The association of man and environment is not a new idea. Man has relied on mother Earth for all his basic needs from the inception of life on this Earth. In due course of time the needs became much more and man stepped into an era of industrialisation. No doubt, man has benefited from industrialisation immensely, and urbanisation and globalisation have brought about great economic and social development. However, the fast pace of industrialisation and urbanisation have taken a great toll on our environment. It has brought about environmental degradation, global warming, recession of glaciers, water scarcity, rise in sea level, increase in population, scarcity of food and loss of biodiversity, to name a few. This has put the very survival of man in jeopardy. Hence there is an urgent need to pay attention to these issues and inculcate environmental awareness among the people.
Since the time when environmental issues received attention about 40 years ago in Stockholm Conference held on 5 June 1972, many Acts and policies have been enforced by the Governments of different countries. This clearly shows that protection and conservation of the environment is both a global and a local issue. India has participated wholeheartedly in these endeavours to conserve biodiversity and save the environment.