25-Mar-2022: Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life recommends to celebrate October 5 as National Dolphin Day
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupendra Yadav informed that Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild has recommended to celebrate October 5th as National Dolphin Day every year as a historic step in creating awareness for conservation of Dolphins. Shri Yadav stated that generating awareness & community participation is integral for conservation of the indicator species. He chaired the 67th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life here today.
The Standing Committee discussed several important policy issues and the proposals for wildlife clearances forwarded by the State Governments and the Union Territory administrations.
Healthy aquatic ecosystems help in maintaining the overall health of the Planet. Dolphins act as ideal ecological indicators of a healthy aquatic ecosystem and conservation of the Dolphins will, therefore, benefit the survival of the species and also, the people dependent on the aquatic system for their livelihood. The Ministry has been taking up several activities for the protection and conservation of Dolphins and its habitats. Considering that generating awareness amongst the people on the benefits of conservation of Dolphins and participation of people in conservation efforts is imperative, the Standing Committee recommended that every year 5th of October shall be celebrated as National Dolphin Day.
The Standing Committee also considered 46 proposals for wildlife clearance and recommended several projects of public importance and essential for improving livelihood of local communities such as providing electricity in remote villages in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, drinking water supply to villagers in Karnataka. Projects of strategic importance such as road and border outpost in the Union Territory of Ladakh were also recommended during the meeting.
The Standing Committee recommended four proposals for construction of earthen dams in the State of Haryana to improve irrigation facilities. These dams will also recharge ground water in the Sanctuary which will benefit the wildlife habitat.
The Standing Committee also recommended road project under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the State of Uttarakhand in order to provide connectivity to remote villages with appropriate animal passage structures.
A Project for harnessing the geothermal energy for power generation and other direct heat applications by drilling through rocks overlying the geothermal reservoir in Ladakh was also recommended in the meeting with appropriate mitigation measures.
24-Apr-2020: NBWL nod for coal mining in Assam elephant reserve
The National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) has recommended coal mining in a part of an elephant reserve in Assam.
The NBWL’s Standing Committee had on April 7 discussed a proposal for use of 98.59 hectares of land from the Saleki proposed reserve forest land for a coal mining project by North-Easter Coal Field (NECF), a unit of Coal India Limited. The NBWL is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Saleki is a part of the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve that includes the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary covering 111.19 sq km of rainforest and several reserve forests in Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
The NBWL had in July 2019 formed a committee comprising its member R. Sukumar, Assam’s Chief Wildlife Warden and a representative of the local wildlife division for assessing the mining area.
In the April 7 meeting, Mr. Sukumar stated that 57.20 ha of hilly forestland had already been broken up by the user agency (NECF) and the remaining 41.39 ha was unbroken. He recommended a “cautious approach” for preserving the “basic integrity of this forested hill slope” that is a part of the elephant reserve in Assam adjoining Arunachal Pradesh’s Deomali Elephant Reserve with “a sizeable population of elephants.”
After detailed discussions, the Standing Committee “recommended for approval” the proposal for mining in the broken-up area after the user agency submits a rectified site-specific mine reclamation plan in consultation with the Assam Forest Department.
For the unbroken area, the matter will be considered after the user agency submits a feasibility report for underground mining, and also submits compliance report regarding fulfilment of all other conditions, as recommended in a meeting on January 21.
13-Feb-2019: 99.82% projects in forests got approval
India’s apex National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) — charged with allowing forest land in Protected Areas to be diverted for industry — cleared 682 of the 687 projects (99.82%) that came up for scrutiny. Only five projects were rejected since August 2014.
The NBWL, formally headed by the Prime Minister, adjudicates on industrial projects, road diversions or the like that could encroach into Protected Areas or eco-sensitive zones of forests. A smaller Standing Committee of the NBWL is charged with deliberating on the merits of projects that come to it for scrutiny; the committee comprises scientists and government officials and is chaired by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Officials said the increased clearances were due to streamlined processes. For one, we have regular meetings since 2014, and filling applications have largely gone online. Problematic projects are now usually dealt with at the level of State and what ultimately comes to NBWL is one that has already passed scrutiny,” said Siddhanta Das, Director General, Forests.
12-Jan-2019: National Wildlife Board clears ONGC Trishna gas project
The state-owned ONGC Tripura Asset would soon start extracting natural gas from Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in Belonia subdivision of Gomati district following National Wildlife Board's clearance of its proposal.
