ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the environment as comprising all of India's terrain, its natural resources, and all living things. In India, the environmental movement is concerned with a broad range of issues that are affected by the availability of natural resources, particularly land, water, and fuel. The quality of the environment has an impact on health and hygiene, which require access to water, particularly potable water. Fishing has protected people living in coastal areas from the effects of environmental degradation. India is also home to a rich and varied wildlife, including such well-known endangered species as the snow leopard and the one-horned rhinoceros. India can be said to possess a time-honored tradition of preserving the environment. To a great extent, the rural environmental movement in India is a collection of small grassroots organizations scattered throughout the country. Any account of India's grassroots environmental activists must begin with the Chipko movement.
