PRESS RELEASE ON WORLD EffIlHlOj'lJ'!

Jj:NT DAY

New Delhi June 5, 2013

Think. Eat. Save. Reduce our Food print

5th June was declared as the World Environment Day on the recommendations made by UN Conference on Human Environment in 1972. The UNEP through the celebration of World Environment Day spreads awareness and gets citizens' support for environment protection across the globe. The theme for this year's World Environment Day is Think. Eat. Save Reduce our Foodprint. The campaign calls for minimizing waste of food at all stages of the food chain, from farm to fork. This is to raise awareness about the environmental consequences of our food choices and find ways to reduce our environmental "foodprint", as food I production has profound impact on environmental resources. Agriculture is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the cause of land-use change, biodiversity loss, and responsible for large-scale soil, water and air pollution. The campaign is also to remind each one of us that despite producing enough food for everyone, 90 crore people still go hungry world over. On this day we take a pledge to make a difference, individually as well as collectively, to reduce food loss or wastage and move towards a world where everyone has enough to eat and no one is malnourished or undernourished. This mission cannot be achieved when we lose almost one-third (about 1.3 billion tonnes) of all the food produced globally. It is ironical that developed nations waste food more than the less developed countries. In India we lose approximately 40 per cent of perishable and non-perishable food at different stages from production, transportation, storage, retail to consumption. Millions of tonnes of food grain, in the absence of adequate storage infrastructure, rots every year. This is wastage of our dwindling natural resources and detrimental to the environment. The WED is an opportunity to raise large-scale awareness among the producers, transporters, manufacturers & retailers, regulators, hospitality industry and affluent consumers on the negative aspects of wastage of food and how thoughtful actions can help minimize food loss.

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About NMNH foundation Day The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) came into being this day 35 years ago in 1978 on the occasion ofthe World Environment Day. The NMNH owes its origin to the former Prime Minister late Smt. Indira Gandhi who had pioneered several initiatives for the protection of environment. Madam Gandhi in the Silver Jubilee Year of our Independence suggested to have a museum of natural history to depict the country's flora, fauna and mineral wealth as an out of school education facility for children and to promote environmental awareness among the masses. About the Young Environmentalist Award The Young Environmentalist of the Year Award, first presented on 5th June 1999, is a national level award aimed at creating awareness among the teenagers in the age group of 13 to 16 years about the environment by observing and understanding nature and to motivate them to play an important role in conserving nature and wildlife. This year National Museum of Natural History conducted a national Level Poster Making Competition on 22 nd , April, 2013 on the occasion of Earth Day on the theme: Face of Climate Cbange" Ms. Arundhati Srivastava, from New Delhi has been selected this year as the winner of "Young Environmentalist oftbe Year Award - 2013" About Animal Discoveries 2012 The Ministry of Environment & Forests along with its subordinate office Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) publishes a compendium on Animal Discoveries dealing with new species and new records of a,nimals recorded in India during each year. As usual, this year also on 5th June 2013, the Ministry is releasing this book featuring records of 133 animal species new to science and 109 animal species reported for the first time within Indian territories. Sixty-six new species of insects and 19 species of fish have been discovered in India during 2012. The highlight of this new book is the discovery of a new species of bird from Great Nicobar Island and 42 species of corals reported for the first time from Indian waters.

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() About -Plant Discoveries 2012 The Botanical Survey of India (BSI), a premier research organization of the country established in 1890, serves the nation by providing scientific basis for conservation and sustainable use of wild plant diversity through survey, documentation, taxonomic research and environmental awareness.

'PLANT DISCOVERIES 2012' is the sixth in the series published by Botanical Survey of India since 2008, and released each year on the World Environment Day. During the year 2012, 326 taxa from India were discovered, of which 06 genera, 159 species, 24 infra specific taxa are new to science and 03 genera, 118 species, 16 infra specific taxa are new records for Indian Flora. About Book on 'Coastal Zones of India' The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been sponsoring projects on the key environmental issues of the country under its National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) programme. Many of the environmental issues require generation of spatial information at national level which also needs to be updated with time. Data from earth observation satellites such as Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) have been extensively used in generation and updation of information on natural resources and environment required at national level. A book entitled "Coastal Zones of India" has been brought out. The book provides detailed information on (i) inventory of the coastallanduse along with demarcation of HTL/LTL and ecologically sensitive areas, (ii) Mapping and monitoring of coral reefs and mangroves (iii) impact of sea level rise on the Indian coastal environment and (iv) development of Coastal Zones Information System (CZIS). About National Wetlands Atlas: High Altitude Lakes ofindia As an outcome of the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) project, two Atlases have been brought out. 1. The National Wetlands Atlas: High Altitude Lakes of India provides details of size and altitude wise distribution of High Altitude Lakes at district and state level at 3000 metre above mean sea level. 2. The National Wetlands Atlas: Wetlands of International Importance under Ramsar Convention provides basic information pertaining to details on water spread and aquatic vegetation of existing Ramsar sites in India. The digital database and the atlas will be very useful to planners, policy makers, researchers and the general public

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