Financing of Environmental S&T

 

 

Kasturi Mandal

 

The Tenth Plan had recognized that environmental sustainability is not an option but an imperative. Clean air, pure water, conservation of forests and wild life and generation of greenery are the essentials for a healthy environment. Prevention of degradation of land, controlling floods and droughts, preventing desertification, conservation of fragile eco-systems, prevention of deforestation, conserving bio-diversity and mitigating war and air-pollution: all present challenges for planners and policy makers.

In order to rapidly advance to a scientific understanding of environmental issues, it is necessary to promote properly focussed research by competent institutions. A continuous engagement with the scientific community – in government, academic, and private institutions – will provide important insights for policy making and regulation, including in the field of multilateral negotiations, and help realize deeper and broader skills in the scientific community.

In India, the funding of Environmental S&T comes from various departments and ministries like the MoEF, DST (CSIR, DBT and ICAR), UGC, UNICEF and DAE. The Ministry of Environment & Forests is the nodal agency in the administrative structure of the Central Government for planning, promoting, coordinating and overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry programmes. The MoEF contributes the bulk of funds for Environmental S&T activities, and due to constraint in availability of data, the main focus of this section is on MoEF & it's funding schemes.

Ministry of Environment & Forests has been funding work in multi-disciplinary aspects for environmental and ecosystems protection, conservation and management at various universities, institutions of higher learning, national research institutes and non-governmental organizations in identified thrust areas under its Research & Development (R&D) Programme. The Research & Development Scheme of the Ministry is a Central Plan Scheme for conservation and management of environment since 1985. Some indicative areas include: forest conservation, wildlife protection, biodiversity inventories, R&D in environmental management technologies, climate change, public health impacts of environmental degradation, etc.

 

The objectives of S&T support from MoEF are as follows:

 

This section aims at analyzing the financing of various schemes under Ministry of Environment & Forests. The data for the past 10 years is collected by visiting websites of Govt. of India pertaining to the project & extracting annual reports, demands for grants, performance budgets etc.

Financing of Environmental S&T in the MoEF takes place in two major heads: “Forestry and Wildlife” and “Prevention and Control of Pollution”. Minor heads of “Education and Training” and “Research” come under Forestry and Wildlife whereas “Research and Ecological Regeneration” and “Environment Education, Training/Extension” come under Prevention and Control of Pollution. Other Schemes include:

 

Trend of financing of environmental S&T in the last 10 years

Fig 1: Trend of financing of environmental S&T in the last 10 years

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

1) Research and Ecological Regeneration: Five main schemes working under this minor head are Research and Development, Field Action Programme on Restoration of Selected Eco-Systems, Himalayan Institute of Environment & Development, Integrated Action Oriented Research & Extension Projects, Eco-Development Forces.

Since 2001 two schemes namely: Field Action Programme on Restoration of Selected Eco-Systems & Integrated Action Oriented Research & Extension Projects were closed. Then onwards, only three schemes were working and financing of the scheme on Research & Development was always the least whereas that of Eco- development Forces was the highest. In the year 2005-06, again the scheme on Integrated Action Oriented Research & Extension Projects came into existence & was allocated Rs.0.69 crores whereas Eco-development Forces once again topped the list.

 

2) Education and Training: Figure 2 shows the trend of financing to various educational institutes, colleges and academies under this minor head.

 

Trend of allocation of funds to various Education and Training Institutes over the last 10 years

Fig 2: Trend of allocation of funds to various Education and Training Institutes over the last 10 years

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) is a very prominent environmental S&T Institute in the country. It has 8 institutes and three satellite centres spread all over the country. Each centre is attached to an institute. Following are institutes and centres of ICFRE:

(a) Forest Research Institute, Dehradun.

(b) Center for Social Forestry and Eco-rehabilitation, Allahabad.

(c) Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bangalore.

(d) Forest Research Centre, Hyderabad.

(e) Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore.

(f) Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur.

(g) Centre for Forestry Research and Human Resource Development ,Chhindwara.

(h) Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur.

(i) Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat.

(j) Himalayan Forest Research Institute, Shimla.

(k) Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi.

