Seminar on

National Environment Policy

2006

Rushabh Vinod Gulalkari Nikhil Rajendra Hajare

(MT16ENV002) (MT16ENV003)
 Content
Introduction
Process of formulation of NEP
Key environmental challenges in India
Objectives of NEP
Principles of NEP
Strategies and Actions
Conclusions
Reference
 Introduction
The National Environment Policy, 2006 is the outcome of extensive
consultations with
Experts in different disciplines
Central Ministries
Members of Parliament
State Governments
Industry Associations
Academic and Research Institutions
Civil Society
NGOs and the Public
 Need of National
Environmental Policy
 Why NEP?
Coverage to National policies
To extend the coverage and fill the gaps in existing national policies such as National Forest
Policy (1988), National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and
Development (1992), Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution (1992), National Agriculture
Policy (2000), National Population Policy (2000), National Water Policy (2002)
It does not displace, but builds on the earlier policies

Statement of commitment to multilateral agreements

NEP is also intended to be a statement of India's commitment to making a positive contribution
to international efforts concerned with environment
 Why NEP?
Statement of National commitment
NEP is a response to our national commitment to a clean environment, mandated in the
Constitution in Articles 48 A and 51 A (g), strengthened by judicial interpretation of Article 21

Guide to actions
The National Environment Policy is intended to be a guide to action
For environmental conservation
For review and enactment of legislation, by agencies of the Central, State, and Local
Governments
How National Environmental
Policy was formulated?
 Process of formulation of NEP
A draft of the National Environment Policy was prepared through an intensive process of
consultation within the Government and inputs from experts
The draft, in English and Hindi was posted on the website of the Ministry of Environment and
Forests and responses were invited from individuals and organizations, through
advertisements in national and regional newspapers
The draft was open for public consultation from 21 August, 2004 to 31 December, 2004
The draft was also provided to the Members of Parliament and their views and suggestions
were invited
The Ministry of Environment and Forests also held consultations with representatives of
major academic and research institutions, and key Industry Associations, Voluntary
Organizations, and individuals who are well known in the field
Detailed summaries of responses were prepared and the various concerns expressed by the
respondents were addressed. Many of the suggestions received have been incorporated in
the Policy
Environmental challenges faced
by India
Key Environmental challenges in India
1. Environmental degradation
Causes
Population growth
Inappropriate technology and
consumption choices
Activities such as intensive agriculture,
polluting industry
Unplanned urbanization

Impacts
On rural poor and tribal societies
On rural women
 Key Environmental challenges in India
2. Economic growth
Economic growth, in its turn, bears a
dichotomous relationship to environmental
degradation
Excessive environmental degradation
Improvement of environmental quality
by making available the necessary
resources for environmental investments

The loss of the environmental resource base can result in certain groups of
people being made destitute, even if overall, the economy shows strong growth
Key Environmental challenges in India
3. Human health
It is increasingly evident that poor
environmental quality has adversely
affected human health
Environmental factors are estimated as
being responsible for nearly 20 percent
of the burden of disease in India
Number of environment-health factors
are closely linked with dimensions of
poverty

It is increasingly evident that poor environmental quality has adversely affected human
health
Key Environmental challenges in India
4. Institutional and Policy failure
Institutional failures, refers to unclear or
insufficiently enforced rights of access to,
and use of, environmental resources, result
in environmental degradation
Policy failures can emerge from various
sources, including the use of fiscal
instruments, such as explicit and implicit
subsidies for the use of various resources,
which provide incentives for excessive use of
natural resources
 Key Environmental challenges in India
5. Other challenges
Another major set of challenges arises from
emerging global environmental concerns such
as
Climate change
Stratospheric ozone depletion
Biodiversity loss
Objectives of National
Environmental Policy
 Objectives of NEP
1. Conservation of Critical Environmental Resources
To protect and conserve critical ecological systems and resources, and invaluable natural
and man-made heritage, which are essential for life support, livelihoods, economic
growth, and a broad conception of human well-being
2. Intra-generational Equity: Livelihood Security for the Poor
To ensure equitable access to environmental resources and quality for all sections of
society, and in particular, to ensure that poor communities, which are most dependent
on environmental resources
3. Inter-generational Equity
To ensure judicious use of environmental resources to meet the needs of the present
and future generations
 Objectives of NEP
4. Integration of Environmental Concerns in Economic and Social
Development
To integrate environmental concerns into policies, plans, programmes and projects for
economic and social development
5. Efficiency in Environmental Resource Use
To ensure efficient use of environmental resources in the sense of reduction in their use
per unit of economic output, to minimize adverse environmental impacts
6. Environmental Governance
To apply the principles of good governance (transparency, rationality, accountability,
reduction in time and costs, participation, and regulatory independence) to the
management and regulation of use of environmental resources
 Objectives of NEP
7. Enhancement of Resources for Environmental Conservation
To ensure higher resource flows, comprising finance, technology, management skills,
traditional knowledge, and social capital, for environmental conservation through mutually
beneficial multistakeholder partnerships between local communities, public agencies, the
academic and research community, investors, and multilateral and bilateral development
partners
Principles of National
Environmental Policy
 Principles of NEP
1. Human Beings are at the Centre of Sustainable Development Concerns
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development
They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature

