The basic objective of the Tenth Plan is to bring about all round enhancement of human well being by eradicating poverty through adopting well conceived development strategies in which environmental concerns are posited as the vital aspects. Environmental management and economic development are mutually supportive aspects of the same agenda. A poor environment undermines development, while inadequate development results in a lack of resources for environmental protection.
Environmental conservation must go hand in hand with economic development because any economic development which destroys the environment will create more poverty, unemployment and disease. Environmentally destructive economic development will impoverish the poor even further and destroy their livelihood resource base. Environmental concern must be linked to people’s lives and well being, impact as these do various aspects of human existence tha t include health and livelihood amongst others.
Air pollution, soil degradation, deforestation, desertification, shrinking wetlands.
Inadequate public health and sanitation, indoor pollution in rural areas, growing water scarcity, falling ground water tables, the lack of minimum flow in the rivers and over extraction of water for irrigation purposes are some of the environmental problems that need to be addressed first before any poverty alleviation programme can meet with success.
Based on the objectives of the Approach Paper To The Tenth Five Year plan 2002-2007, the ministry of environment and forests prepared a strategy for the period and for the year 2002-2003.