Firm had discovered 10-12 gas bearing wells long back in Trishna Wildlife sanctuary. As the gas bearing zones are in the wildlife sanctuary, permission was needed from the National Wildlife Board.
The National Wildlife Board, following recommendations from the state Wildlife Board, has cleared the project.
After the state Wildlife Board sanctioned the project on September 17, the state government had taken up the issue with National Wildlife Board. ONGC has already began laying the pipeline and the entire process would be completed shortly.
The gas extracted from Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary would be transported to the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO) owned 100 MW gas-based thermal power project at Monarchak in Sonamura subdivision of Sipahijala district.
The ONGC Tripura Asset has completed the exploration target for 2018-19 three months ahead of schedule. Exploration target of 19 wells was completed by December itself and six more wells would be explored in the remaining three months of the current financial year. ONGC has augmented a record 10 lakh standard cubic metres gas this year compared to the last year.
50 per cent geographical area of the state still remains to be explored and it would be a great achievement if gas is discovered in even 10 per cent area. Tripura unit of ONGC would provide Rs 25 crore to the state government for carrying out Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
2-Jul-2018: 4 species added to recovery programme by Wildlife Board
The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) recently added four species- the Northern River Terrapin, Clouded Leopard, Arabian Sea Humpback Whale, Red Panda- to a Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species on the recommendation of a Standing Committee.
The programme is one of the three components of the centrally funded scheme, Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH).
Started in 2008-09, IDWH is meant for providing support to protected areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves except tiger reserves), protection of wildlife outside protected areas and recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats.
So far, 17 species have been identified under the recovery programme. These are the Snow Leopard, Bustard (including Floricans), Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugongs, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Vultures, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer and Jerdon’s Courser.
Difficulties in recovery of Critically Endangered species: H S Singh member of the NBWL told the standing committee that the recovery of some of the Critically Endangered or Endangered fauna is a difficult task. Except few cases, most of the recovery activities are restricted to study/research and monitoring.
While important for conservation, the ground reality is another matter. The recovery plan for the Great Indian Bustard and Wild Buffalo (Central India Population) was discussed two years ago and plan was also sanctioned with financial allocation but it is yet to be grounded. Now, we have very less chance of recovery of these species. The planning should be done before a species reaches to a critical stage.
Wild Buffalo population increased in Chhattisgarh: Once found in abundance across northeast India, northern and central India, the Wild Buffalo now has its last bastions in some pockets in northeast India and Chhattisgarh. According to a survey by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), not more than 50 individuals of the Wild Buffalo remain in three sub-populations in Indravati National Park, Pamed and Udanti Wildlife Sanctuaries in Chhattisgarh.
According to the WTI, the number of wild buffalo in Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, Chhattisgarh increased from 7 to 11 under the Central India Wild Buffalo Recovery Project, a joint venture between the state forest department and WTI.
Data from the Ministry of Environment and Forest shows that Chhattisgarh was given a total of Rs 210 lakh between 2012-13 and 2014-15 for wild buffalo recovery programme.
6-Jun-2017: National Board of Wildlife clears Rutland Island for DRDO’s Missile Testing Project
The country’s long-range missile test facility at South Andamans’ Rutland Island has finally secured the clearance of the National Board of Wildlife, which has been held up since 2012. The Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife in a meeting held on May 15 approved the project, considering the strategic importance of the project for country’s defence.
The proposal involves diversion of 49.978 acres forest of which 0.84 ha falls in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park and 49.138 ha reserve forest within 10km of the Eco Sensitive Zone. The island is very rich in marine life and was once home to the indigenous Andamanese group ‘Jangil’ or Rutland Jarawa. DRDO has been struggling to get its long range missile test facility since 2012 when the proposal was moved across the government.
However, it has been consistently stalled due to objections by the environment ministry. The Proposal for Wildlife clearance for creation of Infrastructure Facilities for Strategic Surveillance System at Rutland Island had been moved by DRDO. Rutland Island is vital to DRDO’s long-term plans to have a comprehensive testing facility to identify and track long-range missile tests.
The island is located at an ideal distance from the mainland where tests are typically launched from. As of now, long-range missile tests are being carried out from the Odisha coast and are tracked by naval vessels on a trajectory into the Bay of Bengal. Most of the long-range tests for missiles like Agni IV and V have to be tracked over sea, with specialised vessels noting the ‘hit zone’ into the water.