2. The Right to Development

The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and
environmental needs of present and future generations

3. Environmental Protection is an Integral part of the Development Process

In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an
integral part of the development process
 Principles of NEP
4. The Precautionary Approach
Where there are credible threats of serious or irreversible damage to key environmental resources,
cost-effective measures should be taken to prevent environmental degradation
5. Economic Efficiency
Polluter Pays
Cost Minimization
6. Entities with Incomparable Values
7. Equity
Inter- generational Equity
Intra- generational Equity
8. Legal Liability
Fault Based Liability
Strict Liability
 Principles of NEP
9. Public Trust Doctrine
The State is not an absolute owner, but a trustee of all natural resources, which are by nature meant
for public use and enjoyment
10. Decentralization
Decentralization involves ceding or transfer of power from a Central Authority to State and Local
Authorities
11. Integration
Integration refers to the inclusion of environmental considerations in policymaking, the integration of
the social and natural sciences in environment related policy research
12. Environmental Standard Setting
Setting environmental standards would involve several considerations, i.e. risks to human health, risks
to other environmental entities, technical feasibility, costs of compliance, and strategic considerations
They must reflect the economic and social development situation in which they apply
 Principles of NEP
13. Preventive Action
It is preferable to prevent environmental damage from occurring in the first place, rather
than attempting to restore degraded environmental resources after the fact

14. Environmental Offsetting

If for exceptional reasons of overriding public interest protection cannot be provided in
particular cases, cost-effective offsetting measures must be undertaken by the proponents of
the activity, to restore as nearly as may be feasible, the lost environmental services to the
same publics
Strategies and Actions
to achieve
Objectives & Principles
 Strategies and Actions
The foregoing statement of policy Objectives and Principles are to be realized
by concrete actions in different areas relating to key environmental challenges
A large number of such actions are currently under way, and have been for
several years, in some cases, for many decades
In some aspects new action plans would need to be pursued to realize the
Principles and Objectives
Action plans would need to be prepared on identified themes by the
concerned agencies at all levels of Government Central, State/UT, and Local
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
1. Regulatory Reform

1.1 Revisiting Policy & i. Institutionalize a holistic and integrated approach to

Legislative framework the management of environmental and natural
resources
Issues related with ii. Identify emerging areas for new legislation
necessary changes in iii. Ensure accountability of the concerned levels of
policies and legislations Government (Centre, State, Local) in undertaking
the necessary legislative changes
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
1. Regulatory Reform

1.2 Process Related Reform

a) Approach i.
Use of information technology based tools need to
Issues related with delays be promoted
in environmental and ii. Decentralization of powers and responsibilities to
forest clearances state agencies
b) Framework for legal iii. A judicious mix of civil and criminal processes and
actions sanctions should be employed in the legal regime
Issues with criminal
jurisdiction for enforcement, through a review of the existing
legislation
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
1. Regulatory Reform

1.3 Substantive Reform i. Institutionalize EIA to ensure that environmental

concerns are identified and addressed at the
a) Environment & forest planning stage itself
clearance ii. Assess the potential for chemical accidents of
relevant projects
Review of assessment iii. Give consideration, to the quality and productivity
processes like EIA of lands which are proposed to be converted for
development activities
iv. Encourage clustering of industries
v. Restrict the diversion of dense natural forests
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
1. Regulatory Reform

1.3 Substantive Reform

b) Coastal areas i. Revisit the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

notifications to make the approach to coastal
Protection of valuable environmental regulation more holistic
coastal ecosystem ii. Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plans need to be
comprehensive, and prepared on strong scientific
basis
iii. The ICZM plans should be reviewed at pre-
determined intervals
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
1. Regulatory Reform

1.3 Substantive Reform

c) Environmental sensitive i. Identify and give legal status to ESZ in the country
zones having environmental entities with Incomparable
values requiring special conservation efforts
Protection of ESZ ii. Formulate area development plans for ESZ
iii. Create local institutions with adequate participation
for the environmental management of such areas
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
1. Regulatory Reform

