Avoiding comment on China fiasco, Ramesh says satellites to monitor greenhouse gases, forests

New Delhi, May 11 (ANI): Refusing to take any questions on the controversy that he allegedly generated in China with regard to the functioning of the Union Home Ministry, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday announced that dedicated satellites would monitor green house gases and forest cover by 2012 and 2013.

Speaking at a national workshop by Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment, Ramesh said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would be asked to provide the satellites.

An indigenous satellite for monitoring greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions would be in place by 2012, while a forestry satellite "to monitor the forest cover, health and diversity on a real-time basis", would be set up by 2013, Ramesh said.

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, released the "India: Greenhouse Gas Emission 2007" report.

Ramesh said Brazil which has been monitoring the forests on the daily basis has lost 25 million hectares of green cover while India has added three million hectares to its forest cover between 1997 and 2007.

Afforestation, he said, is being seen as a way to develop important carbon sinks to tackle climate change.

He said the country already has plans to increase the green cover in a big way through various schemes with Green Mission, a major programme being initiated under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

The Indian Network of Comprehensive Climate Change Assessment (INCCCA), a project involving 125 research institutions, was launched on October 14, 2009.

The INCAA has been visualised as a network based programme mandated to undertake programmes of Climate Change Assessment and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission for the year 2007. (ANI)