Initiatives to protect Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), created in 1948, is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland.

The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra was established in 1958 as Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute (CPHERI), when environmental concerns were limited to human health with a focus on water supply/sewage disposal/ communicable diseases.

The World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland.

Ramsar (Iran) Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed in 1971, it is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.

The Limits to Growth (LTG) is a 1972 report on the exponential economic and population growth with a finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation.

The Stockholm Conference, 1972 or United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was the first step towards putting environmental concerns on the global agenda. The United Nations Environment Programme, or UNEP, was created as a result of this conference.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was set up in 1972 for coordinating the UN's environmental activities and assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks.

Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in 1973 by the GoI.

CITES (Convention on International "Trade" in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), 1973 is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.

TRAFFIC (The Wildlife "Trade" Monitoring Network) was founded in 1976 as a strategic alliance of the WWF and the IUCN. The organisation's aim is to "ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature".

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), 1979, also known as the Bonn Convention, is an environmental treaty of the UN that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory animals and their habitats.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), concluded in 1982 defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer signed in 1985 is a frameworks for international reductions in the production of chlorofluorocarbons due to their contribution to the destruction of the ozone layer.

Environment Protection Act, 1986 was passed in May 1986 and came into force on 19 November 1986.

This most widely accepted definition of Sustainable Development was given by the Brundtland Commission (1987) in its report Our Common Future (1987) - "Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1987 was designed to stop the production and import of ozone depleting substances and reduce their concentration in the atmosphere. It was agreed on 16 September 1987, and entered into force on 1 January 1989.

Basel Convention, 1989 was opened for signature on 22 March 1989, to control the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal.

Rio Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)), 1992, held in Rio de Janeiro was a direct consequence of the Brundtland Commission's Report.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. It was signed by 154 states at the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. It has three main goals - the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.

Project Elephant was launched in 1992 by the GoI to provide financial and technical support to wildlife management efforts by states for their free-ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants.

The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) was formed in 1993 on recommendations from an international symposium on Tiger Conservation at New Delhi, India.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 1994 is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management and drought.

The first Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-1) met in Berlin (Germany) from 28 March - 7 April 1995.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions" in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. It is an international agreement linked to the UNFCCC, which commits its parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets.

Rotterdam Convention, 1998 is a multilateral treaty to promote shared responsibilities in relation to importation of hazardous chemicals.

The Cartagena (Colombia) Protocol on "Biosafety" is an international agreement on biosafety as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) . It seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by genetically modified organisms. It was signed on 16 May 2000 in Montreal, Canada (originally scheduled for 1999 at Cartagena, Colombia).

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001 aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.

The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) was established at the 7th Conference of the Parties in 2001 (COP7), in Marrakech, Morocco to meet the adaptation needs of least developed countries (LDCs).

Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) was also established in the same conference (COP7) to finance projects relating to: adaptation; technology transfer and capacity building; energy, transport, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste management; and economic diversification.

Rio +10, 2002 held in Johannesburg, it was a 10-year assessment of the Rio outcomes (Rio +10) took the shape of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted by the GoI for the preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) was first negotiated under the UNFCCC in 2005, with the objective of mitigating climate change through reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases through enhanced forest management in developing countries.

The GoI launched firsr National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) on 30thJune, 2008 outlining eight National Missions on climate change.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, 2013 is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

The UN General Assembly unanimously declared the decade 2014‑2024 as the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All.

Paris Agreement 2015 (COP 21) is an agreement within the UNFCCC, dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance.

Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) is an inclusive, voluntary and action-oriented multi-stakeholder platform on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) to improve food security, nutrition and resilience in the face of climate change.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.