The
protection of environment is needed for sustainable development. The Industrial
pollution, degradation of forests, depletion of ozone layer, the green house
gases results in global warming and climate which will have an adverse impact on
environment and human health. There is a need for conservation of Biodiversity,
protection of wetlands and prevention of environmental pollution, promotion of
ecological balance enables sustainable development. There are several provisions
provided in Indian Constitution for Protection of environment. There are certain
legislations enacted viz. Environment Protection Act, Wildlife Preservation Act,
Biodiversity Conservation Act, water and Air pollution prevention Acts etc The
Judiciary playing a vital role in protection of Environment. Through Judicial
Activism the Supreme Court can issue directions under writ Jurisdiction under
Article 32 of Indian Constitution. The United Nation Organisation passed several
UN conventions like Ramsar Convention on protection of wetlands, and UN
convention on Biodiversity etc. World Environment Day is being celebrated
across the world on 5th June every year.
Global
Warming and Climate change
Global
warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average
temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed
to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. Even though it is an ongoing
debate, it is proved by the scientists that the planet is warming. Global
warming is for real The average global temperatures are higher than they have
ever been during the past millennium, and the levels of CO in the atmosphere
have e crossed all previous records. The climate is changing. The earth is
warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is
happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species
and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally
are diminishing. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest
threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various
regions, and increasing extremities in weather patterns. Climate Change
resulting from increased green house gases concentrations has the potential to
harm societies and eco-systems. In particular, agriculture, forestry, water
resources, human health, costal settlements and natural eco-systems will need to
adapt to a changing climate or face diminishing functions. The changing climate
patterns, and especially increased frequency and severity of extreme events,
will increase vulnerability to the natural disasters, both slower on set ones
such as drought and rapid onset disaster such as flood and cyclones.
Forest
Conservation
The
role of forests in the national economy and in ecology was emphasized in the
1988 National Forest Policy, which focused on ensuring environmental stability,
restoring the ecological balance, and preserving the remaining forests. Other
objectives of the policy were meeting the need for fuelwood, fodder, and small
timber for rural and tribal people while recognizing the need to actively
involve local people in the management of forest resources. Also in 1988, the
Forest Conservation Act of 1980 was amended to facilitate stricter conservation
measures. The 2009 Indian national forest policy document emphasizes the need to
combine India's effort at forest conservation with sustainable forest
management. India defines forest management as one where the economic needs of
local communities are not ignored; rather forests are sustained while meeting
nation's economic needs and local issues through scientific forestry.
Protection
of Wetlands
Wetlands
are complex ecosystems and encompass a wide range of inland, coastal and marine
habitats. They share the characteristics of both wet and dry environments and
show immense diversity based on their genesis, geographical location,
hydrological regimes and substrate factors. They include flood plains, swamps,
marshes, fishponds, tidal marshes natural and man-made wetlands. Among the most
productive life support, wetlands have immense socio-economic and ecological
importance for mankind. They are crucial to the survival of natural
biodiversity. They provide suitable habitats for endangered and rare species of
birds and animals, endemic plants, insects besides sustaining migratory birds.
India has a wealth of wetland ecosystems distributed in different geographical
regions. India is also a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the
Convention of Biological Diversity; Apart from government regulation,
development of better monitoring methods is needed to increase the knowledge of
the physical and biological characteristics of each wetland resource, and to
gain, from this knowledge, a better understanding of wetland dynamics and their
controlling processes. India being one of the mega diverse nations of the world
should strive to conserve the ecological character of these ecosystems along
with the biodiversity of the flora and fauna associated with these ecosystems.
The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an
intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and
international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and
their resources. There are presently 158 Contracting Parties to the Convention,
with 1758 wetland sites, totaling 161 million hectares, designated for inclusion
in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Ramsar Convention is
the only global environment treaty dealing with a particular ecosystem. The
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was developed as a means to call international
attention to the rate at which wetland habitats were disappearing, due to lack
of understanding of their important functions, values, goods and services.
Governments which have joined the Convention are expressing their willingness to
make a commitment for helping to reverse that history of wetland loss and
degradation. In addition, many wetlands are international systems lying across
the boundaries of two or more countries, or are part of river basins that
include more than one country.
Conservation
of Biodiversity
Conservation
of Biodiversity is the need of the hour. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is a
federal legislation enacted by the Parliament of India for preservation of
biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of
benefits arising out of use of traditional biological resources and knowledge.
The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party. The National Biodiversity
Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 to implement India’s Biological
Diversity Act 2002. The NBA is a Statutory, Autonomous Body and it performs
facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for the Government of India on
issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and
equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological
resources.
Wildlife
Conservation
Wildlife
conservation is the practice of protecting endangered plant and animal
species and their habitats. Among the goals
of wildlife conservation are to ensure that nature will be around for future
generations to enjoy and to recognize the importance of wildlife and wilderness lands to
humans. Many nations have government
agencies dedicated to wildlife conservation, which help to implement
policies designed to protect wildlife. Numerous independent nonprofit
organizations also promote various wildlife conservation causes.
Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the
negative effects of human activity on wildlife. Wildlife
Conservation Act 2002 was enacted to protect wildlife in India. The main
objective of Project Tiger is to ensure a viable population of tiger in
India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values and to
preserve for all time, areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for
the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people. Project
Elephant (PE), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in February
1992 to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States
in the country for protection of elephants, their habitats and
corridors.