DRDO requires a land-based test area as well to accurately track its long-range missiles, with the island in the Andamans being ideally located due to its distance from mainland. DRDO is also looking at setting up tracking stations along the Andaman Islands to track incoming test missiles. Besides, a special purpose vessel for tracking missile launches is currently under construction at the Vizag based Hindustan Shipyard Limited.
The state Chief Wildlife Warden has recommended the project with conditions such as preparation of a specific marine and terrestrial wildlife conservation plan and installation of essential deflectors and anti-radiation screens around satellite antennas to reduce the impact of radiation on biodiversity in the proposed area. It has also been specified that minimum number of vehicles should be used inside Rutland Island during constructional and operational phase of the project.
Vessels/boats used for construction should use the approved route for navigation with larger vessels to enter into the National Park only during high tide. The project authority has also been asked to take necessary permission from the Chief Wild Life Warden while entering into waters of Marine National Park while approaching Rutland Island. No forest material of fire wood is to be collected from forest area and no effluent or domestic sewage (liquid or solid waste) shall be disposed into the sea or nearby forest area.
24-Mar-2022: Preventing biodiversity losses due to invasive alien species
The Government of India does maintain and update its database of invasive alien species. As per the information received from Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), a total of 154 species of faunal communities including 56 species from terrestrial and freshwater ecosystem and 98 species of marine ecosystems are recorded from India as exotic/ invasive species.
The action plan of Government to prevent the reproduction and proliferation of invasive species includes strengthening of quarantine facilities at airport and seaport, strict compliance of IMO (International Maritime Organization) norms for ballast water disposal; evaluation on the impact assessment on the exotic species. Also this includes regulation of the introduction of exotic species for commercial venture; assessment of the growth rate, reproduction success, dispersal ability and tolerance during climatic stress of exotic species, status surveys on introduced /exotic/invasive species. No licenses are issued for cultivation of invasive alien species and no such information is collated in this Ministry.
24-Sep-2021: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Zoological Survey of India and the Natural History Museum of United Kingdom
The Zoological Survey of India(ZSI), Kolkata and the Natural History Museum (NHM), London have been working together over many years on mutually beneficial projects focused on the study of the fauna of India, and to recognize this long-standing relationship, and to promote its continuance for many years into the future a Memorandum of Understanding between the two great Institutions, was formally signed by the Director of ZSI and Director, NHM, London today on a virtual platform.
The MoU was signed between Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, the first lady Director of ZSI and Dr. Douglas Gurr, Director, Natural History Museum London in the presence of Dr. David Gower, Head of Vertebrates Division Department of Life Sciences at the Natural History Museum London and Dr. John Jackson, Head of Science, Policy and Communication and Rosalind Glass, Executive Assistant to the Director and Board of Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.
Terming the MoU as historic, Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, Director of ZSI said that this MoU was long overdue and the NHM, London and ZSI, Kolkata are going to be mutually benefited on the faunal diversity research through scientific exchange between the two great institutions and long standing relationship. ZSI is the umbrella institute for Biodiversity studies in India headquartered in Calcutta and has 16 Regional Centres instituted to cater to the faunal diversity of the various biogeographic areas of India. ZSI has around 5 million animal collection holding, 20,000 type collections and around 450 scientists and scientific staff work towards curatorial and research on the vast animal collections present in ZSI.
Dr. Douglas Gurr, Director, NHM, London while thanking the Government of India for agreeing into this MoU with them expressed his gratitude to ZSI and said that ZSI and NHM, London look forward for joint research activities by both and since share a joint passion on natural history collections and accelerate towards better science. This collaboration will not only benefit both institutions, the millions of vital collections present in NHM, London and ZSI including type materials are important nationally and across the world for understanding and conserving the biodiversity, curing natural resource loss and sustainable management of bio-resources as well as impact of climate change.
Through this MoU both the institutions are committed to implementing the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Fauna (“CITES”), the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) and relevant national and regional laws and regulations concerning biodiversity including laws relating to access to faunal specimens, associated benefit sharing and traditional knowledge.
The NHM, London and ZSI will be working together to collect, study and conserve faunal specimens for science and to create and exchange associated data and images. There are plans for conducting of joint fieldwork expeditions, transfer of duplicate animal material and associated data and images by ZSI, Kolkata to NHM, London, and vice versa, capacity-building in the areas of Systematic Zoology and Conservation to ensure greater long-term conservation of animal genetic resources in India. Nevertheless, all faunal material and information exchange would be subject to all relevant extant domestic regulations of the participants as well as international laws to which either of the participants is a party. This MoU will be for a period of five years.
