The director general of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) believes that programmes like ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus (REDD+)’ can potentially improve the lives of the communities living in fringe forest areas along with achieving its environmental objectives.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday stressed the need for “equity” in global climate change negotiations and said economic growth should not harm the environment. At his meeting in Delhi with the environment ministers of the BASIC countries, Brazil, South Africa, India and China, Singh is learnt to have said that the principle of equity should be the goal of future negotiations. Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan had described “equity” as a non-negotiable principle for India in global climate talks during the conference of parties in Durban, South Africa.

New Delhi Underlining the principle of “equity” in climate talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said growth should take place in a way which does not harm the environment.

During his meeting with Environment Ministers of BASIC countries, that is Brazil, South Africa, India and China, Singh said the principle of equity — equal per capita rights to the atmospheric space — should be the goal of future negotiations on climate change, sources said.

Ahead of a meeting with environment ministers of BASIC countries, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today said growth is important for the people but should take place in a way which does not harm the environment.

“Economic growth is essential for the people, but we cannot allow growth to be pursued in a manner which damages our environment,” the Prime Minister said on Twitter, according to the PMO.

Environment Ministers of BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — are calling upon the Prime Minister today.

India’s forest cover decreased by 367 square kilometers between 2007 and 2009, and it was primarily tribal and hilly regions that were to blame, according to the biennial forest survey released last week by the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

The report showed some areas of progress. Among the 15 states that increased their forest cover in the period are Orissa and Rajasthan. In Punjab, the nation’s grain bowl, enhanced plantation activities and an increase in agro-forestry practices contributed to the highest gain in forest cover with 100 square kilometers.

Growth should take place in a way that does not harm the environment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday.

During his meeting with Environment Ministers of BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — Dr. Singh said the principle of equity - equal per capita rights to the atmospheric space - should be the goal of future negotiations on climate change, sources said.

Ahead of a meeting with environment ministers of BASIC countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said growth is important for the people but should take place in a way which does not harm the environment. "Economic growth is essential for the people, but we cannot allow growth to be pursued in a manner which damages our environment," the PM said on Twitter, according to the PMO.

Ensure lease holders in Karnataka do not flout rules, report tells government

To prevent further destruction of environment due to rampant illegal mining in Karnataka, a high-level study team has suggested that to ensure lease holders do not flout rules, the government should constituted an expert committee to monitor mining areas.

The National Green Tribunal is the latest to point out that consultants are including “cooked data” in the key environment impact assessment (EIA) reports which determine green clearances for industrial projects. The Tribunal has told the government to come up with a mechanism to ensure authentic data.

The Tribunal made its comments last week while suspending the environment clearance given to Scania Steel and Power for the expansion of its sponge iron and captive power plant project in Chhattisgarh, on the grounds that no public hearing had been held.

The Coal Ministry has asked the inter-ministerial panel to introduce an online mechanism for granting green clearance to projects, an official said.

In a meeting held a few days ago under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also heading an inter-ministerial panel on issues hurting coal production, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had requested for introduction of a new new system for granting clearances.