 

3) Research: The programmes under which environment related research is supported by the Ministry are as follows:

I. Environmental Research Programme (ERP):

The ERP specifically deals with the “Brown Issues”, i.e. problems related to pollution, hazardous waste management, agro-chemicals, waste minimization and reuse, carrying capacity studies, development of eco-friendly and cleaner technologies and providing scientific inputs to address policy problems relating to environmental pollution control and management.

II. Ecosystems Research Scheme (ERS):     

The Ecosystem Research Scheme (ERS) is an inter-disciplinary programme which emphasizes the ecological approach to the study of inter-relationships between man and the environment and seeks to generate scientific knowledge needed to manage natural resources wisely.

III. Eastern and Western Ghats Research Program (E&WGRP):          

The Research programme on Eastern and Western Ghats is intended to evolve scientific inputs and technology packages for solving location specific problems in the fragile areas of Eastern and Western Ghats.

IV. Mangroves and Coral Reefs:

This programme supports research for conservation and management of mangroves and coral reefs ecosystems from degradation, afforestation of degraded mangrove areas, maintenance of genetic diversity, especially of the threatened and endemic species and ‘coral reefs’ restoration and artificial regeneration and creation of awareness among the people on importance of mangroves and coral reefs ecosystems.

 

Trend of allocation of funds to research in ICFRE and IPRI in the last 10 years

Fig 3: Trend of allocation of funds to research in ICFRE and IPRI in the last 10 years

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

 

Trend of allocation of funds to G.B.Pant Himalayan Institute of Environment and Development, in the last 3 years

Fig 4: Trend of allocation of funds to G.B.Pant Himalayan Institute of Environment and Development, in the last 3 years

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

4) Environmental Education, Training/Extension: Three primary schemes working under this minor head are: Environmental Education Training Scheme; Workshop, Seminars &Symposia; National Museum of Natural Hist. The trend shows that Workshop, Seminars & Symposia always received the least budget and Environmental Education Training Scheme got the highest. In the year 2001-02, Workshop, Seminars & Symposia got zero budget and henceforth it was closed. Environmental Education Training remained the priority and got the highest budget allocation.

 

Revised budget allocation under minor head of Environmental Education, Training/Extension for the last 10 years

Fig 5: Revised budget allocation under minor head of Environmental Education, Training/Extension for the last 10 years.

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

5) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB): The Central Pollution Control Board, a statutory organisation, was constituted in September, 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

 

 

Functions of the Central Board related to Environmental S&T

 

Trend of allocation of funds to CPCB

Fig 6: Trend of allocation of funds to CPCB

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

Trend of Financing on a Climate Change Project funded by the MoE&F

Fig 7: Trend of Financing on a Climate Change Project funded by the MoE&F

Source: Annual Reports, Demands for Grants, Performance Budget of MoEF of respective years

 

After collecting & analysing the data regarding experts and the grants, which they are getting for environmental research and other allied activities from MoE&F it was found that experts were from ICFRE (53%), CSIR (17%), IIT (11%) .

 

 

FTrend of Funding received by experts for research in the field of environment from respective organizations

Fig 8: Trend of Funding received by experts for research in the field of environment from respective organizations

Source: Database of Environmental Experts, MoEF

 

Besides the Central Government, State Governments have played an active role in promoting Environmental S&T. It is good to note that consciousness on matters related to environment have developed over the years as is evident from the Figureure below.

 

Fig 9

Fig 9: Trend of Investment in the “Ecology and Environment” under Science and Technology Head of Development 2002-05 Actual expenditure, 2005-2007 approved Outlays

Source: Annual Plan documents of respective states

 

Thus we find that financing of environmental S&T had gained pace over the years in India but if we look at the achievements there are perhaps miles to go. Thus more efforts from different agencies, both public and private sector, will add momentum to the developments achieved till now. In fact, the use of market-based approaches can be undertaken as a reason for limited progress in arresting continuing environmental degradation in the India. Markets can be created for ecosystem protection and provision of ecosystem services under innovative regulatory mechanisms; and the use of market based approaches can reduce the dependency on unsustainable financing for environmental management. The role of governments, donors, and other stakeholders in creating the enabling policy and institutional framework for introducing market-based approaches will remain very significant.

 

 

 

References:

 

 

 

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