The MoU is expected to bring together practicing taxonomists, conservation biologists, biodiversity managers, policy makers and other stakeholders of both the country for discussing, networking and identifying gap areas to formulate the strategies for long term scientific documentation as well as conservation of faunal diversity through international exchange.
India has only 2.4% of the world's land area but the species diversity in India is 8.1 percent which makes India one of twelve mega diversity countries of the world. There are average 350-400 species new to science from India are being discovered by ZSI scientists and others working on natural history and conservation. India is one of the megadiverse countries in the world with 45,000 species of plants and more than 100,000 of the animals have been recorded in India. The identified Megadiverse Countries are: United States of America, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Madagascar, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, China, and Australia.
While many of the natural history collections from India are available in the NHM, London before Independence, India started housing its own collections in ZSI since 1947 independently and as a result of which, ZSI is the largest repository of Fauna in the entire south and Southeast Asia region. With more than 100,000 species of animals known to occur in India, it is the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) that brought to the knowledge of scientific communities about many of them as the new and endemic species. ZSI is the premier institution on animal taxonomy in India under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change of Government of India.
7-Oct-2020: Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding between Zoological Survey of India and International Barcode of Life, a Canadian not-for-profit corporation
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June, 2020 between Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), a subordinate organization under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and International Barcode of Life (iBOL), a Canadian not-for-profit corporation.
ZSI and iBOL have come together for further efforts in DNA barcoding, a methodology for rapidly and accurately identifying species by sequencing a short segment of standardized gene regions and comparing individual sequences to a reference database. iBOL is a research alliance involving nations that have committed both human and financial resources to enable expansion of the global reference database, the development of informatics platforms, and/or the analytical protocols needed to use the reference library to inventory, assess, and describe biodiversity. The MoU will enable ZSI to participate at the Global level programmes like Bioscan and Planetary Biodiversity Mission.
4-Mar-2022: UN Environment Programme must serve to strengthen international cooperation and encourage collective action to address the major environmental challenges of our time : India at 50th session of UNEP
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav delivered national statement on the 50th session of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi today.
The Minister began his address by congratulating the United Nations Environment Programme on completing 50 years , during which it has rendered exceptional service to the global community.
The Minister stated that India has been engaging with UNEP since 1972, dealing with critical environmental challenges. UNEP is one of the leading global voices on environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations, he added.
Shri Bhupendra Yadav emphasized that UNEP’s 50th anniversary must serve to strengthen international cooperation and encourage collective action to address the major environmental challenges of our time, including climate change, conserving and enhancing biodiversity, and tackling pollution and waste, while moving to the path of sustainability.
Shri Yadav further highlighted that we must tackle today’s environmental crises using the latest science and cutting-edge digital tools and technologies. For this, fostering global knowledge and technology exchange without barriers is critical.
The Minister remarked that in 2018, India hosted the World Environment Day on the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi gave a global call for eliminating single use plastics. This call of India provided the momentum leading to significant action on plastic pollution around the globe, culminating in the historic resolution and its adoption. We believe this will institutionalise ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ around the world, he added.
The Minister said that on the occasion of its 50th anniversary it is appropriate that UNEP also turn to paying greater attention to the question of the means of implementation. Provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity building would ensure that implementation of these agreements is not a mere burden for developing countries but a pathway to a greener and healthier planet.
Shri Yadav further said that sustainable lifestyles underpin the survival of our planet. We believe that our utilization of resources must be based on ‘Mindful and Deliberate Utilization’ and NOT ‘Mindless and Destructive Consumption’. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister gave a clarion call of L.I.F.E. - Lifestyles for Environment at COP26 at Glasgow. We believe that UNEP should join hands with India to spread the message of L.I.F.E. to the global community with a view to safeguarding humanity and the planet.
The Minister stressed that India looks forward to stronger collaboration with UNEP on environmental issues including Conventions and multilateral agreements relating to the environment. UNEP should also build a robust portfolio of projects, particularly for delivering on the environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and other multilaterally agreed global environmental goals.
Concluding his remarks the Minister said that India walks the talk and speaks from a position of strength and responsibility on biodiversity and climate change. It is from this experience that India sends a message of hope and optimism that humanity and all nations together can strive together and meet these challenges, he added.
27-Aug-2018: Satya S. Tripathi appointed as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Off
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Satya S. Tripathi of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
He will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his leadership and dedicated service during his tenure.
