The Food Safety and Toxins (FST) programme team at CSE leads the AMR campaign and has been focusing on the animal and environmental aspects of AMR since 2009. Centered on the laboratory studies, the programme team complements with field studies and works towards necessary change in policy, practice and systems across relevant sectors such as food, feed, drug and environment. It has been part of the NAP-AMR development process and was successful in bringing necessary focus on the animal and environment aspects. CSE is now a stakeholder in NAP-AMR implementation and is working with the state of Kerala to support its action plan.
CSE has played a significant role in highlighting issues around Water, especially in creating awareness for an urgent need to address citywide sanitation and effective Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM). For instance, in 2011 CSE developed a policy paper on Septage Management in India which influenced the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to issue an Advisory Note on SeptageManagement in 2013,
The waste management programme at CSE addresses institutional structures involved in waste management, treatment and disposal; helps build regulatory and technical capacities of cities in waste management; and highlights the role of the informal sector in India and global south through in-depth research and advocacy. CSE’s influential publication in 2016 on solid waste management, ‘Not in My Backyard’, highlighted the growing problem of waste in urban areas and carried in-depth case studies from cities following good solid waste management practices, as well as enabling policies and regulations.
The lopsided equation of poverty and social benefits have ailed some of India's richest mining districts for decades. Mining has benefitted mining companies, individual miners and governments, not the communities living there. After years of deliberations and negotiations in 2015, the country's central mining law, the the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR) of 1957 was amended and District Mineral Foundation (DMF) was instituted. The DMF is a non-profit statutory 'Trust' for every Indian district affected by mining-related operations, which should "work for the interest and benefit of persons, and areas affected by mining-related operations".
The lopsided equation of poverty and social benefits have ailed some of India's richest mining districts for decades. Mining has benefitted mining companies, individual miners and governments, not the communities living there. After years of deliberations and negotiations in 2015, the country's central mining law, the the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR) of 1957 was amended and District Mineral Foundation (DMF) was instituted. The DMF is a non-profit statutory 'Trust' for every Indian district affected by mining-related operations, which should "work for the interest and benefit of persons, and areas affected by mining-related operations".
Continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) and continuous effluent quality monitoring system (CEQMS) are real-time air and water pollution monitoring systems respectively. Continuous ambient air quality monitoring system (CAAQMS) is used for monitoring ambient air quality on real- time basis. A continuous monitoring system is comprised of sampling, conditioning, and analytical components and software designed to provide direct, real- time, continuous measurements of pollution by analyzing representative sample(s) of air and water to be monitored. It is an important tool for better compliance enforcement through credible pollution monitoring and reporting practices.
Introduction/ Background: Environment is central to the idea of sustainable and inclusive development. And so is the need for effective dissemination of environmental knowledge in our educational institutions both at school as and at university levels.
India faces a huge energy deficit, with millions of households without power for basic lighting or cooking, and coal power is essential for the next few decades to resolve this energy crisis, to address the issue of energy access, which is just as important as the environmental problems of unclean power. Centre for Science and Environment believes that we need to push for renewable—not because we can afford to do without coal, but because this source of energy provides us the option to leapfrog to decentralised and off-grid power. But equally, and perhaps even more, important is to clean up our coal power so that it does not destroy the environment and take human lives.
Mobility Crisis The biggest challenge that confronts cities today is the intractable problem of automobile dependence. As the automobile dependence continues to grow, it is adversely affecting the quality of urban life. Congestion, unsafe roads and pollution remain their bane. Unless accompanied by policies to restrict the growth in car and motorised two-wheeler travel, cities will run hard only to stand still. Despite a very small minority using cars in cities, the available road space and transport-related investments are getting locked up only to cater to them. Public transport, bicycles and pedestrian facilities used by the vast urban majority, especially the urban poor, remain neglected.
The rate at which urban air pollution has grown across India is alarming. A vast majority of cities are caught in the toxic web as air quality fails to meet health-based standards. Almost all cities are reeling under severe particulate pollution while newer pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and air toxics have begun to add to the public health challenge. Improve air quality monitoring to include more pollutants and more areas in cities to assess the risk of air pollution, make appropriate policies to control it and to create awareness amongst people about hard policy decisions. Ambient air quality standards are constantly evolving to address the emerging health challenges. We hope that the most recent attempt by CPCB to revise the ambient air quality standards will set tighter benchmark for air quality.