WWF (India) is engaged in a multitude of activities for protection and conservation of the environment in the Indian context. Climate change and energy conservation are among the chief areas of concern for the organization. The forest and biodiversity conservation division strives to promote and enhance conservation of forest ecosystems in the country through a participatory approach involving key stakeholders. Through its environment education programme, it aims at strengthening individual and institutional capacity in nature conservation and environmental protection through widespread education and awareness.

Intimately involved in the conservation of tigers in India since the late 1960s, WWF’s significant efforts culminated in the launch of Project Tiger in 1973. It seeks to conserve and protect the biodiversity of maritime life and resources by sensitizing the people at large. The pollution of the river waters and the imminent threat to aquatic life is a cause of great concern. WWF (India) has stepped in on a number of occasions to launch campaigns for securing their habitat, like ‘Save the River Dolphin’ project. WWF believes that if you secure an animal’s habitat, you secure its right to live.

Deeply concerned with the deteriorating environmental situation in the country, Development Alternatives initiated the CLEAN-India (Community Led Environment Action Network) programme with five schools in the national capital in 1996. Today, CLEAN Delhi has about forty schools regularly involved in monitoring water and air quality in over 150 locations spread across Delhi. Over 2000 children have been directly trained on environmental assessment and improvement activities. They keep vigil, assess environmental quality, plead, cajole, and lead the community in monitoring environment.

Action programmes like solid waste management, plantation drives, energy conservation, paper recycling, etc., to improve local environmental conditions have also been initiated by schools, resident welfare associations, business and industrial associations, as well as individual households. Campaigns against the use of polybags, firecrackers during Diwali, and toxic (chemical-based) colours during Holi and for saving the city’s ‘Green Treasure’ are also carried out.

Encouraged by the Delhi experience, NGOs from different towns have operationalized the CLEAN-India programme. The present CLEAN-India Centers are Delhi, Shillong, Faizabad, Ladakh, Bangalore, Berinag (Kumaon Hills), Jhansi, Sagar, Bilaspur, Lalitpur, Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram. Almost 100 NGOs from across the country have expressed their interest to initiate the programme in their respective towns.

Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) was formally established in 1974 with the purpose of tackling and dealing with the immense and acute problems that mankind is likely to be faced with in the years ahead: On account of the gradual depletion of the earth’s finite energy resources which are largely non-renewable and on account of the existing methods of their use which are polluting.

TERI has launched a major project, called ‘growth with resource enhancement of Environment and nature (GREEN INDIA-2047)’, which has vigorously estimated the reduction in India’s key natural resources during the period 1947-97, and has completed economic values of consequent losses, which in some cases are alarmingly high.