The authors report here the preliminary results of the study using monitored natural attenuation (MNA), referred to as intrinsic remediation, as an in situ treatment method in an abandoned gold mining site in Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka. The area is called the Kolar schist belt of south India, well-known for its gold deposits which have been mined systematically for over several decades.

Water erosion caused by accelerated anthropogenic activities has been perceived as the major source of sediment flow in Himalayan catchments. Keeping this in view, the sediment flux data measured at the outlet
of the Sainj and the Tirthan watersheds in the Lesser Himalayan region was analysed.

Access to biodiversity for research and development in India is regulated by the National Biological Diversity Act (NBDA) of 2002 which gave effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Some of the provisions of the Act have been amended on the basis of reactions to the Act.

Increased use of fresh water supplies in agricultural and non-agricultural activities in the past few decades has caused an alarming rate of groundwater depletion in many regions of the world. This threatens the sustenance of crop production and the ensuing food security.

Pachauri has pointed out that India has been taking steps to curb its carbon emissions. On 1 April 2010, India launched its mega-census, which aims to document biometric details of every person aged above 15 years. This mega-census will be the largest registration exercise in human history and will consume 11.63 million tonnes (mt) of paper over the next eleven months. (Correspondence)

The Copenhagen Accord was cobbled together in hasty closed-doors consultations in the final hours of the failing climate meet by a select group of 26 countries. The Accord did not even get the imprimatur of the UNFCCC. Copenhagen failed to deliver a comprehensive and legally binding emissions reduction treaty.

The Government of India has announced the Greening India Mission (GIM) under the National Climate Change Action Plan. The Mission aims to restore and afforest about 10 mha over the period 2010–2020 under different sub-missions covering moderately dense and open forests, scrub/ grasslands, mangroves, wetlands, croplands and urban areas.

Ashtavaidya, a unique practice of Ayurvedic medicine is an amalgamation of
the codified Ayurvedic medical knowledge and non-codified folk medical tradition of India, and is practised by a few physician families in Kerala.

Considerable and sincere efforts are being made to enhance the reach and
tempo of science education and research in India. An unprecedented increase in budgets, new institutes and learning centers, involvement of NRI scientists and the Department of Science and Technology inspired programmes like INSPIRE can now be seen. These efforts are steps in the right direction.

The issue of declining net sown area (NSA) has been highlighted as a major
concern for Indian agriculture in recent years. According to the Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, about 59.2 million ha of land had degraded in India by 2003