India has ranked 24th in Environmental Democracy Index. The index has been calculated on the basis of,
- Progress in enacting laws to promote transparency
- Accountability
- Citizen engagement in environmental decision making.
The index evaluates environmental democracy in a total of 70 countries in the world. The report says 93 per cent of the assessed countries have established the right to environmental information. The report also added that around 45 per cent of the countries do not have any strong protections to ensure that access to information is affordable and timely.
The Environmental Democracy index has been released by Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI) and Access Initiative. The top ten countries are,
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Russia
- The US
- South Africa
- The UK
- Hungary
- Bulgaria
- Panama
- Colombia
In 73 per cent of the countries, courts will hear environmental cases. But very few countries assessed have assistance for marginalized groups, the report said.
Only 14 per cent of the countries have legal mechanisms that help women access courts to obtain redress when their environmental rights are violated.
GK Questions
- Who is the Environment Minister of India? Prakash Javadekar.
- What are the two major wings of Environmental Ministry? Environment Wing & Forest and Wildlife Wing
- Name the India’s first on site net zero building which in under construction? Indira Paryavaran Bhawan
