1. Major Environmental Issues : India

2. Keywords Deforestation Loss of Biodiversity Global Warming Pollution
Politics

3. Highest Deforestation

5. Deforestation -- Causes
In 2009, India ranked 10th worldwide in the amount of forest loss
Deforestation started with the growth of agriculture, but was exacerbated in the nineteenth century when British commercial forestry operations destroyed Indian forests mainly in western and southern areas
Causes of deforestation -- colonization, agricultural expansion, firewood collection, commercial forestry, shifting cultivation, development, mining, overgrazing

6. Deforestation -- Consequences
Effects -- Deforestation has affected the lives of wild animals and birds; soil erosion; climate change; women’s livelihoods; water recharge and loss; loss of biodiversity
Deforestation is reducing rainfall in India: IIT-Bombay study
Reducing Food production
Flooding; Landslides
Loss of Livelihoods for Forest Dwellers

7. India : Major States with Forests

12. Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover

13. Loss of Biodiversity
Loss of Genetic, species and ecosystem biodiversity
Traditional seeds lost
Traditional knowledge loss
Seed Banks

14. Global Warming/ Climate Change
Weather changes
Rainfall reduction
Droughts
Melting of Ice caps and Glaciers
Changes in agriculture

15. Pollution

21. Environmental Conflicts
Environment vs Development – Shining Gujarat; Amravati, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Vedanta & Dongria Khonds
Rural vs Urban
Rich vs Poor
Developed vs Undeveloped Regions
Traditional vs Modern

22. Gujarat Pollution
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has declared Gujarat as the most polluted State in the country in 2010
based on the increasing levels of pollution and toxic wastes - 29% of hazardous wastes from Gujarat
There are six toxic waste sites in Vapi, two in Ankleshwar, one in Vadodara and one in Valadgaon
There are seven states in the country, which account for 80% of the total hazardous wastes and among these Gujarat tops the list followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal

24. Andaman- Nicobar Islands
The Andaman archipelago comprises approximately 570 islands in the Bay of Bengal and encompasses an area of about 6340 square miles
Forest survey reports suggest that 92.2% of the total area of the Andaman Islands was under forest cover at the beginning of the colonial period
In the rain forests of Little Andaman Islands the mangroves and coral reefs create a prime location for biodiversity
These lands were being destroyed by the Forest Corporation and other Government bodies who were indiscriminately cutting trees (1.8 million trees felled in 20 years), mining and carrying out other non-forest activity
Some of the ethnic tribal populations have lived in these rain forest islands for 70,000 years, but they were on the brink of extinction due to the disruption of their lifestyle and the destruction of their habitat

26. Jarawa Reserve and Trunk Road

27. The Convoy of Tourist Vehicles in the Jarawa Reserve

28. Amravati –New Capital of AP
Andhra Pradesh’s new ‘world-class’ capital city will require enormous amounts of energy and resources to build and to run, while destroying precious natural environments and local livelihoods
Amaravati’s planned location on the southern floodplains of the river Krishna violates laws, making the city environmentally unsustainable

29. Amravati ….
Land chosen for Amaravati is currently the source of a vibrant agro- economy that yields Rs 1000 crore per year, with complete linkages from farm to market
The soil here is so rich that over 20,000 farmers in the 29 villages grow three or more crops annually and more than 120 varieties in total
Even marginal farmers who own half an acre or less earn more than Rs 30,000 each month
India's environment body, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has also expressed concern that the state government did not complete a mandatory environmental assessment before deciding on the location of the city

31. Amravati – The Loss