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NEWSCOPE RESEARCH ISSUES WELL-BEING TRENDS THEME
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been celebrated as rededication of national efforts for sustainable development and mainstreaming environmental concerns in the national developmental agenda. Plastic as it is may not be a problem, but littering and unsafe disposal of single-use plastic products, plastic bottles, food containers and packaging materials is causing concern to the environment. In the age of advanced technology, we cannot live plastic free but we can manage our plastic waste disposal into circular economy and adapting good deeds and the time has come that we must realize the concern and make collective efforts to reduce our plastic footprint by way of adapting green good deeds and 4 R principle( refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle).
In India, not less than 25,490 tonnes of plastic is generated every day with mind boggling 40 % of plastic waste uncollected. He hopes there will be perceptible to and measurable difference in the country brought about the plastic pollution and other environmental issues. According to him, about 60 million tonnes of solid waste is generated in one year and‘’ Plastic bottle takes between 450- 1000 years to decompose”.
This year, India hosts the World Environment Day for the second time. MoEF & CC is hosting the World Environment Day 2018, in collaboration with UN
Environment. India hosted the event in the year 2011, with the theme:‘ Forests: Nature at your Service’. Informatively, 5th June was designated as the World Environment Day by the UN General Assembly to commemorate the opening of the Stockholm Conference on Human Development. Annual celebrations
of World Environment Day began in 1974. 5th June provides an
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occasion for responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment. Every action counts, and when multiplied by people across the world, its impact becomes exponential. Over 150 countries are celebrating World Environment Day, particularly for promoting the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals. During the last three years, the |
themes of World Environment Day celebrations included:“ Seven billion dreams, one planet, consume with care” in 2015 in Rome, Italy,“ Zero tolerance for the illegal wildlife trade” in Luanda, Angola, in 2016 and“ Connecting people to nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator” in Ottawa, Canada, in 2017.
He also mentioned writing to Environment Ministers of more than 150 countries to celebrate the day globally and take pledge to cut the use of single-use plastics. More than 10,000 missed calls have been received in the“ Missed Call Campaign” titled # BeatPlasticPollution. A pledge to beat plastic pollution can be taken by placing a missed call on 18001371999.
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The objectives behind the campaigns for environment are to enhance the global visibility of India as a leader in sustainability actions, support the efforts to Clean India ahead of Mahatma Gandhi’ s 150th birth anniversary in October 2019, expand / consolidate public engagement on India’ s environmental agenda, inculcate private sector leadership to address plastic pollution and urge citizens to take a pledge to change their behavior around waste management and highlight India’ s leadership in the cause of marine litter and beach cleaning.
Q. ISFR 2017 reported an almost 1 % increase in forest cover. At the same time trees are being cut indiscriminately. Are there any plans to stop the felling of trees? As per the latest“ India State of Forest Report 2017” published by Forest Survey of India, total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,02,088 square kilometers which is 24.39 % of the total geographical area of the country. As per ISFR 2017, some States / UTs have shown gain in forest cover while some have shown loss. Overall, there is an increase of 8021 square kilometers in forest and tree cover of the country over that of the India State of Forest Report 2015( updated) which is about 1 % of the forest and tree cover of the country. During the diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes under the FC Act, felling of trees are carried out as required under the concerned project. However, care is taken to ensure that minimum trees are felled. As per the norms, compensatory afforestation is taken up against the diverted forest areas. Illicit felling also takes place sometimes in different parts of the country. These are dealt under Indian Forest Act and various State specific Acts and rules made thereunder.
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16 Volume 3 | Issue 3 | July-September 2018 |