Profile of the Centre
Realizing the importance of Environmental
Information, the Government of India, in December, 1982, established
Environmental Information System (ENVIS) as a plan scheme.
The ENVIS Centre 07 at World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India)
was established on October 27, 1984 under the Environmental
Information System (ENVIS) Programme of the Ministry of Environment
& Forests, Government of India. The Centre was assigned
the responsibility for being the focal point for information
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by the Centre is available at www.wwfenvis.nic.in
and is being constantly updated.
Over the past few years, the Centre has
been recognized by users (NGO, administrators, specialized
agencies, researchers, school and college students, media
professionals, and others) both within the country and overseas
as a reliable and responsive source of environment-related
information.
The ENVIS Centre regularly responds to several
queries and requests for information on various subjects and
topics concerning environment in India. In addition to the
numerous queries through telephone and email, the Centre also
handles personal visits by users. To fulfill its mandate of
being a reliable and critical repository of information, the
Centre has undertaken several important initiatives in the
past such as publishing updated and compiled information such
as directories on Environmental NGOs in India, Audiovisuals
on the Environment, expertise in the Environmental Sciences,
Campaign Support Services available with NGOs, environment
in the Indian Parliament etc. Following the establishment
of the Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre at WWF-India,
much of the ENVIS Centre’s database is now stored in
computerized databases to facilitate easy access to data and
speedier retrieval and updating of information.
A website was developed by the Centre (www.wwfenvis.nic.in)
following the establishment of an ENVIS Node as a part of
the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) of
MoEF, GOI in October, 2000 to December, 2001. To continue
the activity of the Node after the end phase of SDNP, it was
placed under the World Bank-assisted Environmental Management
Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project (EMCBTAP) of
MoEF, GOI from February, 2002 to 30th June, 2004. From 1st
July, 2004, the activities initiated under the Node have been
continued as a part of ENVIS Centre’s assigned activities.
The ENVIS Centre focuses on the following
work areas:
NGOs and the Environment
Information on NGO profiles published in
the Directory of Environmental NGOs in India has been prepared
in a computerized database.
The Centre’s work on NGOs involves
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Information support in response to requests
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- Contact with other NGOs
- Database on Environmental NGOs
- Subject expertise
- Technical Data and Education & Awareness
- Project promotion
- Training programmes
- Events, Seminars & Workshops
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In addition to the NGO networking activity
by the Centre through the ‘query-answer service,’
it is also closely involved with NGO support programmes initiated
by WWF-India. All the programmes in WWF-India support NGOs
in active field work on conservation |
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Collection and verification of data
on new NGOs using WWF-India branch units and other established
NGOs in different regions |
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Providing information support to the
Centre for Environmental Law, WWF-India and the NGOs for legal
intervention |
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The Centre’s
‘Directory of Environmental NGOs’ continues to
be a very important document for a variety of user groups.
The Directory has also been utilized by several international
aid agencies since it is a useful compendium of information
on Indian NGOs working in specific areas of environment.
For the last edition of the Directory, nearly
5000 questionnaires were sent to obtain data for the revision
of the existing database of environmental NGOs. The feedback
from the field helped to a great extent in compiling the database
for the Directory. With the publication of this Directory,
the ENVIS Centre 07 was in a position to disseminate information
to a large group of user communities many of whom were NGOs
spread out in remote corners of the country. A flyer on this
Directory was developed which was circulated to several institutions,
agencies and government bodies in different parts of the country.
The electronic medium was also utilized to inform a large
group of people on this important publication.
Parliament and Environment
The ENVIS Centre regularly undertakes the
task of updating the queries and answers on the environment
that are put up during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha
and the Rajya Sabha. The information obtained from both the
Houses during the Parliament Sessions are compiled and collated
into subject-wise categories. The data compilation and analysis
for the calendar year 2005 and 2006 have been completed and
are available in a computerised database
for interested users.
The main activities of the Centre’s
focus area on Parliament are:
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Collecting, collating and publishing
of environment-related questions and answers addressed to
the Ministry of Environment and Forests and other Ministries
in both Houses of Parliament |
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Preparation of computerized database
including index relating to the questions and answers on environment
transacted in both the Houses of the Parliament to facilitate
easy response to queries |
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Tracking discussions in the meetings
of Parliamentary Committee on Environment |
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Analysis of environment- related questions/answers
& debates on Environment |
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Media
and the Environment
The Centre’s primary activity in this
focus area pertains to the monitoring and classification of
environment-related news and feature items in the print media.
This information, which is available for reference in the
WWF-India Library, is extensively used by media professionals
and researchers for accessing background information on important
current and emerging environmental issues.
The Centre receives considerable support
in this activity from the WWF-India Communications Division.
The information provided includes suggestions on topics or
themes, expertise on specific issues available in India and
overseas, government departments and agencies responsible
for policy and decision making, individuals and NGOs whose
work includes the specific subject area of interest, access
to relevant visual material, etc.
The areas of activities broadly carried out include:
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Collection, compilation and classification
of environment-related news and feature items in the Print
Media |
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Preparation of user-based information
as available in the print media for different target groups |
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Dissemination of selective material
relating to environmental issues in India |
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Weekly dissemination of relevant news
items to each ENVIS centre, NGOs and other institutions through
the website |
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Providing critical support to media
professionals and researchers by providing information on
current and emerging environmental issues |
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