1.3 Substantive Reform

i. Prepare and implement an action plan on the use
d) Use of Economic of economic instruments for environmental
principles in regulation
Environmental decision ii. Consider creation of a National Environment
making Restoration Fund from economic instruments, user
fees for access to specified natural resources, and
voluntary contributions
iii. Strengthen the initiatives taken by the Central
Statistical Organization in the area of natural
resource accounting
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources
i. Encourage adoption of science-based and traditional
2.1 Land Degradation sustainable land use practices, through research and
development
Identify and eliminate ii. Promote reclamation of wasteland and degraded
proximate causes of land forestland
degradation iii. Prepare and implement action plans for watershed
management
iv. Encourage agro-forestry, organic farming,
environmentally sustainable cropping patterns, and
adoption of efficient irrigation techniques
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources
i. Intensive water and moisture conservation through
2.2 Desert Ecosystem practices based on traditional and science based
knowledge
Conserving desert ecosystem ii. Enhancing and expanding green cover based on local
species

2.3.1 Forest
i. Give legal recognition of the traditional entitlements of
Issues related with rights of forest dependant communities taking into consideration
traditional and forest the provisions of the Panchayat Act,1996
dependant communities ii. Formulate an appropriate methodology for restoring
environmental values of forests
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources iii. Formulate an innovative strategy for increase of forest
and tree cover from the 2003 level of 23.69 percent of
2.3.1 Forest the country's land area, to 33 percent in 2012
iv. Denotify Bamboo and similar other species as 'Forest
Species to facilitate their cultivation

i. Expand the Protected Area (PA) network of the country

2.3.2 Wildlife ii. Revisit the norms, criteria and needs of data for placing
particular species in different schedules of the Wildlife
Protection Act
iii. Ensure that human activities on the fringe areas of PAs
do not degrade the habitat or otherwise significantly
disturb wildlife
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources

2.4 Biodiversity, Traditional i. Protection of biodiversity hot spots areas in country

Knowledge, and Natural ii. Pay attention to the potential impacts of
Heritage development projects on biodiversity resources and
natural heritage
iii. The Patent act, 1970 harmonization with Biodiversity
conservation act
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources
i. Promote research in glaciology to evaluate the
2.5 Freshwater Resources impacts of climate change on glaciers and river flows
ii. Promote integrated approaches to management of
2.5.1 River Systems river basins by the concerned river authorities
iii. Mitigate the impacts on river and estuarine flora and
Issues related with climate fauna of multipurpose river valley projects, power
change, pollution etc plants, and industries
iv. Adopt afforestation programmes for afforestation on
the banks and catchments of rivers and reservoirs to
prevent soil erosion and improve green cover
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources i. Take explicit account of impacts on groundwater
tables of electricity tariffs and pricing of diesel
2.5 Freshwater Resources ii. Promote efficient water use techniques, such as
sprinkler or drip irrigation, among farmers
2.5.1 Ground water iii. Support practices of rain water harvesting and
artificial recharges for enhancing groundwater
Issues with ground water recharge
depletion iv. Support R&D in cost effective techniques suitable for
Effect of subsidies on diesel
and electricity on ground rural drinking water projects for removal of arsenic
water extraction fluoride, and other toxic substances
v. Remedial measures may be taken to prevent the
movement of the toxic waste in the ground water
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources

2.7 Coastal Resources i. Mainstream the sustainable management of

mangroves
ii. Implement available techniques for regeneration of
coral reefs
iii. Consider sea-level rise and vulnerability of coastal
areas to climate change in coastal management plans,
as well as infrastructure planning and construction
norms
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources
2.8 Pollution Abatement
2.8.1 Air Pollution
Actions
i. Take an integrated approach to energy conservation
and adoption of renewable energy technologies
ii. Monitor and enforce of emission standards for both
point and non-point sources
iii. Prepare and implement action plans for major cities
for addressing air pollution
iv. Strengthen efforts for partial substitution of fossil
fuels by bio-fuels
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources

2.8 Pollution Abatement i. Develop and implement public-private partnership

models for setting up and operating effluent and
2.8.2 Water Pollution sewage treatment plants
ii. Take measures to prevent pollution of water bodies
from other sources, especially waste disposal on lands
iii. Prepare and implement action plans for major cities
for addressing water pollution
iv. Promote R&D in development of low cost
technologies for sewage treatment at different scales
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources
i. Develop and implement viable models of public-
2.8 Pollution Abatement private partnerships for setting up appropriate
techniques for the treatment and disposal of toxic and
2.8.3 Soil Pollution hazardous waste
ii. Promote organic farming of traditional crop varieties
through research
iii. Promote biodegradable and recyclable substitutes for
non-biodegradable materials
iv. Develop and enforce regulations and guidelines for
management of e-waste
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources
2.8 Pollution Abatement
2.8.4 Noise Pollution
Actions
i. Make appropriate distinctions between different
environments in terms of setting ambient noise
standards
ii. Formulate noise emissions norms
iii. Include ambient noise as among the environmental
quality parameters to be routinely monitored in
specified urban areas
iv. Encourage dialogue between State/Local Authorities
and religious/community representatives on the
adoption of enforceable durations, timings, and use of
loudspeakers/fireworks
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources

2.9 Conservation of i. In setting ambient environmental standards the

Manmade Heritage potential impacts on designated heritage sites must
be taken into account
ii. Heritage sites considered to have Incomparable
Values would have strict standards than other areas
iii. Impacts on designated heritage sites must be
considered at the stage of developing for EIA of
projects
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
2. Enhancing and Conserving
Environmental Resources

2.10 Climate Change i. Identify key vulnerabilities of India to climate change

ii. Adherence to the principle of responsibilities and
capabilities of different countries in respect of both
mitigation of GHGs
iii. Encourage Indian Industry to participate in the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM)
iv. Participate in voluntary partnerships with other
countries both developed and developing, to address
the challenges of sustainable development and
climate change
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies
3. Environmental Standards,
Management Systems,
Certification & Indicators
i.
3.1 Environmental Standards
ii.
Actions
Set up a permanent machinery comprising experts in
all relevant disciplines to monitor emissions standards
ensuring adequate participation by communities and
industry associations
Strengthen the testing infrastructure and network for
monitoring ambient environmental quality
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
3. Environmental Standards,
Management Systems,
Certification & Indicators
i. Encourage industry associations to promote the
3.2 Environmental adoption of ISO 14000 among their members, by
Management Systems, means of technical and training support
Ecolabeling and Certification ii. Encourage adoption of EMS through purchase
preference for ISO 14000 goods and services for
Government procurement
iii. Formulate Good Practice Guidelines for ecolabels to
enhance their scientific basis and transparency
 Strategies Actions
4. Clean Technologies and i. Promote adoption of clean technologies by industry,
Innovation in particular in the small and medium sector
ii. Encourage capacity building in the financial sector for
appraising clean technology for development projects
iii. promote shifts to clean technologies in both existing
and new units
5. Environmental i. Develop and operate an online, publicly accessible
Awareness, Education & environmental information system to provide all
Information relevant information on key environmental resources
and parameters
ii. Promote the use of Remote Sensing data
iii. Mainstream scientifically valid environment content in
formal education, at primary, secondary, tertiary, and
professional levels
iv. Prepare and implement a strategy for enhancing
environmental awareness among the general public
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
6. Partnership & Stakeholder i. Public - private community - organization
Involvement partnerships for responsible management of natural
resources and protection of environment

7. Capacity Building i. Review the present institutional capacities at the

Central and State levels, in respect of enforcement of
environmental laws and regulations
ii. Prepare and implement suitable programs for
enhancement of the capacities
iii. Ensure continuous upgradation of knowledge and
skills of the scientific and technical personnel involved
in environmental management in public institutions
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
8. Research & Development i. Periodically identify and prioritize areas for research
ii. Establish a research programme in priority areas
within the Government, with expected outputs clearly
specified

9. International Cooperation i. Avail of multilateral and bilateral cooperation

programs, for capacity building for environmental
management
ii. Provide assistance to other developing countries for
scientific and technical capacity building for
environmental management
 Strategies and Actions
Strategies Actions
10. Review of the Policy i. Undertake consultations every three years with
groups of diverse stakeholders and update the
National Environment Policy
ii. In the third of the three-year reviews, redefine the
Objectives and Principles, and recast the new NEP
11. Review of Implementation i. Any policy is only as good as its implementation
ii. The Cabinet or a nominated Committee of the Cabinet
may be requested to review the implementation of
the NEP once a year, within three months from the
close of the previous fiscal year
iii. The findings of the review should be publicly disclosed
 Conclusion
As result of NEP the environment came at the center of the developmental
activities
It concerns about the environment
It fills the gap between the existing policies and strengthen them
It is the response to commitment to provide clean environment to all by applying
modern technologies and scientific techniques
Also it has taken care of many social , economic issues of India, also strengthen
the natural resources by reducing burden on it
As part of bilateral and multilateral relationship of India with many countries it
shows that India is the active state in environmental related issues on UN platform
 Reference
National Environmental Policy, 2006 by Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change, Government of India
Thank
you