Environment & Ecology : Conservation Efforts: Institutional & Programmatic
UPSC CSE Prelims 2016
The Green India Mission (GIM) is one of the eight missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). Its primary objective is to protect, restore, and enhance India's diminishing forest cover and to respond to climate change. This is achieved through a combination of adaptation measures, such as enhancing the resilience of forest ecosystems to climate change impacts, and mitigation measures, primarily through increased carbon sequestration by expanding and improving forest and tree cover. The mission also aims to enhance ecosystem services like biodiversity conservation, water regulation, and improving the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Therefore, statement 3 accurately describes a core aim of the Green India Mission.
Statement 1: The concept of incorporating environmental benefits and costs into Union and State Budgets, known as 'green accounting', is a broader economic-environmental reform initiative. While it aims to integrate environmental considerations into economic planning, it is not a direct or primary aim of the Green India Mission. GIM focuses specifically on forest and tree cover enhancement and related ecosystem services.
Statement 2: The Green India Mission is not aimed at launching a 'second green revolution' to enhance agricultural output for food security. The mission's focus is on forestry, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation and adaptation within forest ecosystems. While healthy ecosystems can indirectly support agriculture, this statement misrepresents the mission's core mandate.
Based on the above, options (a), (b), and (d) are incorrect as they include statements 1 and/or 2, which do not accurately describe the aims of the Green India Mission.