The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

ministry. The ministry

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. The ministry is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation of environmental and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

programmes in the country. The main activities undertaken by the ministry include conservation and survey of the flora of India and fauna of India,

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s and other

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s; prevention and control of

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

; Indian Himalayan Environment and its sustainable development;

afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no recent tree cover. There are three types of afforestation: natural Regeneration (biology), regeneration, agroforestry and Tree plantation, tree plan ...

, and

land degradation Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of Human impact on the environment, human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. Human activitie ...

mitigation. It is responsible for the administration of the

national parks of India National parks in India are International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category II protected areas. India's first national park was established in 1936, now known as Jim Corbett National Park, in Uttarakhand. In 1970, India had on ...

. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the cadre controlling authority of the

Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India. .The IFS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) & the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was constituted in the year 1966 un ...

(IFS), one of the three

All India Services The All India Services (AIS) comprises three Civil Services of India common to the centre and state governments, which includes the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFS). ...

History

Environmental debates were first introduced into the national political agenda during Indira Gandhi's first term as

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

. The 4th Five-Year Plan (1969–74), for example, proclaimed "harmonious development ..on the basis of a comprehensive appraisal of environmental issues." In 1977 (during the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

) Gandhi added Article 48A to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

stating that: "The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country." The same decree transferred wildlife and forests from state list to concurrent list of the constitution, thus giving the central government the power to overrule state decisions on that matter. Such political and constitutional changes prepared the groundwork for the creation of a federal ''Department of Environment'' in 1980, turned into the ''Ministry of Environment and Forests'' in 1985.Sanjeev Khagram (2004) "Dams and Development", New York, Cornell University Press, Although tackling

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

was already a responsibility of the ministry, its priority was raised when in May 2014 the ministry was renamed to the current title of ''Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change''.

Administration

The forest administration is based on demarcation of states into Forest Divisions which consists of Forest Ranges. Forest Beats under Ranges are the smallest unit of administration hierarchy. Natural features on the field form the boundaries of each beat which has an average area of around 16 km square.

Organisation

(IFS) *Authorities ** Central Zoo Authority of India,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

** National Biodiversity Authority,

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a wildlife conservation agency formed to protect the endangered Bengal tiger in India. It was established by the Government of India under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in ...

, New Delhi ** Wildlife Crime Control Bureau *Subordinate offices ** Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest and Plantation Development Corporation (Public Sector Undertaking) **

Animal Welfare Board of India The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dair ...

, Chennai **

Botanical Survey of India Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is a governmental research institution in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded on 13 February 1890 during British Raj in India and now is under the Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest an ...

(BSI),

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Central Pollution Control Board The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C.C.). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1 ...

** Environmental Information System (ENVIS) ** Odisha State Pollution Control Board ** Delhi Pollution Control Committee ** Directorate of Forest Education ** Forest Survey of India ** Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy ** National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board ** National Board of Wildlife ** National Institute of Animal Welfare **

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

(NMNH), New Delhi ** National Zoological Park (NZP), New Delhi **

Zoological Survey of India The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India as a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, explora ...

(ZSI), Kolkata *Centres of excellence **

Centre for Environment Education Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

** C. P. R. Environmental Education Centre,

** Centre for Animals and Environment,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

** Centre of Excellence in Environmental Economics, Chennai ** Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore ** Centre for Ecological Sciences, Bangalore ** Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystem, New Delhi ** Centre for Mining Environment,

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur and a major financial hub of Jharkhand. In terms of economy, Dhanbad has the largest economy in the state of Jharkhand and it is often referred to as th ...

** Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON),

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

** Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

*Autonomous institutions ** G. B.Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment,

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

** Indian Institute of Forest Management,

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

** Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, Bengaluru ** Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE),

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of Indi ...

(WII), Dehradun

Cabinet Ministers

*Note: MoS, I/C Minister of State (Independent Charge)

Ministers of State

Initiatives

In August 2019 Ministry of Environment released the Draft National

Resource Efficiency Resource efficiency is the maximising of the supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization in order to function effectively, with minimum wasted (natural) resource expenses. It means using the ...

Policy. It is a set of guidelines which envisions a future with environmentally

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and equitable economic growth. The policy is guided by principle of reduction in primary resource consumption; creation of higher value with less material through resource efficient circular approach; waste minimization; material security and creation of employment opportunities and business model beneficial to cause of environment protection and restoration. It was based on the report of

NITI Aayog The NITI Aayog (; abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of the Republic of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, and foste ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

titled, ''The strategy on resource efficiency''. The policy seeks to set up a National Resource Efficiency Authority with core working group housed in the Ministry. It also plans to offer tax benefits on recycled materials and soft loans to set up waste disposal and material recovery facilities. As of 8 December 2021, some states have received more than Rupees 47,000 crore for afforestation. The states are directed to channel this amount as compensatory afforestation which shall be used for plantations, assisted natural forest regeneration, forest fire-prevention, pest and disease control in forest, and expedite soil and moisture conservation works.

References

External links

*
Autonomous Organisations
{{authority control Environment, Forests and Climate Change Environmental agencies in India Climate change in India Forestry agencies in India

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Ministries established in 1985 1985 establishments in India