THE draft National Environment Policy (NEP: http://envfor.nic.in/nep/nep.pdf) released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has attracted much attention. It represents the first-ever attempt to draft a policy for the environment as a whole. At first glance, the document appears to be quite comprehensive and sophisticated. It endorses a broad set of concerns, including intra-generational and inter-generational equity. It identifies the major environmental problems that India faces, and outlines their proximate and ultimate causes.