Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the New Delhi-based research and advocacy think tank, released its annual State of India’s Environment report here today at a three-day media conclave at the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), located in Alwar, attended by over 80 journalists.

The three-day conclave includes in-depth briefing sessions on some of the critical issues of environment and development – from climate change, agriculture and air pollution, to sanitation, water management, environmental governance, and human-wildlife conflicts. The briefings are being delivered by top experts in these fields.

The report was released by eminent jurist and former Supreme Court Justice Madan B Lokur and CSE director general Sunita Narain.

Speaking at the release of the report, Sunita Narain said: “2018 was the year of revolt – from the streets of Paris to those of Delhi, people rose up in protest. Let’s hope that in 2019, protest will lead to realisation that change must come in the way we do business, the way we live. It must ensure that growth is equitable and so sustainable.” 

“The question for a country like India is where and what is our way ahead. Can we take the beaten path or should we reinvent? As yet, there is little appetite for this reinvention. But I believe that it has to be the agenda for the years to come,” she added.

The State of India’s Environment report is an annual compilation done by Down To Earth, the fortnightly which CSE helps publish. The 2019 report is an extensively researched document covering a wide range of subjects – water and sanitation, waste, health, air pollution, the commons, forests and wildlife, elections, climate change, urbanisation, renewable energy and agriculture.

Richard Mahapatra, managing editor of Down To Earth said: “The State of Environment report, CSE’s flagship annual publication, brings to the notice and knowledge of the discerning reader all that has happened in the year on issues of environment and development, with rich analysis and state-of-the-art data and statistics.”