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Protection of the natural world has been an integral part of Indian culture and heritage. The Constitution of India places responsibilities on the State as well as citizens for protection of nature and the living beings therein. The following two Articles of the Indian Constitution are noteworthy: Article 48A: The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country; and Article 51A (g): Fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. In the face of rapid industrial development, the environmental effects were not given much importance. However, with environmental impacts becoming detrimental for wildlife, biodiversity and people, the Indian Parliament has passed legislation to keep pace with changing demands. The British had passed the Indian Forest Act, 1927, mainly to regulate timber extraction for construction purposes. From production forestry, protection forestry principles were also considered. Later, wildlife (both flora and fauna) were considered essential for sustainable forest management. The Wildlife Act was passed in 1972. The Environment Protection Act was passed in 1986 as an umbrella act to consider environment in its totality. Since then, biological wealth started to be considered as an asset of the country just as other productive assets.

India-based Carbon Clean Solutions has developed a technique to turn harmful carbon dioxide emissions into sodium carbonate. Several other companies want to acquire the technology and use the soda ash that's produced to manufacture baking soda, glass, detergents and sweeteners.

In the Delhi region alone, Indian project partners of the Sustainable Water Resources Management project implemented 85 different "low-hanging fruit" recommendations resulting in a 765 percent return on investment in one year and an average payback time of 11 days per project, SIWI says.

NEW DELHI - Violent protests broke out in the southern state of Karnataka on Monday after the Indian Supreme Court ordered the state to release water to the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, the latest chapter in a longstanding dispute.

Bordering Myanmar on the southeast and the Indian states of Tripura on the north and Mizoram on the east, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is one of these areas. Characterized by semi-evergreen forest that is considered part of the highly endangered Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, CHT is a refuge for at least 26 globally threatened species, making it a critical conservation priority. But conservation efforts in the region have historically been challenged by the very remoteness and political instability that have helped protect it from deforestation seen in other parts of Bangladesh. That protection is now disappearing with the influx of settlers from other regions who are increasingly clearing forests for agriculture, logging trees for timber and firewood, and hunting wildlife. In other words, time is running out for Bangladesh's last rainforest and its traditional tribes.

The U.S. Government collaborated with India and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to launch a $20 million initiative that aims to increase funding opportunities for renewable energy projects - such as distributed solar - across India.

Air pollution contributed to a total of 80,665 premature deaths of adults over 30 years in Mumbai and Delhi in 2015, a two-fold jump from 1995, according to a new study at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In economic terms, air pollution cost the two cities $10.66 billion (approximately Rs 70,000 crore) in 2015, or about 0.71% of the country's gross domestic product. The study has said the impact on health and productivity as a result of exposure to pollution and the consequent burden of respiratory ailments rose with every passing decade.

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi announced that India would work towards ratifying the Paris Agreement by the end of this year, following a meeting with President Obama. The state leaders also launched two initiatives to deploy $20 million to provide clean and renewable electricity to as many as 1 million households by 2020 and deploy $40 million to support small-scale renewable energy projects in India.

Ahmedabad, a rapidly urbanizing city in western India grappling with rising air pollution levels. In an innovative step, the city, along with NRDC and other partners, unveiled the draft Ahmedabad Air Information and Response (AIR) Plan. The first of its kind, the AIR Plan is a decisive step by Ahmedabad to protect local residents from the debilitating effects of bad air.

on average, each of us in the U.S. uses 25 tons of raw materials every year to produce our stuff and our energy. That is the weight of about 20 cars. By comparison, the average Chinese person uses 12 tons and the average Indian only 4 tons of raw materials per year.

Patagonia will offer 9 styles of Fair Trade Certified apparel in its fall 2014 lineup. As part of the effort, Patagonia will contribute a portion of revenues from sales of Fair Trade items to the Indian workers that produced them.

The Indian Government will reportedly retrofit all domestic streetlights across the country with LED bulbs over the next 24 months.

The US Interior Department on Friday released final standards for hydraulic fracturing on public and American Indian lands.

India is facing its "worst-ever" water crisis, according to a report from a government think tank issued last week. Around 200,000 Indians die each year due to lack of water access, the report finds, and demand will be twice as much as supply by 2030.

Indian Power minister Piyush Goyal reportedly announced that India is considering a target to transition the country to a 100% electric vehicle fleet by 2030, according to The Times of India.

More than 800,000 volunteers planted saplings in public spaces in the state of Uttar Pradesh hoping to reduce greenhouse gases and reforest the countryside