The total forest cover of the country as per the 2007 assessment of State of Forest Report is 78.37 million hectares which constitutes 23.84 per cent of the geographic area of India.

Despite efforts to enhance domestic energy production and diversify fuel mix, India still faces energy and peak shortages of around 8 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, while a large section of the rural population continues to lack access to clean and efficient energy fuels to meet their daily requirements.

Over the last two decades, sustainable management of forests have reversed deforestation and have transformed India’s forests into a significant net sink of carbon dioxide.

Until recently, most emission studies carried out in developed countries have applied techniques that do not necessarily reflect ground realities in developing countries. To develop a fact-based perspective on climate change in India, Ministry of Environment and Forests recently supported a set of independent studies.

Dr Amitabh Kundu, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Increasing global exploitation of fresh water has led to drying up of rivers at several places. The socio-economic consequences of disruption and collapse of riverine systems are often profound as people are much more dependent on natural riverine services than is immediately apparent. In response the concept of environmental flows has been developed in the recent decades.

The ICMAM Programme ICMAM is entrusted with the development of expertise in specialised areas relating to adoption of the concept of integrated coastal zone management to analyse problems prevalent along coastal marine areas and develop integrated management solutions.

India has so far documented over 91,200 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants in its 10 biogeographic regions. The varied edaphic, climatic and topographic conditions and years of geological stability have resulted in a wide range of ecosystems and habitats such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and coastal and marine ecosystem.

Dr Ajit Tyagi, Director General, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in his interaction with the Editor, spoke of unfavourable energetics fuelled by the Aila in eastern India coupled with the blocking high of Central Asia that have led to two week delay in restoration of the monsoonal circulation and consequently a shortfall of rainfall in many parts of the country.

Water defies political boundaries and thus cannot be dealt with in isolation. Sustainable water resources management are major challenges of the future. An increasing number of countries are experiencing permanent water stress, yet in most cases, agreements, mechanisms and institutions to manage disputes over water resources are either absent or inadequate.