Ozone
Depletion
Ozone
depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late
1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone
layer), and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone
over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon is referred to as the ozone
hole. In addition to these well-known stratospheric phenomena, there
are also springtime polar tropospheric
ozone depletion events. The details of polar ozone hole formation
differ from that of mid-latitude thinning, but the most important process in
both is catalytic destruction of
ozone by atomic halogens. The main source
of these halogen atoms in the stratosphere is photo dissociation of
man-made halocarbon refrigerants
(CFCs, freons, halons). These compounds
are transported into the stratosphere after being emitted at the surface. Both
types of ozone depletion were observed to increase as emissions of halo-carbons
increased. CFCs and other contributory substances are referred to
as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). This is used to protect the ozone layer
which protect humans from ultra-violet rays of Sun.
Environmental
Impact Assessment
An environmental
impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the possible impacts that a proposed
project may have on the environment, consisting of the environmental, social and
economic aspects. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision
makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to
proceed with a project. The International Association for Impact Assessment
(IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of
identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and
other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being
taken and commitments made." EIAs are unique in that they do not require
adherence to a predetermined environmental outcome, but rather they require
decision makers to account for environmental values in their decisions and to
justify those decisions in light of detailed environmental studies and public
comments on the potential environmental impacts.
Environment
and Indian Constitution
The
Indian Constitution guarantees justice, liberty and equality to all citizens of
the country. In Maneka Gandhi's case the court gave a new dimension to Article
21. It held that the right to 'live' is not merely confined to physical
existence but it include within its ambit the right to live with human dignity.
The same view was reflected by Court in Francis Coralie V. Union Territory of
Delhi said that the right to live is not restricted to mere animal existence.
Article 21 also constitute right to get pollution free water and air. Article 48
of Directive Principles of State Policy directs that the State to take steps to
organize agriculture and animal husbandary on modern and scientific lines. Again
Article 48-A requires the State to take steps to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. In M.C.
Mehta (II) V. Union of India, the Supreme Court, relying on Article 48-A gave
direction to Central and State Governments and various local bodies and Boards
under the various statutes to take appropriate steps for the prevention and
control of pollution of water. Article 51-A says that it shall be the duty of
every citizen of India to protect and impove the natural environment including
forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for
living.
Role
of Judiciary in Environmental Protection
One
of the most innovative parts of the Constitution is that right to enforce the
fundamental rights by moving Supreme Court is itself a fundamental right under
article 32 of the Constitution. Writ juridisdiction is conferred on
Supreme Court under Article 32 and High Courts under Article 226 of the
Constitution. Under these provisions Supreme Court and High Courts have the
power to issue any drections or orders writ, including writs in the nature of
habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo-warranto and certiorari, whichever is
appropriate High Court is wider in scope than that of Supreme Court. However, it
may be pointed out that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding
on all Courts within the territory of India. Moreover, the Supreme Court in
exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is
necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.
The Supreme Court and also various High Courts have taken innumerable measures
in a series of their landmark judgements. Over the years the apex Court has been
paying special attention for the protection of environment by giving effective
directions to all the persons concerned with the matter by invoking its powers
under the Article 32. An analysis of the various decisions of the Supreme Court
reveals that the Apex Court has exercised its writ jurisdiction when there was
leakage of hazardous gases like Chlorine from the Shri Ram Industries, throwing
of waste material of alchohal plants into the adjoining nala resulting in
spreading of obnoxious cells being released apart from mosquito breeding,
discharge of highly toxic affluent by the tanneries, safety and insurance for
the benefit of workers at the cost of employer, to entertain public grievances
relating to environment in the nature of public inters litigation for banning of
harmful drugs, pollution of holy Ganga by municipal sewage and industrial
affulents, illegal mining of effecting ecology, pollution of waters in river
polar in Tamil Nadu due to discharge of untreated affulents, assuring
sustainable development detrimental to the forest growth, damage to the Taj
Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, protecting the people from
suffering of respiratory and other diseases reminding the enforecment agencies
to do the job. The Environment pollution is not confined only to any particular
country or particular region. It is widening and crossing over the state and
political boundaries affecting land, water, air, space, perversely. Realising
the degraded consequences of the environmental pollution and its future impact
on living being the battle legal, political and scientific, has started in all
forums of international, regional and national organizations.
The
National Green Tribunal was
established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for
effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection
and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of
any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for
damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary
expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.
The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice. New
Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune,
Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four places of sitting of the
Tribunal.
Legislations
on Environment
Environmental
quality has deteriorated during past two decades. This is because of the gap
between the intent of the policy and the actual achievement. India's
environmental problems are mainly due to its high population and limited natural
resources. Protection of the environment poses a fundamental challenge to the
nations desire to industrialize faster. Various efforts are being made to
control India's environmental problems. The government has recognized the need
for planned land and water resource management and the protection of
environmental resources is included in the constitution since 1976. The
constitution, 42th amendment act of 1977 obligates the Government to
protect and improve environment for the good of society as a whole. It also
makes an environmental protection an obligation of the state and individual
citizen and reads, "The state shall Endeavour to protect and improve the
environmental and to safeguard forests and wildlife of the country." Article
51-A (9) states "It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and
improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and
to have compassion for living creatures." A lot of Acts like Biodiversity
Conservation Act, environment Protection Act, Wildlife Preservation Act, Water
Pollution Prevention Act, Air Pollution Prevention Act etc. are enacted from
time to time for environment preservation.
Sustainable
Development
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