ENVIS (ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM)

The Environmental Information System (ENVIS) in the country was established by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India which has at present a network of 76 Centers on various subject areas and a focal point in the Ministry.

ENVIS Centre at BNHS

In the fitness of things, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) was selected as an ENVIS (Environmental Information System) Centre by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India during the year of the Sálim Ali Centenary celebrations. Though the BNHS did have quite a few other larger than life personalities as was Sálim Ali, what made the 'old man' stand out was: 1) He was the first Indian pioneer in the field of ornithology and conservation; 2) He was instrumental in popularizing the study of ornithology through his evergreen bestseller The Book of Indian Birds and 3) His magnum opus, The Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, co-authored with S.D. Ripley.

The ENVIS Centre at BNHS will deal with information on 'Avian Ecology and Inland Wetlands'. The choice of BNHS for such a Centre is understandable, as it has been related in one way or another with studies on ornithology, natural history and conservation. Another distinction is the publication of its journal, The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society since 1886, which is a required reading for studies on any aspect of the ecology of the subcontinent. Besides these, the Society has a large collection of books, scientific journals and bird skins, some of which are more than a century old and available nowhere else. It has a team of experienced scientists, both professional and amateur, many of whom were pioneers in scientific studies on birds in India.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ENVIS CENTRE AT BNHS

The primary objective of all ENVIS Centres is to collect, collate, store and disseminate environmental information to various user groups, including policy planners, decision makers, researchers and the layman. The Focal Point of the present 76 ENVIS Centers in India is at the Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi. This ENVIS Focal Point acts as a regional service Centre to INFOTERRA (International Information System on Environment) set up by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to cater to environmental information needs in the South Asian Region.

As mentioned earlier, the Centre at the BNHS has been assigned the responsibility of being the focal point for information on 'Avian Ecology and Inland Wetlands'. The plans envisaged for the ENVIS Centre at BNHS are:

• To create a bibliographic database of published literature related to avian ecology study. This calls for accessing information from scientific papers, notes, project reports, theses, books, bulletins and popular publications, internet and other authenticated sources.

• Publish and distirbute BUCEROS newsletter on avian ecology to its members.

• To create and upload databases on avian ecology on ENVIS website.

• To reply to queries on the subject area.

Inauguration of the ENVIS centre at BNHS by Mr. N.R. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on 18.6.1996.

BUCEROS

With its inaugural issue, the ENVIS newsletter published by the BNHS took the name of BUCEROS. Buceros, to those unfamiliar, is the genus under which the Great Hornbill (Great Indian Pied Hornbill) is classified. The Great Hornbill is the crest or logo of the BNHS. The Society already has a popular publication, HORNBILL named after its mascot.

To honour our mascot's more than half a century's relationship with the Society, which has seen the Society become one of the premier research and conservation organisations in the country, we decided to honour our mascot once again. As it is not possible to have two publications with the same name, we take recourse to using the generic name, Buceros for the Newsletter as its output will be mainly of a scientific nature. We are certain that the distinctions that our mascot has brought us will continue - after all it is the same old bird under another name! 

PDF copies of the BUCEROS newsletter can be downloaded from the ENVIS website and hard copies are being distributed freely on the basis of the request.