Welcome to Environ info .........

The strong linkage between environment degradation, poverty and economic development is now an established fact. It has been more or less accepted now that it is not always the poor who are the greatest polluters responsible for a degraded environment. Urbanization and industrialization and unsustainable use of natural resources have all contributed to serious environmental problems. Conventional thinking on environment blamed the poor for overexploitation of natural resources, as poverty and environment were considered linked in a ‘downward spiral,' in which poor people, forced to overuse the environmental resources for their daily survival, are further impoverished by the degradation of these resources. Population growth and economic change (which often bypasses the poor, or reduces their access to natural resources) were also seen to contribute to this process. It was therefore believed that poverty needs to be eradicated in developing countries before they can turn their attention to environmental protection.
The perception of the ‘vicious circle' as characterizing the environmental degradation and poverty in countries is vulnerable to criticism on several counts. It is a simplistic, exaggerated and misleading thesis. In the past, when poverty levels were much higher in developing countries, there was not much environmental degradation. Now that poverty levels are declining significantly, it does not seem plausible to attribute environmental degradation to poverty.


Why environmental management in India ?

To start with, some facts:

• India is the world's sixth largest and second fastest growing producer of greenhouse gases.
• Delhi , Mumbai and Chennai are three of the world's ten most polluted cities.
• Two-thirds of city dwellers lack sewerage; one-third lack potable water.
• India urban population grows equivalent of another New York City every year. This equals to a  projected urban population of over 500 million in 20 years.

Pollution and destruction of natural resources have reached such dimensions in India that in some regions they pose an imminent risk to human health. Reasons lie on the one hand in poverty and underdevelopment, on the other hand in rapid and sometime uncontrolled industrialization and urbanization. Urban conglomerations as well as rural areas are increasingly affected.

Regarding these facts, India and Germany consider sustainable environmental development as the overall goal of a development policy. Germany is already making a considerable contribution in strengthening India 's environmental management through supporting development projects related to environmental management, involving technical cooperation projects and financial cooperation projects.