To strengthen ENVIS in disseminating information pertaining to environment and sustainable development, ENVIS India is in the process of establishing 67 ENVIS Hubs/RPs across the country, set up for providing scientific, technical and semi-technical information on various environmental issues. Following areas of work related to the revamped ENVIS Scheme are being implemented at present-
1. Repository of Environmental Knowledge: ENVIS Hub would collect information pertaining to its assigned Subject Area, maintain and update the subject-specific database, and based on its capability produce value-added information, such as educational-kits on various themes including international protocols/conventions/agreements, Rules & Regulations; Legislations; Guidelines; Gazette Notifications, develop mobile apps, e-Books, environmental videos; maintain photo bank; prepare research papers/publications, compendium, abstracts and journals, case studies, success stories and directories of information on State/regional/ National level etc. The information thus collected would be disseminated through a dedicated ENVIS Hub website and ENVIS Portal.
Numerical data on the assigned Subject Area will be collected, compiled, processed, analysed and submitted quarterly/annually as required to the ENVIS Focal Point. Research in the form of working papers and reports would also be submitted to the ENVIS Focal Point, which would be uploaded on the ENVIS Portal after due procedure.
2. State of Environment (SoE) Report: To highlight specific issues, such as pertaining to Human wildlife conflict, forest fires, landslide case studies, wetlands and glacial studies, green initiatives of the State, etc., and prepare local/district/state level SoERs.
3. State of Environment Atlas: District and State level maps to be created by strengthening the Management Information System (MIS) & Geographical Information System (GIS).
4. Grid Based Decision Support System (GRIDSS): For sustainable management of Natural Resources - ENVIS Hub would carry out survey of designated districts in a phased manner. The country would be divided into grids of 50x50 km; however district wise grids would measure 9x9 km or less depending on the terrain, for effective survey of various environmental parameters such as air, water, noise, soil quality, solid, hazardous & e-waste, forest & wildlife, flora & fauna, wetlands, lakes, rivers & other water bodies, public health etc. For the survey, secondary data would be taken as base information and if required primary data would also be collected for further analysis. ENVIS Hub to coordinate with the district administration, Universities, students, ENVIS RPs, and other agencies as required.
5. Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP)– ENVIS Hub shall coordinate all State level green skilling programmes for nature guides, para-taxonomists, and other environment fields, like waste management, Air Quality Monitoring and Testing Analyst/Technician, Soil & Water Quality Analyst/Technicians, Cleaner Production and Effluent Treatment Plant Operator, etc. Some ENVIS Hubs could be designated as the nodal centre for monitoring, including placements under each skilling programme. Such ENVIS Hubs would maintain an alumni register for future reference having detailed information on how the students have been placed, their income level, educational progression etc. The ENVIS Hub can also engage the skilled youth in grid monitoring activities undertaken in the District/State.
6. Community-Driven Environmentally Sustainable Villages Programme (CESVP) - The programme envisages mobilizing communities on environmental issues, creating decentralized models of development empowering local communities, and building the right atmosphere in villages to adopt environmentally sustainable practices on community level.
ENVIS Focal Point will intimate the following to the ENVIS Hub:
- The selected villages and the environmental activities therein as desired by the MPs concerned,
- The selected ENVIS RPs that would provide the technical assistance
- The time limit within which the work will be completed
- ENVIS Hub to then coordinate with District administration concerned to complete the listed activities within the designated period of time.
7. Monitoring (Ground Truth Verification) of Schemes: ENVIS Hubs would carry out ground truth verification of various Central Sector (CS) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) being implemented by the Ministry, as and when required.
8. Extension & Outreach Programmes on environmental information sharing, awareness, education and training of youth/ students/ stakeholders/ local people at the ground level (district/ village level), using educational kits developed by ENVIS Hub and RPs.