The National Environment Policy (NEP) by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) aims at mainstreaming environmental concerns into all developmental activities. It emphasises conservation of resources, and points that the best way to aid conservation is to ensure that people dependent on resources obtain better livelihoods from conservation, than from degradation of the resources. It argues that environmental degradation often leads to poverty and poor health outcomes among populations.

The document goes on to highlight the principles underlying the policy that emphasise the

• Important role of human beings in the sustainable development processes
•  The non negotiability and incomparable value of environmental resources
• Right to development for all
• Equity in the use of environmental resources and
• The need for the decentralised and multisectoral approach in dealing with environmental issues.

The objectives of the policy include:

• Conservation of critical environmental resources
• Intra-generational equity
• Livelihood security for the poor
• Inter-generational equity
• Integration of environmental concerns in economic and social development
• Efficiency in environmental resource use
• Environmental governance
• Enhancement of resources for environmental conservation

The document outlines a range of strategies to meet these objectives that aim at:

• Conservation of existing environmental resources through regulatory reforms
• Emphasis on education, information, research, capacity building and technological innovations
• Intersectoral collaboration and periodic evaluations of the existing policies.

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