functions under DOS. There is no time frame for setting up this institute. Mandate of …