Mr. Tripathi has since 2017 served as Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at UNEP. A development economist and lawyer with over 35 years of experience, Mr. Tripathi has worked for the United Nations since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments in sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs.
Previously, he was the Director and Executive Head of the United Nations Office for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD)+ Coordination in Indonesia, as well as for the United Nations Recovery Coordinator for the US$ 7 billion post-tsunami and post-conflict recovery efforts in Aceh and Nias. He participated as Chair of the Committees on Laws and Treaties for the United Nations-mediated Cyprus unification talks in 2004.
Earlier in his career he acted as a Senior Distinguished Fellow on Natural Resources Governance with the World Agroforestry Centre and on the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council on Forests.
16-Jul-2018: UN Environment and Google announce ground-breaking partnership to protect our planet
UN Environment and Google announced a global partnership that promises to change the way we see our planet. Combining environmental science, big data and unprecedented accessibility, this joint effort aims to expand what the world knows about the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems.
When completed, the platform will leverage Google’s cloud computing and earth observation public catalogs and for the first time enable governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end.
“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right,” Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said. “UN Environment is excited to be partnering with Google, to make sure we have the most sophisticated online tools to track progress, identify priority areas for our action, and bring us one step closer to a sustainable world.”
Too often, when a country seeks to implement real-time environmental action, they find their efforts halted by gaps in critical data needed to direct those actions safely and effectively. Through this partnership, and Google Earth Engine’s analysis and visualization tools, the world can finally begin to fill those gaps, enabling decision makers to better invest in environmental services.
"This partnership announcement builds on a common shared vision between our organizations," said Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth, Earth Engine & Earth Outreach. "We are excited to enable all countries with equal access to the latest technology and information in support of global climate action and sustainable development."
Long term, the partnership hopes to establish a platform for open-source data and analysis of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As an entry point to development, the partnership launches today with an initial focus on fresh-water ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.
These areas account for 0.01% of the world’s water but provide habitat for almost 10% of the world’s known species and evidence suggests a rapid loss freshwater biodiversity.
Google will periodically produce geospatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive parallel cloud computing technology. Satellite imagery and statistics will be generated to assess the extent of change occurring to waterbodies, and made freely accessible to ensure nations have the opportunity to track changes, prevent and reverse ecosystem loss.
Other areas of collaboration include advocacy and capacity building activities as well as the development of partnerships with organizations like the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The partnership was launched during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in at UN Headquarters in New York, where world leaders are gathering to review of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a set of clear, measurable goals for global development – as well as best practices and progress towards implementation.
9-Mar-2017: Ministry of Railways and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) signed Letters of Intent(LOI) on Environment Initiatives
Ministry of Railways signed a LETTER OF INTENT (LOI) with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to formalise the joint cooperation in the area of environmental conservation. Representatives of Indian Railways and UNEP signed and exchanged Letters of Intent for exploring the opportunity and Developing a Joint cooperation mechanism in the field of Environment& Sustainability
The focussed areas identified for joint activities would be to;
- Collaborate in Formulating Specific Roadmap for achieving 20% reduction in Water consumption at Railway establishments.
- Collaborate in the development of a Draft action plan for establishing waste management centres at major stations on Indian Railways.
- Collaborate in the development of a Draft action plan for Indian Railways on sustainable public procurement for green technology.
The priority in Railways is to reduce the carbon footprints which will help public at large. After this partnership, opportunities are large to work for environment conservation in collaboration with UNEP. Railway is already taking several green initiatives and is going to produce 1000MW solar energy. This joint co-operation will help Indian Railways in its green objectives.
Indian Railways, the lifeline of the country, with carrying 23 million passengers every day is the largest passenger carrying system in the world. It is also the largest consumer of water as well as electricity and major contributor to green environment due to reduced GHG emissions. Indian Railways have been taking a number of steps towards Water Management, Energy Conservation, Solid Waste Management and Green buildings. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is the leading organization within the United Nations system in the field of environment and has as a major area of focus of its global mandate, the conservation, protection, enhancement and support of nature and natural resources worldwide.
As the UNEP and Ministry of Railways share common objectives with regard to the coherent implementation of the environmental dimensions of sustainable development, and wish to collaborate to further these common goals and objectives within their respective mandates and governing rules and regulations; both organisations today signed and exchanged Letters of Intent for exploring the opportunity and Developing a Joint cooperation mechanism in the field of Environment& Sustainability.