Both the Focal Point as well as the ENVIS Centres have been assigned various responsibilities. The broad responsibilities of the Focal Point and ENVIS Centres are as under:

1. Focal Point:

   • overall coordination of ENVIS network;

   • identification of ENVIS Centres in specialised areas, their location in selected institutes/organisations and their linkage with the Focal Point;

   • farming guidlines and uniform desiging procedures for ENVIS Centres;

   • collection, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information on areas in which ENVIS Centres have not been established and in some general areas of environment like environmental research, environmental policy and management, environmental legislation, environmental impact assessment, etc.;

   • responding to user queries directly or through the ENVIS Centres;

   • Establishment of Data Bank containing data on some selected parameters, and computerisation in important application areas of environment;

   • identification of data gaps and knowledge gaps in specified subject areas and action to fill these gaps;

   • liasion with relevant International Information Systems and other national information systems;

   • publication of a quarterly abstracting journal Paryavaran Abstracts;

   • bringing out various other publications on current awareness services;

   • organising training and seminars;

   • monitoring and rewiewing of ENVIS; and

   • assisting the Scientific Advisory Committee of ENVIS with inputs and rendering other secretarial help.

   
   
2. ENVIS Centres:

   • building up a good collection of books, reports and journals in the particular subject area of environment;

   • establishment of linkages with all information sources in the particular subject area of environment;

   • responding to user queries;

   • establishment of a data bank on some selected parameters relating to the subject area;

   • coordination with the Focal Point for supplying relevant, adequate and timely information to the users;

   • helping the Focal Point in gradually up an inventory of information material available at the Centre;

   • identification of information gaps in the specified subject areas and action to fill these gaps;

   • bringing out newsletters/publications in their subject area for wide dissemination.