Different Types of Environment

Natural• ecological, biodiversity

Manmade• infrastructure, utilities, institutions, housing, energy,

etc.

Social & cultural• customs, traditions, ethics, etc.

Business• internal, external, economic, micro-operating, etc.

Environment ManagementWhat is Environment Management? • Control on use of limited (natural) resources• Prevention of pollution• Building systems for the purpose• Execution• Using technology• Organising (marketing, HR, finance)• Educating people• Pricing/costing

The NeedWhy is there a need to control or prevent? • For sustainable development • For health & sanitation• For benefit of humans beings & (of other

animals)• When we set standards, we set it for ourselves,

which varies with consumption related to population, governance, finance/economy, HR, our climatic conditions, our ecological resources, our capacity to absorb, our perception of a good life

Causes

How do we pollute?• Intersection of human enterprise and (natural) resources• Through use of resources that create waste. So the

issue is of the amount of resources used, or the technology applied. The more the use of resources, the greater the waste.

• Waste can also be used as resource• Waste management, a subject by itself: solid, liquid,

gaseous, based on people, governance, cost, technology/knowledge & political will

Definitions

Of late, we have been defining/formulating EM based on our market conditions

• Market economy: developed countries

• Survival economy: developing economy with traditional methods eg. India, China, Africa

• Nature’s economy: only based on natural resources –tribals/agrarians living off the land. Conflicts: Tehri & Narmada Sagar dam. Accessibility: transfer of resources from developing to developed countries, global glut leading to falling prices, impoverishing poor countries, increasing debt, lowering currency values

Strategies Adopted

Market Economy• Developed countries have more consumption, but less

pollution, despite intense use of resources: environmental regulation, greening of industries, relocation of polluting industries

Survival Economy• Traditional village-based life, polluting to produce for

others, large population with less money for development, migration to cities without education & skill leading to unemployment & poverty

Contd.

Natural Economy

• Depletion of natural, non-renewable resources, leading to shortage & poverty

• Environmental Burden= population, affluence/consumption and technology (EB=P×A×T) population, affluence (consumption) & technology

• Future belief: sustainable development will be the biggest opportunity in commerce

Stages of Pollution Management

• Stage I: shift from pollution control to pollution prevention. Emerging global stds. Eg. ISO 9000, 14001, etc.

• Stage II: product stewardship (like total quality control). Profitable vs altruism, a trade-off

• Stage III: clean technology

• Stage IV: sustainability vision

Illustration

Nature’s Economy Survival Economy

Pollution

Depletion

Poverty

Market Economy

Common

Emerging Economy

The Challenge

• To develop a sustainable global economy, capable of supporting eternally

• All depends on innovations and the methods used, which should be a combination of social, environmental and economic interests and their balance

• So, there is an issue of trade-off. How much can we afford?

History

• Indus Valley Civilization: Environment management was in the form of waste management ... planners had a high concern for public health

• Mughal Period: Ameliorating weather conditions• British Rule: Legislation on conservation of forests,

wildlife & natural resources …. intention being to exploit resources …. forest reserves, national parks, bird sanctuaries, fisheries, etc.

• Public nuisance: Smoke Act – Bengal, Bombay, Gujarat – this was pre-independence

Multi-tier System of Law Making

International laws, treaties, cross border

Constitution …… Central/National laws

State Laws … land

Concurrent laws

Local Laws, Municipal laws

Case laws

Environment Management• Indian Penal Code, 1860: impose penalties if anybody

disobeyed laws

• Sectoral Laws: Motor Vehicles Act, Factories Act, Industries Act, Land Acquisition, Municipal Acts, Urban Land Ceiling (repealed), Atomic Energy, Mines & Minerals, Indian Ports, Insecticide Act, Public Liability (PIL), Slum Act, Urban Arts, Electricity, Metropolitan Development Acts

• Five –Year Plans: Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh (for policies)

• Natural Environment: Forest Conservation, Riparian Protection, Coastal Regulations, water (including groundwater), air, land, vegetation

Environment Related Legislation

• Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 • Land Acquisition Act, 1894 • Indian Easement Act, 1982 • National Housing Policy, 1998 • Public Premises Act, 1971 • Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 • Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980• Indian Forest Act, 1927• Factories Act, 1948 • Industries (Development & Regulation) Act,

1951

Contd.

• Environment Protection Act, 1986• National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995• National Environmental Appellate Authority Act,

1997• Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981• National Water Policy, 1987 • Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess Act,

1977• Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 • Groundwater Control Regulation Bill

Municipal Laws

• 74th Amendment in 1992• Nagar Panchayat• Municipal Council • Municipal Corporation• Twelfth Schedule consisting of 18 items

Managing at the local level, at grassroots level

UN Conventions

• 1972 United Nations Conference on Human Environment held at Stockholm, Sweden

• 1976 UN Conference on Human Settlements, Vancouver, Canada (Habitat I)

• 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio (Earth Summit I)

• 1996 UN Conference on Human Settlements, Istanbul, Habitat II

• 1997 Rio+5 Earth Summit II, New York

Environment Management• 1972 UN Conference: was an incentive for

protection of environment: Department of Science & Technology (to protect & improve environment)

• 1992 Constitution: 73rd Amendment – rural areas – leading to Panchayati Raj, 74th Amendment– urban areas – leading to 3-tier government

• Standardisation: Indian – Zakaria Committee, Global – ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO/IEC 27001,

• Department of Science & Technology (dissolved) - MOEF – CPCB & SPCB

Environment & Sustainable Development

• 1987: Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, amended in London in 1990, in Copenhagen in 1992, in Vienna in 1995, in Montreal in 1997, in Beijing in 1999.

• The Protocol stipulates that the production and consumption of compounds that deplete the ozone layer – chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon, tetrachloride and methyl chloroform – were to be phased out by 2000 (methyl chloroform by 2005).

• Ozone shields the planet from the damaging Ultra Violet radiation-UV-B.

Contd.

• 1972: UN Conference on Human Environment … lead to the establishment of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) hosts several environmental convention secretariats, including the Ozone Secretariat….Definition of sustainable development … Brundtland Report…. (WCED)

• 1973: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

• 1985: Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

Contd.

• Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement to tackle change through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Arose out of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).– India acceded to the protocol in August 2002 – one

of the objectives was to fulfill the prerequisite of implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in accordance with the national sustainability priorities.

Contd.

• Kyoto Protocol entered into force when Russia

ratified the treaty, in 2005. The Kyoto Protocol deals

with six gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane

(CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons

(HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and Sulphur

hexafluoride (SF6).

• The US did not sign the treaty.

Clean Development Mechanism & Carbon Credits

• A company has two ways of bringing down GHG emissions: (i) by adopting new technology or (ii) improving upon the existing technology to attain new norms for emission of gases.

• The extent to which a company is emitting less carbon (as per the standards fixed by UNFCCC) is explained as earning ‘carbon credits” (earned in the form of Certified Emission Reductions-CERs. Each CER is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide reduction). These credits are bought over by those companies that overshoot their limits.

• Consequently, a market for ‘carbon credits’ has developed. The process is known as ‘cap and trade’.

• 23 multinational corporations came together in the G8 Climate Change Roundtable.

• India Inc earned Rs.1,500 crores around 2005-6. Projections are for Rs. 18,000 crores by 2012.