The ministry of environment and forests is charged with the responsibility of planning, promoting, coordination and overseeing the implementation of various environmental and forestry programmes. Responsibilities include environmental management to promote health considerations, focus on poverty alleviation by enhancing access of the poor to natural resources for livelihood and heightening awareness regarding environmentally sound living process by focusing on nature-human synergy.
The ministry has been designated as the nodal agency in the country for the United.
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Centre for Integrated Mountain.
development (ICIMOD) and looks after the follow-up of the United Nations’ Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).
The objectives are supported by a set of legislative and regulatory measures aiming at preservation, conservation and protection of environment as indicated above.
The activities of this ministry can be broadly divided into four sub-sectors namely
environment, forestry and wildlife, National Afforestation and Ecodevelopment Board
(NAEB) and the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD).
Strategy for the tenth five tear plan:

The ministry has identified the following strategy to meet the objectives of the Tenth.
Plan:
(a) To promote ‘sustainable development’ by emphasizing the intrinsic linkage between environment management and socio- economic development of the people, through increased access to natural capital which is an essential component of reducing poverty. The emphasis will be on creating an enabling environment in terms of policies, institutions which support the over-arching objective of poverty reduction.
(b) To mainstream environment issues in the developmental strategy, a multi pronged approach will be followed which will include the incorporation of environment in the curriculum, sharpening the mechanism for the environmental auditing of the development activities, creating heightened awareness, broad basing community involvement and to forging a coordinated effort with corporate and public sector in environmental management.
(c) To input environmental concerns in the developmental scenarios by treating environment as a cross-sectoral issue.
(d) To take concrete steps for increasing forest/tree cover from the existing level of 19.37 per cent to 25 per cent by 2007 and 33 per cent by 2012. While striving for this goal the thrust will be given to:
(1) increasing productivity.
(2) efficient management of resources. and,
(3) focus on the local needs and location specific strategies in terms of species selection and management of resources.
(e) Cleaning of major polluted rivers by 2007 and other notified stretches by 2012. In order to have efficient, smooth and time bound attainment of the goal, a holistic and integrated approach of addressing not only the intercepting sewers and sewage treatment plants which currently constituted the core of the Plan, but also other components as internal sewage, solid waste management and toilets with the participation of states, public and local bodies. The focus will on be treating the town as a unit by way of convergence of various schemes.
(f) Major changes in the institutional framework with a view to make it responsive and accountable to perceived needs of people.
(g) Involvement of youth in environmental education, through a National Green Corps scheme to be implemented in all educational institutions covering class 8th to 12th.


The principal objective of environment sector for the Tenth Five Year Plan is to integrate the objectives of the policies stressed by the Planning Commission and to take cognizance of long term developmental perspectives related to industrialization, power generation, transportation, agriculture, irrigation and other economic activities. Some of these goals have been identified as indicated below.